StLouisBrews

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So last night I tried my first cyser. It was a 1 gallon batch. Here's my recipe.

2lbs. Raw local honey
1lbs. Dutch Gold Wildflower honey
1 Gallon (.75 gallon actually) of pastuerized unfiltered apple cider (preservative free)
Safbrew S-33
1tsp of yeast nutrient
1tsp of yeast energizer

SG: 1.171

I warmed the honey containers in a bowl of hot water to help the flow. After adding the honey to the sanitized 1 gallon carboy I added the cider. S-33 yeast was hydrated in a cup of cider with yeast nutrient and energizer for a hour. During that hour I was shaking the hell out of the carboy mixing the cider/honey. Then I pitched and shook for about another fifteen minutes. Yeast started going to town within a hour.

So everything seems cool. I just wanted to know if I made any mistakes or could have done something better.

My main concerns:

Should I have heated/ or boiled the cider?

Is it possible to ever get this cyser to clear since I used unfiltered cider?

I saw some negative reviews on the Safbrew S-33 in the cider forum after pitching. Is my cyser going to suck now?

When should I move it to a secondary?

Sorry if some of these are redundant noob questions and thanks in advance for all feedback.

zeg

Recipes 

No need, it was pasteurized so there's no reason to disinfect it. It's probably a good idea to spray sanitizer on the outside of the jug before pouring it out to prevent picking something up as you pour it out, but even that's low-risk as long as it's clean.

Should be, I imagine. Unfiltered (unfermented) cider will usually clarify pretty well if left undisturbed, I don't see why that wouldn't be true after fermentation. Only worry would be pectin haze, which you could address by adding pectinase, but I wouldn't sweat it.

From my experience, the differences between yeast strains that "suck" and don't are greatly exaggerated. It'll be fine. I think the only criticism I'd take seriously would be issues with a fermentation getting stuck, and at this point there's no sense worrying unless it actually happens.

A while after fermentation is clearly completed. So probably a couple months from now. I think I racked my mead after 6 weeks or so, and that was because I was using 71B, which is not recommended for extended time on the lees. (Even at 6 weeks, I don't think I was in any risk of running into trouble.)

StLouisBrews

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Thanks for all the input/advice zeg. I feel better now.

Cjtabares

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1.171 is a high OG, has fermentation started? I am unfamiliar with that yeast but it might be hard to get started in that high of an OG.

The quick search I just did says it can ferment up tp 12% that would leave you with a fg of 1.08. that is pretty sweat. If this is right I might think about diluting this.

StLouisBrews

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Yeah I might. Depending on how sweet it ends up. My wife like her mead/wine sweet. I've read that the S-33 can tend to be fast started but gets lazy later on. It started no problem though bubbling furiously enough to blow the airlock off once. Is it a bad idea to pitch a different yeast if I want it to dry out a little more?

I know I should aerate this stuff quite a bit, but it's so volitile right now I'm afraid it would overflow again. What gauge plastic tubing would I need to make a blowoff?

Insomniac

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Did you take that OG reading yourself? It does seem a little high. You say one gallon of apple in a one gallon batch with a load of honey, that doesn't fit!

Using the gotmead calc I get 1.14 if I up it to a 1.25 gallon batch or 1.15 if I assume only 0.75g of apple, which is a bit better but still likely to be very sweet.

StLouisBrews

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Yeah I didn't use the whole gallon. I just filled it up so about 3/4 of a gallon. I did do the OG thats what it was at. The cider had a whole lot of sediment in it. could that of thrown off my reading?

fatbloke

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If the SG was definitely that high, I'd suggest that you pitch some K1V.

Sweet is relative. A couple of years back, I did a little test of 4 commercial meads available here, they all tasted fine flavour-wise, but at an average FG of 1.040 they were all cloyingly sweet. So if you ended up with a final of 1.080 its gonna be like drinking watered down honey.

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StLouisBrews

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You think I should wait til the S-33 is done or just pitch K1V asap? I'm getting some tubing to make a blow and I'll just pitch it then if it's the right thing to do.

roadymi

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It can sometimes be tricky getting a new yeast to take off in a partially fermented must. I would do the following.........Let it go as is until it seems to stop, test it. If it needs further fermentation, rack to clean jug, start your K1V in a 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup of your must. Once it becomes very active pitch it into the jug. This will acclimate the yeast to the alcohol.

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