| Batch # | Batch Type | Date in Primary | Date in Secondary | Date Racked | Date Racked | Date Filled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Cyser | 9/14/13 | 9/30/13 | 10/21/13 | 1/3/14, 12/31/15, 1/29/18 | 11/20/18 |
Lalvin 71B-1122 (pitched from starter on 9/19/13)
Ingredients:
4 gallons “second run” cider**
1 gallon
mead must***
~ 7 lbs
Jimbo's 2012 fall honey, crystallized
¼ tsp KMS
5 tsp yeast
nutrient
1.5 tsp
yeast energizer
2.5 tsp
pectic enzyme added 1 hour prior to yeast
Comments:
* This yeast was stored in a clear glass 375ml crown cap sealed bottle in the fridge. I allowed it to come to room temp overnight on 9/14/13 and it foamed quite a bit upon uncapping on 9/15/13 prior to pitching. I saved a small amount into the original White Labs container and placed in the fridge for future use.
** Second run
cider = pressed cider pommace was rehydrated with a minimal amount of water to
wet all pommace and allowed to stand for several hours, then re-pressed. The resulting liquid had the characteristic
acidity of cider, a slightly more pale color, and lacked overall sweetness.
*** This mead
must was made on 9/11/13 from a bunch of jars with residual honey in them and I
added about ¼ lb of crystallized maple sugar.
The total honey was probably 3 lbs, mostly Jimbo's 2012 fall honey crystallized but with some Jimbo's 2013 spring honey in there.
The mix was pasteurized on the stove and allowed to cool overnight, then
stored on the fridge. It was reheated on
9/14/13 to dissolve the additional 7 lbs of honey, then added to "second run" cider
along with the KMS, nutrient, and energizer.
Brewed in a
5 gal glass carboy. Must was aerated
by vigorously swirling/shaking the carboy with airlock removed on 9/14, 9/15, and 9/17. A sample of the must was frozen on 9/14/13 due to no available QC equipment.
9/17/13 Update: Not yet vigorously bubbling, contrasted with batches 23 and 24 which are going crazy.
9/18/13: Made a starter with remaining White Labs sweet mead yeast at approx 75 degrees F, 1/2 cup of honey in 2 cups water (previously boiled) contained in a sanitized quart jar. The starter did not take overnight, yeast was not viable. To the failed starter on 9/19/13 I added one packet of Lalvin B71-1122 yeast packet, which took off. I added the starter to the batch about 3 hours after making the starter. The batch was slowly bubbling the next morning, about 8 hours later. That evening it was vigorous. Aerated via carboy swirling twice, 9/20 and 9/21. Bubbling near constant on 9/21 and 9/22. Hoping the failed initial fermentation did not result in spoilage and off flavors.
9/25/13 Updates: Fermentation slowing to 1 glug per minute at the airlock. Batch has remained opaque throughout active fermentation.
9/30/13 Update: Racked from glass carboy to brew bucket style secondary (all that was available at the Demko house). This overall tasted like a very early mead with lots of aging needed. I tried to detect and name any off flavors, especially given how the fermentation started. Flavors included bitter, smokey and sharp with a pepto-bismol nose. That sounds really bad, but it does have promise, it is just an early mead.
10/21/13 update: Racked from brew bucket to glass carboy. Tastes a young mead, clearing great.
1/3/14 update: Clearing nicely and gaining an amber hue. After racking the sediment was blue/black and looked awful. Kerosene nose, or perhaps turpentine. Young, harsh, dry, moderately tart. Will need LOTS of time.
12/31/15: slightly sulfur nose, straw gold color. 3/4" light brown sediment on the bottom, slightly cloudy surface. Taste is tart, slightly uninteresting flavor with sulfur aftertaste. Don't know if this will continue to improve with age, based on last description it got better. Might be saved with sweetness or spices.
1/29/18 Update: A little over 2 years since I updated, but I still have this. If it was racked in this time I don't have a record of it, though I'm sure I refilled the airlocks in this time. Lots of fung on the bottom for such an aged mead, I was concerned it had become infected. Surprisingly cloudy on the top 2" (protein?) in addition to sediment cake. Taste was good, lots of mouthfeel, not tart or bitter/astringent, has matured nicely and is a quality semi-sweet cyser. If it was clear, I'd bottle it now.
