B. Nektar Zombie Killer Clone

[JonM]

I mixed this up according to KeyWestBrewing's revised recipe and it tastes great and the color is perfect! I'm kegging, so I'll just add my $0.02.

I cold crashed the dry cider to get rid of the yeast, which meant I was adding honey to cold cider, and the honey didn't want to readily dissolve. I think I solved the problem by leaving the dip tube out (that step is really important because it will instantly clog if there's undissolved honey at the bottom of the keg), purging the keg with CO2, sealing it, and shaking the bejeebers out of it. I plan on leaving the dip tube out for a couple days and giving the keg a shake a couple times a day. I figure everything should be dissolved in a couple days to a week.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I mixed this up according to KeyWestBrewing's revised recipe and it tastes great and the color is perfect! I'm kegging, so I'll just add my $0.02.

I cold crashed the dry cider to get rid of the yeast, which meant I was adding honey to cold cider, and the honey didn't want to readily dissolve. I think I solved the problem by leaving the dip tube out (that step is really important because it will instantly clog if there's undissolved honey at the bottom of the keg), purging the keg with CO2, sealing it, and shaking the bejeebers out of it. I plan on leaving the dip tube out for a couple days and giving the keg a shake a couple times a day. I figure everything should be dissolved in a couple days to a week.

Glad to hear your happy with the results so far! FWIW you can heat the honey up in a little water before you mix it in. Ive found it helps it dissolve and mix evenly into solution.
Looking forward to some pics!

 

[JonM]

Success! The honey all dissolved and no more clogs in the dip tube.

I made a half batch, but the ratio of 1 lb of honey and 1L of tart cherry juice to 6 gal of cider is great. The apple, cherry and honey flavors are all there and no one is more prominent than the other - perfect balance. Thanks for the recipe!! I can tell this is going to be a big hit.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Success! The honey all dissolved and no more clogs in the dip tube.

I made a half batch, but the ratio of 1 lb of honey and 1L of tart cherry juice to 6 gal of cider is great. The apple, cherry and honey flavors are all there and no one is more prominent than the other - perfect balance. Thanks for the recipe!! I can tell this is going to be a big hit.

That's good news!! Post up some pics soon!!

 

[scottvin]

I will be putting this together tonight

I think I willl add 3/4 pound of honey with 16 ounces of RW Knudsen Organic Just Tart Cherry juice to the 3 gallons fermented apple juice in my keg. I am going to try to warm up the honey (in the bottle) in some warm water and mix it in the cherry juice before adding to keg, then racking over it. thoughts?

 

[QuercusMax]

That's basically what I've been doing: put the honey and the juice in a pot on the stove, along with some KMeta, and bring it up to about 170 to sterilize. Then I rack the fermented cider into the keg, pour the juice/honey in, seal the lid, purge, and shake the dickens out of it.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I will be putting this together tonight

I think I willl add 3/4 pound of honey with 16 ounces of RW Knudsen Organic Just Tart Cherry juice to the 3 gallons fermented apple juice in my keg. I am going to try to warm up the honey (in the bottle) in some warm water and mix it in the cherry juice before adding to keg, then racking over it. thoughts?

That's a little more honey than I prefer but taste is subjective so try it out and see how you like it. That's the same amount of cherry juice I use though and I think its a good balance. Good advice on pasteurizing the honey too. I'd still heat the bottle up a little to make it easier to pour out.

 

[scottvin]

won't shaking the keg introduce O2 into to cider/cyser/zombie killer?

 

[QuercusMax]

Not if you purge it of O2 first - that means filling it with C02, releasing the pressure, and repeating a few times. That's standard procedure when kegging. Although I will admit I've forgotten to do it on occasion with 5 gallon batches and haven't noticed any problems, but with a 3gal batch there's much more O2 hanging out.

Also, I always fill my kegs with starsan and push it out of the keg with c02 before racking, so there should theoretically be less oxygen in there to start with.

