Blueberry Pomengranate Cyser

[UncleRusty]

Blueberry Pomegranate Cyser - ~10.5%
2 Gallons 100% Pure Pomegranate Juice
1.5 Gallons Northland Blueberry Pomegranate Juice (Blend)
2 Gallons Old Orchard Apple Cider
6lbs Clover Honey
Wyeast 1388

This is a recipe I came up with after having a hard time tracking down a tested recipe for a Pomegranate-based Cider/Cyser. I ended up going the Cyser route as I wanted something high alcohol but wanted to use honey over Corn Sugar for something closer to a Mead/Cider hybrid.

The Wyeast 1388 seems to be a very popular ale yeast for use with Mead/Cyser on many forums, as it's known for quick fermentation of high alcohol brews with a much more rapid mellowing period compared to traditional mead or wine yeasts. The Belgian nature of the yeast is also excellent with this type of brew as it leaves a lot of fruity esters that help bring out the flavor of the juices used. In the future I may even try a similar batch using only 100% Pomegranate juice, though I expect it will be exceptionally tart. The 2 Gallons in the recipe seem to provide sufficiently balanced tartness that complements the light sweetness well.

I began with a ~2L starter of Wyeast 1388, using Apple Cider as the base liquid.
After a few days, I dissolved the 6Lbs of Honey in 1 Gallon of the Apple Cider at ~120F. Racked into a 6.5 Gallon Primary with other juices, and pitched the yeast started at 68F into the fermentor.

Primary fermentation took about 4 weeks, gravity has finally settled down at ~1.015. So far the 1388 has done a great job of attenuating this Cyser without making the end product overtly dry. Fruity esters remain with a strong taste of Pomengranate and a light Blueberry background. Hints of blackerry hit the nose as well. The body is on the lighter side, not overtly sweet but a well balanced fruity tartness throughout.

I will be racking this to a secondary to give it another 2-4 weeks or so to settle out. So far the high alcohol is well-maksed and there is no apparent harshness on the palate, overall a very smooth drink thus far.

If anyone's curious I purchased the Pomegranate Juice from Marc's if they have those in your area... $6 per 1/2 Gallon for 100% pomegranate. If anyone knows of any cheaper sources of pure pomegranate juice, I'd be happy to know since it isn't cheap.

 

[mwbrewer]

Sounds super tasty any further tasting notes on this batch? The pomegranate juice is a bit pricier around me as far as i know, more like $8/ half gallon is the best I've found so far...

 

[UncleRusty]

It's all gone now but I'd be happy to add some tasting notes on the batch. Pomegranate tartness is definitely the dominant fruit flavor followed by a good level of blueberry aroma and mild blueberry aftertaste. There are some subtle notes of blackberry in the aftertaste as well, likely from the yeast. The Belgian yeast in particular did a great job leaving some residual sweetness and fruity esters which are dominant in the aroma. It's not nearly as sweet as say a commercial/American style cider, but it's closer to say a mildy sweet wine like a Merlot for example. I force carbed this somewhat heavily, so it almost sits on the tongue like a sparkling red mead/cyser. Most of the apple juice notes are subdued in the background compared to the pomengranate/blueberry tartness.

 

[DansHardCider]

I have a batch of my recipe of blueberry pomegranate fermenting right now. I cant wait to see how it turns out. I got my juice from a few pomegranates instead of buying the juice itself. I'll put the link below that I found for getting juice from a pomegranate and other fruits. I switched to making the juice after I made a few batches with premade and I noticed a better flavor once finished. Its a little more work but i think its worth it so id recommend giving it a try.

https://toriavey.com/how-to/how-to-seed-a-pomegranate/https://simpleveganblog.com/how-to-make-juice-with-a-blender/