Hello all! I have not been active for a while but getting back into some brewing.
I have tried Cysers a few times and have not been as happy with them as I think I should have. My very first one had apples cut into 1/8th and got a bad infection so was ruined. My next several batches used Motts apple juice or frozen concentrate. They were all ok but not amazing.
So now I am trying once again but I am going back to fresh apples and making changes to the recipe based off of my experiences with traditional meads. The recipe:
8 apples
3/4 tsp potassium bicarbonate
1 tsp yeast nutrients
.5 tsp yeast energizer
1 gallon water
Honey (see steps)
Yeast (slurry of London ESB 1968 from bochet project)
I started when I started harvesting honey from a hive of mine. I crushed raw capped comb in a straining bucket with coarse filter bag. After I had about 16lb of honey harvest I poured a gallon of really hot water over it all and rinsed out the bees wax in the hot water. I removed the wax and put the liquid in a 2 gallon bucket. I added all ingredients lack yeast and only 1/2 of the nutrients. Then added 2 crushed Camden tablets, stirred well and left lightly sealed for 24 hours.
The O.G. Is at 1.120. Much higher than I anticipated. Must have been more honey than I thought in that bucket.
The yeast is a slurry that was left in my fridge a couple months ago from a rootbeer bochet I started a while back. The yeast was lightly washed but still smelled slightly of rootbeer. I activated it with warm water, a pinch of nutrients and a tsp of sugar.
After 24 hours I pitched the yeast and mixed the mead well. It was already overwhelmingly pungent with apple smells. I placed it in a room with a heater that keeps it in the upper 70*F - lower 80*f range. After about 36 hours the bucket is bubbling nicely through its airlock.
Original start date is 3/15/2015 in the evening. Today 3/19 I am adding second round of yeast nutrients. Here is to hoping it goes well.
I have tried Cysers a few times and have not been as happy with them as I think I should have. My very first one had apples cut into 1/8th and got a bad infection so was ruined. My next several batches used Motts apple juice or frozen concentrate. They were all ok but not amazing.
So now I am trying once again but I am going back to fresh apples and making changes to the recipe based off of my experiences with traditional meads. The recipe:
8 apples
3/4 tsp potassium bicarbonate
1 tsp yeast nutrients
.5 tsp yeast energizer
1 gallon water
Honey (see steps)
Yeast (slurry of London ESB 1968 from bochet project)
I started when I started harvesting honey from a hive of mine. I crushed raw capped comb in a straining bucket with coarse filter bag. After I had about 16lb of honey harvest I poured a gallon of really hot water over it all and rinsed out the bees wax in the hot water. I removed the wax and put the liquid in a 2 gallon bucket. I added all ingredients lack yeast and only 1/2 of the nutrients. Then added 2 crushed Camden tablets, stirred well and left lightly sealed for 24 hours.
The O.G. Is at 1.120. Much higher than I anticipated. Must have been more honey than I thought in that bucket.
The yeast is a slurry that was left in my fridge a couple months ago from a rootbeer bochet I started a while back. The yeast was lightly washed but still smelled slightly of rootbeer. I activated it with warm water, a pinch of nutrients and a tsp of sugar.
After 24 hours I pitched the yeast and mixed the mead well. It was already overwhelmingly pungent with apple smells. I placed it in a room with a heater that keeps it in the upper 70*F - lower 80*f range. After about 36 hours the bucket is bubbling nicely through its airlock.
Original start date is 3/15/2015 in the evening. Today 3/19 I am adding second round of yeast nutrients. Here is to hoping it goes well.