 

[scottvin]

So I added 12 oz of honey and 2 cups of tart cherry juice. I heated the cherry juice and mixed in the honey so it was all liquid. i then racked the 3 gallons of cider over the mixture. It was still quite tart and dry. It read 1.014 in the hydrometer. I will let it settle for another day but i still might add more honey and or Apple juice if it isn't sweet enough


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

So I added 12 oz of honey and 2 cups of tart cherry juice. I heated the cherry juice and mixed in the honey so it was all liquid. i then racked the 3 gallons of cider over the mixture. It was still quite tart and dry. It read 1.014 in the hydrometer. I will let it settle for another day but i still might add more honey and or Apple juice if it isn't sweet enough


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

I wouldn't let it sit or the yeast will kick up again and eat the sugar. The idea is to backsweeten then kill off the yeast to retain all that extra sugar for flavor. Either way add the honey/cherry juice to taste and go with what you like.

 

[scottvin]

I wouldn't let it sit or the yeast will kick up again and eat the sugar. The idea is to backsweeten then kill off the yeast to retain all that extra sugar for flavor. Either way add the honey/cherry juice to taste and go with what you like.

I used sorbate/sulfite to kill the yeast so I am not worried about that

 

[QuercusMax]

One more update about my latest ZK:
It's been in the keg just over 3 weeks now, and it initially had some of the "cider vinegar" taste I got from the previous batch. That is now gone and it's smooth and very drinkable. I'm not really a cider guy (I make it for my wife), but I've been known to pull a pint or two of the latest batch after drinking some IPAs.

 

[QuercusMax]

I just received Honorable Mention for this in the Wizard of Saaz competition today. Once I get the judging sheets I'll post what they say.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I just received Honorable Mention for this in the Wizard of Saaz competition today. Once I get the judging sheets I'll post what they say.

That's badass!! Congrats!!

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I just received Honorable Mention for this in the Wizard of Saaz competition today. Once I get the judging sheets I'll post what they say.

What category did you enter this in... 28B or 28D?

 

[QuercusMax]

I entered it as 28B, fruit cider, and the judges didn't seem to have a problem with that. I might have gotten a slightly higher score if I had entered it as Medium or Semi-Sweet - to *me* it's pretty darn sweet, but now I know how to enter it...

Here's a link to the scoresheets... I think maybe using a different yeast than the Cote de Blanc might cut down on the sulfuriness one of the judges picked up?

 

[noblesquirrel]

So a bit late to the party, but I made a batch of this a year ago for a party and it was stellar. I took a bit of a different approach and did score a 42 in competition, as a fruit mead. Here's what I did:

Started with 4 gallons of apple cider and .75 gallons of tart cherry juice from Trader Joe's. Added in 5lbs of Starthistle honey. I fermented with Wyeast sweet mead yeast since it is known to be a bit lazy. I fermented down to 1.020 from 1.080, so closer to 8%abv, but I was fine with that. I cold crashed it at 1.02 and added sorbate and sulfite. I kept it near freezing for about 2 weeks before racking to a carboy for a month. It was crystal clear but needed some structure so I added a couple of cinnamon sticks, which accentuated the cherry stone notes. It did still drop a touch more, to 1.015, but it was amazingly refreshing and had a great integration of flavors, so much so that this weekend me and a friend are putting together something similar, this time using blueberries. I think the sweet mead yeast was key in getting it to slow down/stop.

 

[h0psnobery]

So about how long does this take to ferment from 1.04 to 1.008? I'm a noob at meads, but this looks great and id like to start with it. Is that yeast nutrient/energizer necessary? If so, when does it go in?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

So about how long does this take to ferment from 1.04 to 1.008? I'm a noob at meads, but this looks great and id like to start with it. Is that yeast nutrient/energizer necessary? If so, when does it go in?

About the same as beer maybe a little longer. I usually don't use any extra nutrient or anything since Nottingham packs already have some in it.

And FWIW I think most juices are 1.050. At least the ones I've always used are.

