Cranberry Cyser

OK, I'm still very new to mead, so y'all critique my recipe, please. (This will be batch number three.)

3 gal quality apple juice
2.5# non-varietal honey
2# dried cranberries
yeast nutrient/energizer
Montrachet yeast
Pectinase (maybe)
Campden (maybe)

OK, so first, general thoughts?

Second, I have two options for sterilizing the berries:

1. Boiling (requires pectinase)
2. Campden

Third, should I put the berries in the primary or secondary, however they're sterilized?

Thanks!

Just put the cranberries in after primary. There won't be anything on there that will survive that!

If you are really concerned about it, a quick soak in StarSan should do the trick.

The recipe looks tasty. Since the berries are dried, I would probably soak them in a bit of vodka (just enough to cover) for several days, mash them up and add to secondary. That would allow them to hydrate and sanitize at the same time as well as letting the vodka draw out the flavor of the berries. Just a thought.

Moonpile said:

Just put the cranberries in after primary. There won't be anything on there that will survive that!

If you are really concerned about it, a quick soak in StarSan should do the trick.

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do not soak your fruit in sanitizer.

vodka, would be the better choice. but i think you'd be okay in the secondary if they came straight from the bag.

also, if you are going for cranberry flavor summersolstice would be a good person to ask about the craisins. I remember him saying dried fruit adds to mouthfeel, not sure how it affects the flavor since the juice is gone.

I can tell you if you want fruit flavor to shine through using fruit it's generally 2 to 3 pounds of fruit per gallon.

Killinger said:

1. Boiling (requires pectinase)
2. Campden



Thanks!

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you don't need to boil honey or applejuice. honey is naturally sanitary, applejuice is sanitary if you are opening it for the first time. boiling your honey is messy and it hurts the overall flavor.

Brandon O said:

you don't need to boil honey or applejuice. honey is naturally sanitary, applejuice is sanitary if you are opening it for the first time. boiling your honey is messy and it hurts the overall flavor.

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Right. Should have been more complete. I meant to say "boil cranberries in enough apple juice to cover ". Then, I would add more juice on top until just warm enough to dissolve the honey, then add honey and remaining juice to 3 gallons. Then add pectinase, nutrient/energizer, and pitch yeast.

Great feedback, everyone! Appreciate it!

Brandon O said:

I can tell you if you want fruit flavor to shine through using fruit it's generally 2 to 3 pounds of fruit per gallon.

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Yeesh.

I did a cranberry braggot a while back, and that recipe called for 2 pounds dried cranberries to 5 gallons of braggot. There was plenty of cranberry goodness in that finished product.

Thanks for the tip, though.

ya, i think the dried cranberries would. maybe they would weigh more if they weren't dried.

Almost certainly, since they would contain more water, which is heavy.

Nurmey said:

The recipe looks tasty. Since the berries are dried, I would probably soak them in a bit of vodka (just enough to cover) for several days, mash them up and add to secondary.

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Nice, that broke through my "alcohol abuse" defense and had me thinking "what a great idea".
You can do both at once, soak them for a week, add to primary, let it sit for another week to three and rack to secondary.

I have a cider with 3# at one week right now, I have a bag of craisens, now just to buy a bottle of vodka.
Any suggestions of a brand that will not overpower everything else. I normally do not touch the stuff so please excuse the silly question.

OK, so I bottled this tonight, so I thought I'd update those who've been sitting on the edges of their seats for 11 months or so dying for word on how this recipe turned out...

OG was 1.114. I left it in the primary for about six weeks when SG was 1.008. At that point, I racked it onto cranberries having soaked the berries in vodka for a day or so. (I reserved most of the blood-red vodka for use in the most amazing cranberry cocktails you can imagine.) After about eight more weeks, with SG at 1.006, I racked it off the berries and into a fresh carboy and topped it off with some more apple juice and a bit of honey. Finally, 6 weeks ago, I racked it again onto oak chips (boiled to sterilize).

The aroma is all apple and oak. ABV is around 15%, and it tastes/feels hot. The oak has brought in some vanilla notes, the cranberries add a subtle sourness at the back of the mouth. Overall, it's quite nice, very flavorful, and potent! I expect the heat will mellow with age, but I think we'll enjoy a bottle after the turkey this year.

Cheers!

Killenger, did you do the cranberry braggot from Extreme Brewing? I just bottled mine a week ago and planned on sitting on it for a year... How'd yours turn out?

Yep. I did the Extreme Brewing Crandaddy Braggot recipe. It turned out great, although it took for friggin' ever to finish. My notes from that batch are poor, so I can't recall precisely, but I remember it took significantly longer than the recipe projected to reach FG.

What was your SG at bottling?

Let me go check... I ended up overshooting the OG because I planned on a 3 gallon batch but only ended up with 2.5 gallons, it finished sweet and I definitely should have used more bittering but taste at bottling was pretty good. I let mine ferment for a full two months. FG was 1.014... I am carbing them now and plan on trying one bottle after a month or so, the rest are going into the cellar until Thanksgiving 2010.