11/20/18 update: It's cleared! It tastes light, bright, mildly tart, and moderately astringent. Pretty good, but thought it would be much better carbonated. I chilled it overnight in the porch, then bottled half (25A) unaltered "still" in 22 oz crown caps, yield of 9 each. I racked 2 gallons (25B) into a sanitized carboy on 2.5 oz (71g) of priming sugar. This should be enough to carbonate it to 2.5 to 3 volumes of CO2, so quite bubbly. I know higher ABV stuff is harder to carbonate and this is probably 11.0% as it is super dry. I added a packet of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast (best by Feb 2018, so past it's prime but also enough for 5 gallons went into 2 gallons) to help with the bottle carbonation in case that old yeast is dead. Yield on the bottle carbonated ones is 11.5 each. I capped the half full bottle after decanting the last drop from the carboy into it. This one will be used to test carbonation level in maybe 4 weeks. The case of bottle carbonated ones is double bagged in case of bottle bombs and stored at 60F. Ideal fermentation range is 57-64F. I only have one memory on bottle conditioning cider and it was terrible, tons of sediment kicked up by the CO2 and still not enough fizz to enjoy it. This is why I split the batch, only risked half of it with carbonating.
9/17/13 Update: Not yet vigorously bubbling, contrasted with batches 23 and 24 which are going crazy.
9/18/13: Made a starter with remaining White Labs sweet mead yeast at approx 75 degrees F, 1/2 cup of honey in 2 cups water (previously boiled) contained in a sanitized quart jar. The starter did not take overnight, yeast was not viable. To the failed starter on 9/19/13 I added one packet of Lalvin B71-1122 yeast packet, which took off. I added the starter to the batch about 3 hours after making the starter. The batch was slowly bubbling the next morning, about 8 hours later. That evening it was vigorous. Aerated via carboy swirling twice, 9/20 and 9/21. Bubbling near constant on 9/21 and 9/22. Hoping the failed initial fermentation did not result in spoilage and off flavors.
9/25/13 Updates: Fermentation slowing to 1 glug per minute at the airlock. Batch has remained opaque throughout active fermentation.
9/30/13 Update: Racked from glass carboy to brew bucket style secondary (all that was available at the Demko house). This overall tasted like a very early mead with lots of aging needed. I tried to detect and name any off flavors, especially given how the fermentation started. Flavors included bitter, smokey and sharp with a pepto-bismol nose. That sounds really bad, but it does have promise, it is just an early mead.
10/21/13 update: Racked from brew bucket to glass carboy. Tastes a young mead, clearing great.
1/3/14 update: Clearing nicely and gaining an amber hue. After racking the sediment was blue/black and looked awful. Kerosene nose, or perhaps turpentine. Young, harsh, dry, moderately tart. Will need LOTS of time.
12/31/15: slightly sulfur nose, straw gold color. 3/4" light brown sediment on the bottom, slightly cloudy surface. Taste is tart, slightly uninteresting flavor with sulfur aftertaste. Don't know if this will continue to improve with age, based on last description it got better. Might be saved with sweetness or spices.
1/29/18 Update: A little over 2 years since I updated, but I still have this. If it was racked in this time I don't have a record of it, though I'm sure I refilled the airlocks in this time. Lots of fung on the bottom for such an aged mead, I was concerned it had become infected. Surprisingly cloudy on the top 2" (protein?) in addition to sediment cake. Taste was good, lots of mouthfeel, not tart or bitter/astringent, has matured nicely and is a quality semi-sweet cyser. If it was clear, I'd bottle it now.
11/20/18 update: It's cleared! It tastes light, bright, mildly tart, and moderately astringent. Pretty good, but thought it would be much better carbonated. I chilled it overnight in the porch, then bottled half (25A) unaltered "still" in 22 oz crown caps, yield of 9 each. I racked 2 gallons (25B) into a sanitized carboy on 2.5 oz (71g) of priming sugar. This should be enough to carbonate it to 2.5 to 3 volumes of CO2, so quite bubbly. I know higher ABV stuff is harder to carbonate and this is probably 11.0% as it is super dry. I added a packet of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast (best by Feb 2018, so past it's prime but also enough for 5 gallons went into 2 gallons) to help with the bottle carbonation in case that old yeast is dead. Yield on the bottle carbonated ones is 11.5 each. I capped the half full bottle after decanting the last drop from the carboy into it. This one will be used to test carbonation level in maybe 4 weeks. The case of bottle carbonated ones is double bagged in case of bottle bombs and stored at 60F. Ideal fermentation range is 57-64F. I only have one memory on bottle conditioning cider and it was terrible, tons of sediment kicked up by the CO2 and still not enough fizz to enjoy it. This is why I split the batch, only risked half of it with carbonating.
| Measurement | Pre-Ferm (PF) | Post-Primary (PP) | Post-Second (PS) | At Bottling (AB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific gravity (hyd) | 1.087 | tbd | 0.990 | tbd |
| % Potential ABV (hyd) | 11.0 | tbd | tbd | tbd |
| %mas sacc (refrac) | 23 | tbd | tbd | tbd |
| ° Oechsle (°Oe) (refrac): | tbd | tbd | tbd | tbd |
| KMW (refrac) | 19 | tbd | tbd | tbd |
| pH (pH meter) | 3.4 | tbd | tbd | tbd |
| % alcohol (vin) | N/A | tbd | 11.0% (assumed) | tbd |
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