 

[decoleur]

KeyWestBrewing and QuercusMax,

what are your current recipes? What yeasts are you using and what nutrients? Also how important is kegging, I still bottle is this going to be a problem?

I am getting 12lbs of star thistle and itching to play with the local hand pressed ciders. I am sitting on some cranberry and some pomegranate unfiltered juices that might end up in the mix.

This thread has made me thirsty.

Cheers!

-decoleur

 

[QuercusMax]

Last batch I tried to rush and use top-cropped S04 from a pale ale that was at high krausen. Only fermented down to 1.016, so I left out the honey. Was pretty nice.

Current batch I'm doing with wlp013. Will see in another week or 2.

As far as keg vs bottle - you can bottle pasteurize. It worked well for me, but you have to try samples every day or so until it's just right, then pasteurize it all. Kegging is 100x easier.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

KeyWestBrewing and QuercusMax,

what are your current recipes? What yeasts are you using and what nutrients? Also how important is kegging, I still bottle is this going to be a problem?

I am getting 12lbs of star thistle and itching to play with the local hand pressed ciders. I am sitting on some cranberry and some pomegranate unfiltered juices that might end up in the mix.

This thread has made me thirsty.

Cheers!

-decoleur

6 gal Publix cider
1 lb of quality honey
1 pack of Nottingham
1 L of tart cherry juice

After fermentation add the # of honey and liter of tart cherry juice to the bottling bucket and gently stir in well. I heat the honey a little to make it easier to mix into solution.
After bottled open one bottle per day to check carbonation. You should be ready to pasteurize by day 3 or so. Its important you don't wait too long or you can't pasteurize the bottles because they'll explode.
That's all there is to my recipe. Super simple but so far its gotten great feedback and even medaled in comp IIRC. Also as a side note, other juices work great with my recipe just add to taste. I make an Apple Pie Cider based on this recipe that beats the brakes off Cigar City's but that recipes top secret

 

[JonGrafto]

6 gal Publix cider
1 lb of quality honey
1 pack of Nottingham
1 L of tart cherry juice

After fermentation add the # of honey and liter of tart cherry juice to the bottling bucket and gently stir in well. I heat the honey a little to make it easier to mix into solution.
After bottled open one bottle per day to check carbonation. You should be ready to pasteurize by day 3 or so. Its important you don't wait too long or you can't pasteurize the bottles because they'll explode.
That's all there is to my recipe. Super simple but so far its gotten great feedback and even medaled in comp IIRC. Also as a side note, other juices work great with my recipe just add to taste. I make an Apple Pie Cider based on this recipe that beats the brakes off Cigar City's but that recipes top secret

If I am going to keg this, should I use any campden before I put the honey and cherry juice in?
I didn't know if the extra fermentation of bottling would give a different flavor..

Or I could add the honey and cherry juice, let it sit for 2 or 3 days to ferment the honey and cherry juice a little and then cold crash and keg??

Thoughts?? Suggestions??

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

If I am going to keg this, should I use any campden before I put the honey and cherry juice in?

I didn't know if the extra fermentation of bottling would give a different flavor..



Or I could add the honey and cherry juice, let it sit for 2 or 3 days to ferment the honey and cherry juice a little and then cold crash and keg??



Thoughts?? Suggestions??

I never use campden I just add the juice to the keg before I rack the beer over and pour the heated honey in slowly during the transfer. Then throw the keg in the keezer so it doesn't kick up fermentation. I like it better on draft because none of the juice or honey gets fermented out. I also think the flavor holds up better because its unpasteurized.

 

[QuercusMax]

I've been adding sorbate when kegging, although I don't know if it does anything. I mostly do it so that if I bottle some up it's less likely to start fermenting again.

