My attempt at a cyser while educational hasnt turned out like I intended. I didnt account for the speed at which it would feremnt and now have a 0.990 gravity cyser. I prefer mead at 1.005 - 1.010 Its really dry and not nearly the sweetness. here is the recipe and what I am needing help with.
For the most part I followed the Cyser recipe from the "Complete Meadmaker" book by Ken Schramm. I dont have it with me at work here but I believe it is....
8 lbs honey.
1 tsp gipsum
1 tsp irish moss
2 tsp yeast energizer
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 lb brown sugar
about 1 gallon water
boiled it all together for 15 minutes. Just enough to disolve the honey for even distrobution and it was not a roaring boil.
added 4 gallons of apple cider, 1/2 lb dates, 1/2 lb raisins, and 1 packet golden's cider yeast (suggestd by my LHBS) It didnt have any identifying yeast strain numbers on it. I also added in enough water to make 5 gallons which wasnt much as I had plenty of water during the boil.
much to my surprise yeast REALLY likes unprocessed organic apple juice. There was way too much activity for my carboy and I had to remove the airlock as yeast foam was filling the airlock. I removed the airlock completely for 1 day. Foam was pushing out of the carboy itself. The next day I put the airlock back on. It seems fine and there is no taste of contamination.
1: Need to get it sweeter. Could mix honey in but I havent done that before beyond the initial boil. How would I get the honey to disolve and spread out instead of just sinking to the bottom? If I use apple cider it would mix easier but wouldnt give as much of a crisp cider taste. Not sure if thats doable at this point.
2: Wanting some spice to. My end result was I wanted an apple pie cyser. I was going to add in cinnamon and nutmeg but not sure of the quantity. I wanted a very strong spice flavor so was saving adding these in for the secondary vs during fermentation.
Any advice woudl be much appreciated
For the most part I followed the Cyser recipe from the "Complete Meadmaker" book by Ken Schramm. I dont have it with me at work here but I believe it is....
8 lbs honey.
1 tsp gipsum
1 tsp irish moss
2 tsp yeast energizer
1 tsp yeast nutrient
1 lb brown sugar
about 1 gallon water
boiled it all together for 15 minutes. Just enough to disolve the honey for even distrobution and it was not a roaring boil.
added 4 gallons of apple cider, 1/2 lb dates, 1/2 lb raisins, and 1 packet golden's cider yeast (suggestd by my LHBS) It didnt have any identifying yeast strain numbers on it. I also added in enough water to make 5 gallons which wasnt much as I had plenty of water during the boil.
much to my surprise yeast REALLY likes unprocessed organic apple juice. There was way too much activity for my carboy and I had to remove the airlock as yeast foam was filling the airlock. I removed the airlock completely for 1 day. Foam was pushing out of the carboy itself. The next day I put the airlock back on. It seems fine and there is no taste of contamination.
1: Need to get it sweeter. Could mix honey in but I havent done that before beyond the initial boil. How would I get the honey to disolve and spread out instead of just sinking to the bottom? If I use apple cider it would mix easier but wouldnt give as much of a crisp cider taste. Not sure if thats doable at this point.
2: Wanting some spice to. My end result was I wanted an apple pie cyser. I was going to add in cinnamon and nutmeg but not sure of the quantity. I wanted a very strong spice flavor so was saving adding these in for the secondary vs during fermentation.
Any advice woudl be much appreciated
