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Input on first Cyser

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MikeaJones113

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 24, 2009
22
0
0
Sacramento, CA
My plan is to make a single gallon of Cyser.

Basic Recipe Plan:

1 gallon of Apple Juice
2 pounds of Clover Honey
1 pound of Buckwheat Honey
Acid Mix
Yeast Nutrients
Yeast Energizer
Lallemand D21 Yeast

My plan is to use cold processing, and mix the cider with the honey at room temperature. Put the honey/cider mix into the jar and shake vigorously. Take a OG reading of the must.

Rehydrate the yeast according to the instructions on the packet and pitch. Aerate the must during initial fermentation and add nutrients at the 1/3 and 2/3 sugar breaks. Once fermentation is complete, taste and balance acids to taste, and rack into secondary until clear.

I am looking for a dry cyser with a nice balance of apple and honey flavors. I am not planning on carbonating it at all.

I am posting this for recipe feedback, so let me know what you think. I have never made a Cyser before, and my last mead was around 7 years ago. So give me a hand here if there is anything I should consider.
 

sandman

Premium Patron
Premium Patron
Feb 5, 2007
804
2
18
60
Hartford, Huntingdon, United Kingdom
Personally, I'd skip the acid blend, but that's just me. If you do a search on cyser recipes you should find quite a few that are very similar to what you have here. I do like the blend of honeys you're looking at though.

If it were me, I'd add either some allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, or maybe a bit of 5-spice into the mix to give it a bit more complexity.
 

capoeirista13

Honey Master
Registered Member
Aug 17, 2008
1,041
0
36
35
Philadelphia
you can use the mead calculator and the ABV tolerance of your chosen yeast to determine whether this will be dry or not

I'd watch out with the spices if you end up going that route, you do not want to overspice, its a real buzz kill
 

akueck

Certified Mead Mentor
Certified Mead Mentor
Jun 26, 2006
4,958
11
0
Ithaca, NY
Oak! I think it pairs well with cider and cyser. I have used medium toast Hungarian.
 

Angus

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Aug 19, 2005
908
0
0
55
Milwaukee, WI
Hello Mike,

Using 1 gallon of applejuice with 3 lbs of honey will give you approximately 1.25 gallons with a potential ABV of 15.7%. Since D21 has an upper tolerance of 16%, you are right on the mark for fermenting dry as long as your management is good. Cysers, from my experience, have a habit of fermenting very well indeed, so it sounds like you are on the right track.

I second Sandman's leaving out of the acid blend. Usually, you should add the acid after fermentation is complete, and only if the Mead needs it. Also, apple juice has some natural acidity, so you will not really need it.

Finally, try making a cyser without spices to get a natural taste, then make another with spices. This way, you will know exactly what the spices are adding to the mix.

Angus
 

MikeaJones113

NewBee
Registered Member
Apr 24, 2009
22
0
0
Sacramento, CA
Some great info here, so thanks for all the help. I will skip the acid blend then, usless it turns out that I need it in the very end...but if it is as you all say and it will not be necessary then I wont use it.

I am looking at the different suggestions and they are all good ideas, so I think I am going to have to pick one or two and then play around with the cyser idea in the future.

I think what I will do is start with the one I have in mind, and taste as I go, if it isn't complex enough I can add spice later, as it settles and infuse it then. At that point in the game I will have a better idea of what types of flavors will work with it, and what will be needed ( I am partial to ginger but we'll see).

I think the oak is a great idea, but that is a second or third project. In the short term what I may do is make the first batch, very plain, and then replicate it but with some very basic additions (such as spice or oak) and see how they stand up to each other over time. As Angus was saying I can get a good handle on how the different ingredients will effect the flavor if I work it out that way.

Oh and one more question, have any of you tried a ginger cyser before? How do they stand up in genereal? Most of the cyser recipies tend to have a mix of spices, but I haven't seen ginger included, so I am curious.

Thanks for the great info and help, any more info is greatly appreciated.
 
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