Cyser questions?

What, if any, fruit complements cyser well?

Why is fruit generally added in the secondary? Is it so the yeast is mostly done with the other sugars and can focus on the fruit? Or does it have to do with how much time it sits on the yeast/sediment cake?

people add fruit post fermentation to maintain fresher fruit flavors. Fermentation changes the flavor of things. If you want it to taste like the fresh fruit its self go after fermentation. If you want to experience no fermented flavors add before.

Ok and now for an advice question.

If I mix 6 gallons of apple juice(sam's club, no perservatives) and 6lbs of honey, will I have something drinkable in 6 months?

What level of alcohol content would I be roughly (not sure how much yeasts will vary it).

Whoa re-reading my last post I have 666, guess I will called it "Evil Brew Cyser"

Assuming you ferment to dryness (1.000) then you should have somewhere around 9.8% I got a estimated OG of 1.074

This could be drinkable in 6 months, but it will only get better. I would definitely suggest waiting longer then 6 months to drink. Also, BUY a hydrometer, you will need one to get accurate abv and to know when your brews really are done.

One last thing, a Cyser is a mead, not a cider, but that's just nit picking.

*Edited because I messed up the estimates

russb123 said:

Why is fruit generally added in the secondary? Is it so the yeast is mostly done with the other sugars and can focus on the fruit? Or does it have to do with how much time it sits on the yeast/sediment cake?

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Let me tell you about my cranberry mead. I made a lovely cranberry tea (4 gallons or so of tea) and added honey to it, tossed it in a fermenter and added yeast. Lovely pink stuff with a nice cranberry taste. Primary fermentation happened, and all the pink color left - all the cranberry flavor left - it's been a nice mead for the past 8 years (after spending about 4 years being terrible), but you'd never know it had anything to do with cranberries - that's why you leave fruit until secondary, IME.

russb123 said:

If I mix 6 gallons of apple juice(sam's club, no perservatives) and 6lbs of honey, will I have something drinkable in 6 months?.

Click to expand...

Keep in mind that honey also has a volume. 12 lbs honey has a volume of 1 gallon, so you will have a total volume of 6.5 gallons of must (6 gallons of apple juice plus 0.5 gallons honey). Planning on fermenting in nothing smaller than a 7.9 gallon fermenter and on racking a full 6 gallons in a 6 gallon carboy.

I'm planning on doing much the same as you but I will add 12.5 lbs of honey into 5 gallons of apple juice.

Good luck!