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Cyser Recipe Help

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miss_rach

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 13, 2015
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Its mead making time down here in FL since its now winter for us....

I've only made traditional meads and just ordered 60#s of Palmetto/Galberry honey from my honey guys and want to try to make a 5 gal batch of cyser.

I typically add 12 - 13 pounds honey and 4 gals or so water, mix, add yeast and wait.

Having never done a Cyser do I use whole apples and mash them up and add them into the same honey/water ratio? Or Do I substitute the water for apple juice and add the same amount of honey?

So I'm hoping you all can help me out and give me some tips and various recipes that I can look at. Do I use different yeast? Typically I use EC-1118 or 71B dry yeast, is that good or do I need a different yeast. I'm looking for 12 - 15% abv.

I get the honey next week and plan to make up my batches over the holiday so if you all can post some up and give me some tips that would be great then I can come up with a recipe that I'll go with.


Cheers!
 
C

caduseus

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Aug 20, 2016
675
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18
Cincinnati
miss_rach said:
Its mead making time down here in FL since its now winter for us....

I've only made traditional meads and just ordered 60#s of Palmetto/Galberry honey from my honey guys and want to try to make a 5 gal batch of cyser.

I typically add 12 - 13 pounds honey and 4 gals or so water, mix, add yeast and wait.

Having never done a Cyser do I use whole apples and mash them up and add them into the same honey/water ratio? Or Do I substitute the water for apple juice and add the same amount of honey?

So I'm hoping you all can help me out and give me some tips and various recipes that I can look at. Do I use different yeast? Typically I use EC-1118 or 71B dry yeast, is that good or do I need a different yeast. I'm looking for 12 - 15% abv.

I get the honey next week and plan to make up my batches over the holiday so if you all can post some up and give me some tips that would be great then I can come up with a recipe that I'll go with.


Cheers!
Click to expand...

If you use whole apples or make your own juice you will need several dozen apples. About 20 pounds of apples yields 1 gallon.
To make it easy I would use preservative free apple cider/juice.
 
B

beecarp

Worker Bee
Registered Member
Dec 11, 2014
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6
Kennewick, WA
Never tasted the honey you are getting. Oscar's" Mutiny on the Bounty" is an awesome recipe. Just adjust it for what honey you have. Mine was dark wildflower. Got to make some more.
 
B

bernardsmith

Got Mead? Patron
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Sep 1, 2013
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Saratoga Springs , NY
Interesting question: do you add water? The juice from the apples is what you could use to mix with the honey but then you have a fairly high ABV cyser. Alternatively - and I have yet to try this - you could make a cyser by blending cider and mead which means that you make a mead using water and then mix the finished cider and the finished mead. That may mean that the ABV will be significantly lower - and it can mean that you now can choose the ratio of cider to mead for the cyser - (1 gallon of cider : 4 of mead or 4 gallons of cider to 1 of mead... etc etc et cetera)..
 
C

caduseus

Lifetime GotMead Patron
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Aug 20, 2016
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Cincinnati
bernardsmith said:
Interesting question: do you add water? The juice from the apples is what you could use to mix with the honey but then you have a fairly high ABV cyser. Alternatively - and I have yet to try this - you could make a cyser by blending cider and mead which means that you make a mead using water and then mix the finished cider and the finished mead. That may mean that the ABV will be significantly lower - and it can mean that you now can choose the ratio of cider to mead for the cyser - (1 gallon of cider : 4 of mead or 4 gallons of cider to 1 of mead... etc etc et cetera)..
Click to expand...

Adding water is one option.
Addibg less honey is another.
Or if you want the high ABV add the full amount of honey.
Depends on what you want? How high do you want your ABV? I started out high but now I have been hovering between 8-12% for my meads depending on the mead in question.
How sweet do you want your mead? Although it is partly based on personal preference, usually higher ABV tastes better by having more residual sugar than moderate to low ABV meads.

FYI I would not recommend 1118.
It is great for carbonating (but even then you can add at end before bottling) and it is great for high temps (like Florida in summer) but it is so rigorous fermenter it can blow off a lot of good aromas during primary.
I would recommend another yeast and then add 1118 later if you want to carbonate.
 
pwizard

pwizard

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 17, 2015
587
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0
Birmingham, AL
Cote Des Blanc is my preferred yeast for cysers. There's something about it that blends really well with apple and other fruits. When I do cysers, I only add water if the SG needs to be brought down to a safe level. I then add more juice or honey after the yeast get started to compensate for the dillution.
 
M

miss_rach

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 13, 2015
48
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0
As far as the apple juice...we don't get fresh apply cider down here in the area of FL that I'm in. Can I just get regular apply juice from Walmart and use it or do I need some sort of fresh cider? If so I can't get that, what do I use? Something that I can get in a Wal-Mart or grocery store.
 
pwizard

pwizard

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 17, 2015
587
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0
Birmingham, AL
Bottled apple juice works fine, I use it all the time. The high-end stuff that comes in glass jugs is perfect, look at Sprouts or Whole Foods (plus you get a nice carboy when the juice is gone). Unfiltered is best because the pulp is just extra yeast food. Just make sure it has no sorbate or other preservatives in it. Pasteurized is ok.
 
M

miss_rach

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 13, 2015
48
0
0
guys I found the last few jugs of apple cider with pulp, the ingredients are:
honey crisp apples
Assorted other apples
Potassium sorbate (to maintain freshness)
malic acid

Can I use this as the "liquid" and then add the honey to it?
 
C

caduseus

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Aug 20, 2016
675
2
18
Cincinnati
miss_rach said:
guys I found the last few jugs of apple cider with pulp, the ingredients are:
honey crisp apples
Assorted other apples
Potassium sorbate (to maintain freshness)
malic acid

Can I use this as the "liquid" and then add the honey to it?
Click to expand...

potassium sorbate blocks yeast budding;
You may need to dilute and use a hardy yeast like EC1118
 
S

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Nov 3, 2014
5,542
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Denver
miss_rach said:
guys I found the last few jugs of apple cider with pulp, the ingredients are:
honey crisp apples
Assorted other apples
Potassium sorbate (to maintain freshness)
malic acid

Can I use this as the "liquid" and then add the honey to it?
Click to expand...

Is there any other choice for juice? If you can find something else you would have a much easier road to success.
 
Maylar

Maylar

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
May 23, 2015
621
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Connecticut
miss_rach said:
guys I found the last few jugs of apple cider with pulp, the ingredients are:
honey crisp apples
Assorted other apples
Potassium sorbate (to maintain freshness)
malic acid

Can I use this as the "liquid" and then add the honey to it?
Click to expand...

No. Do NOT use sorbated cider. It'll be a nightmare to ferment it and even if you're successful it'll taste really nasty when you're done. Walk away from that stuff.
 
M

miss_rach

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 13, 2015
48
0
0
Ok Guys..
Did my first batch of cyser yesterday (5 gals apple juice, 1 gal honey), OG of 1112. So my questions is..
With a Cyser do I use Fermaid-K & DAP one day and degass then next for 8 to 9 days? Or since I used apple juice that is apx 1060 I don't need to add any fermaid-K & DAP?

Cheers!
 
S

Squatchy

Lifetime GotMead Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Nov 3, 2014
5,542
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Denver
Personally I would just toss the DAP for life. But that's a different thread. But ya. You need to feed the yeast for what it is. A 1112 gravity mead. Because it does have all the apple goodness, therefore you can get away with less. You would do best by feeding over time rather than all up front. I'm not sure what your reference is about the 8-9 days. Do you have the ability to control your temps, at least to some degree? What yeast did you use?
 
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