not exactly a melomel but...

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emermck

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so i'm trying to make apple wine out of hand pressed apple cider and local honey. i have 5 gallons of apple cider ready to go, and i know that the apfelwein recipe calls for 2 lbs of sugar, but i'm wondering how much the equivalent of honey would be. a bit more i think? please help! i wanna get this fermentation going! thank you...
 
it's not a melomel at all, it's a cyser. and they are crazy delicious. especially sparkling.

what i typically do for cyser is 5 gallons of apple juice to 5 pounds of honey. depends on brix in the juice and honey variations, but usually comes in at around 12% abv, dry. then i put it in 1L blue swing top bottles and naturally carbonate it. i can't get enough of it and it's a huge hit at dinner and parties.
 
when primary is over, i secondary it for 2 months, then bottle, 3 weeks to carb up and you're drinking heaven.
 
thanks so much, that sounds amazing. do you add honey/sugar at bottling? sorry if thats super obvious, i'm a total newbie.
 
thanks so much, that sounds amazing. do you add honey/sugar at bottling? sorry if thats super obvious, i'm a total newbie.

nothing is super obvious, especially if you're just starting out.

you would add honey or sugar at bottling if you want it to sparkle, which i highly reccomend.
i usually just use corn sugar/dextrose because i have a bunch of it and i have never noticed a difference in carbing with honey. i only have a few beehives, so honey is at a premium and carbing with it seems wasteful in my situation.

when i carb it, i usually go higher than normal beer rates, increase it 30% over the normal 3/4 cup rate. the swing tops i use can handle champagne level pressure, and a higher carb rate really gives this cyser a zip.

oddly enough, my wife and i are both enjoying one of these at this exact minute.
 
if you don't want it sparkling (carbed) and would rather drink it still, like wine, then just bottle it.
it really is better with some bubbles though
 
it's not a melomel at all, it's a cyser. and they are crazy delicious. especially sparkling.

what i typically do for cyser is 5 gallons of apple juice to 5 pounds of honey. depends on brix in the juice and honey variations, but usually comes in at around 12% abv, dry. then i put it in 1L blue swing top bottles and naturally carbonate it. i can't get enough of it and it's a huge hit at dinner and parties.

Frydog, where do you get your blue swingtops? I can only find brown & clear.
Regards, GF.
 
I've got a cyser going right now, along with 20 gallons of cider. I took one of my 6 gallons of cider, and after the cider had fermented I racked it off the lees and then added 10 pounds of honey. It went ballistic, and his 14% abv in about a week. Looking forward to getting this in the bottles, but it probably won't happen for awhile. It is damn hot at the moment.
 
I've got a cyser going right now, along with 20 gallons of cider. I took one of my 6 gallons of cider, and after the cider had fermented I racked it off the lees and then added 10 pounds of honey. It went ballistic, and his 14% abv in about a week. Looking forward to getting this in the bottles, but it probably won't happen for awhile. It is damn hot at the moment.

what kind of yeast did you use. depending on what yeast, it may be ready in 4 months, or maybe not for a year.

no matter what it will be delicious.
if i was forced to choose a beverage to be a stinking drunk on, i think it may be sparkling dry cyser.
 
I used montrachet. Pretty heavy on the sulfur production, but 6 weeks from making it now and the sulfur has faded greatly. I think it will be drinkable 4-6 months from now, but not ready for at least 9
 
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