 

[rtsitler]

6 gal Publix cider
1 lb of quality honey
1 pack of Nottingham
1 L of tart cherry juice

After fermentation add the # of honey and liter of tart cherry juice to the bottling bucket and gently stir in well. I heat the honey a little to make it easier to mix into solution.
After bottled open one bottle per day to check carbonation. You should be ready to pasteurize by day 3 or so. Its important you don't wait too long or you can't pasteurize the bottles because they'll explode.
That's all there is to my recipe. Super simple but so far its gotten great feedback and even medaled in comp IIRC. Also as a side note, other juices work great with my recipe just add to taste. I make an Apple Pie Cider based on this recipe that beats the brakes off Cigar City's but that recipes top secret

Do you ferment dry?
What's your SG and FG?
Any other yeasts you have tried?



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Do you ferment dry?
What's your SG and FG?
Any other yeasts you have tried?



Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

Close to dry. Generally by 17-21 days its in the 1.006-1.010 range and I keg it up. OG IIRC is 1.050 and FG is anywhere in the range I mentioned before. I've tried other yeasts but I prefer Nottingham and a cool fermentation. One I've yet to try though is Sweet Mead yeast which I've read good reviews on.

 

[QuercusMax]

Just took Best of Show (cider) in Son of Brewzilla. This time I fermented with WLP013 and used 8oz honey. Still sams club Apple juice and Knudsen tart cherry juice.

 

[QuercusMax]

Just took Best of Show (cider) in Son of Brewzilla. This time I fermented with WLP013 and used 8oz honey. Still sams club Apple juice and Knudsen tart cherry juice.

Correction: I was looking at the notes from an earlier batch. This one used WLP029 Kolsch yeast (repitched from a Kolsch).

I backsweetened with 14oz honey, as this one fermented down to 1.001.

 

[decoleur]

QuercusMax-

What are you entering it as?

 

[QuercusMax]

QuercusMax-

What are you entering it as?

Fruit Cider (28B), Medium Sweet, Petillant carbonation. Special ingredients sour cherry and honey.

My thought this time around was using the Kolsch yeast would give it a little extra appleyness, since WLP029 tends to throw some really nice delicate apple/pear esters when fermented in the mid-60s.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Correction: I was looking at the notes from an earlier batch. This one used WLP029 Kolsch yeast (repitched from a Kolsch).

I backsweetened with 14oz honey, as this one fermented down to 1.001.

Saw that, congrats! Son of Brewzilla was the first competition I entered. I had a great time. Your recipe looks delicious. Congrats.

 

[QuercusMax]

Another gold medal for this recipe at Beer for Boobs in Zanesville - this time with Cote de Blanc yeast.

 

[BruceGrossman]

Zombie Killer is an attempted clone of Acoustic Draft Mead Cherry BzZz which is a hybrid "methomel".

Cheers!

Bruce Grossman

 

[Rivermead]

Not sure I got this right. At 6 weeks the cherry doesn't come through. How long to age? I followed KeyWests instructions

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Thats odd the tart cherry should be pretty noticeable.

 

[Strut]

I just pitched a 4 gallon batch using cider and some K1-V1116 I had laying around.

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[Strut]

I racked my 4g gallon batch to a secondary today over k-meta & sorbate. FG was 1.001. I planned to leave it in the secondary to clear a few weeks, but noticed a crack in the carboy as I was moving it storage! My only good option was to go ahead and keg it. I racked it into the keg on top of 22oz of organic tart cherry juice and 2/3 lb local wildflower honey. We'll see how it goes after the cold crash and some carbonation.

 

[Strut]

Well, the first half dozen or so pints were pretty damn ruff. :cross: As expected, I got a lot of sediment at first, since I had to forgo the secondary and cold-crashed in the keg.

The second issue was that I heated the honey in the cherry juice to dissolve, then ranked on top of this. This did not mix well in the keg and the first few pours were syrupy. Live and learn! I won't make that mistake again. I'm sure I'm not as sweet as the original recipe calls for, but it is very drinkable.

Third, is a bit of an off smell I can't put my finger on. Its nothing obnoxious or that comes through in the taste. I didn't notice it until it was carbonated. We'll see if it subsides.

Even after this, the result is pretty damn tasty! I bet it improves greatly with another couple more weeks ageing. I think this would be great Graff'd up a bit with a couple pounds of light DME and some carapills for head retention.