Cyser VS. Cider

[Amiaji]

I'm sure this question has been asked a million times but the search didn't turn up what I wanted to know.


At what point does a cider become a cyser? Is any honey in apple juice a cyser or is there a required amount?


I have 5 gallons of apple juice just waiting for me to something with but I cant decide what I want to do with it. Do I just pour it all in the carboy and add some yeast or do I add some honey or corn sugar to it? Should I add some spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg? If I add a couple pounds of honey is it then a cyser? All these wonderful looking recipies for ciders and cysers and I just cant decide.

I have been on a mead rampage for the past week and have 9-1 gallon batches fermenting at the moment. But I still need to do something with this apple juice. My wife really likes the Smirnoff Ice green apple bite but I have no idea how to make it for her. To me it tastes like a jolly rancher. Any ideas on making something like that would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for rambling, I'll shut up now....

 

[BigStone777]

Pardon my interjection, but i like this:

In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength,
in water there is bacteria.

Drink more wine!

I am interested to see the answer to your question... i was wondering that myself... at what point does cider become 'cider sweetened with honey', and at which point does it become 'cyser'? Is there a general ratio that makes it so?

 

[Nurmey]

I'll take a wild guess and say that a ratio of honey at 2 plus pounds per gallon of liquid would be considered mead. Cyser if the liquid is apple juice. Pulled that out of my *** but it makes sense to me.

 

[Bourdon]

Isn't a cyser just a cider with enough honey to make it have the ABV of a wine, like ~11%+

 

[BigKahuna]

This is a big question.

I'm going with a gut feeling and saying that any apple / honey mixture that exceeds 50.1% fermentables coming from honey is a cyser. Anything less is cider with honey.
Nurmey...you're on the right track...but 1# of honey plus water plus yeast is a hydromel...and technically a mead....I don't' know for sure where the breakover is.

Call it what you want....send me what you will. It's fermented honey and it is good.

 

[david_42]

Isn't a cyser just a cider with enough honey to make it have the ABV of a wine, like ~11%+

If you run the numbers, this works out to BK's 50% (more or less). I've seen cysers ranging from 7-12%.

 

[MikeRLynch]

I would say if you took the Apfelwein recipe, and substituted the brown sugar addition with honey you could consider that a cyser, albeit a weak one. I think the line between cider with honey and cyser is how much you taste the honey in the finished product. If its a subtle background note, cider with honey. If it's like a mead with apple flavors, a cyser.

 

[BigStone777]

I'll take a wild guess and say that a ratio of honey at 2 plus pounds per gallon of liquid would be considered mead. Cyser if the liquid is apple juice. Pulled that out of my *** but it makes sense to me.

I think i like this answer... makes sense to me if you say cyser is just the same amount of honey as mead, but with the liquid being apple juice... otherwise its cider with honey, or mead with apple...

 

[Powerwraith]

I'm sure this question has been asked a million times but the search didn't turn up what I wanted to know.


At what point does a cider become a cyser? Is any honey in apple juice a cyser or is there a required amount?


I have 5 gallons of apple juice just waiting for me to something with but I cant decide what I want to do with it. Do I just pour it all in the carboy and add some yeast or do I add some honey or corn sugar to it? Should I add some spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg? If I add a couple pounds of honey is it then a cyser? All these wonderful looking recipies for ciders and cysers and I just cant decide.

I have been on a mead rampage for the past week and have 9-1 gallon batches fermenting at the moment. But I still need to do something with this apple juice. My wife really likes the Smirnoff Ice green apple bite but I have no idea how to make it for her. To me it tastes like a jolly rancher. Any ideas on making something like that would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for rambling, I'll shut up now....

A cyser is a cyser regardless of the amount of honey. I make mine in three gallon batches. 2.5 gallons of apple cider, 12 lbs of honey, 1 tsp of clove, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of lalvin d47 1122 yeast, and top it off with spring water. Makes a final product around 26% proof. I sell mine for $20 a quart. I bottle it in quart jars and the final cyser is ready to drink in a month and a half.

 

[Beernik]

It's cyser if it has both distinctive honey and cider characteristics. If you can't taste the honey, it's cider.

 

[madscientist451]

The BJCP guidelines say Cyser is a melomel made with apples and that melomel is mead made with fruit. No percentage of honey or apple juice is indicated.
The BJCP guidelines also state that Cider with added honey has to be entered in the "Cyser" or "specialty cider" categories.
Other than the BJCP rules, there really isn't anything that defines the difference between cider with honey and mead with apple juice.
Online dictionaries don't even consider "cyser" as a word worth defining.
So call it what you want, or send a gallon sample to me so I can taste it and tell you what it is. Cheers!

 

[Kyzaboy89]

If the ABV is 7% or less its cider, if above its an apple wine according to the NCSLA ( National Conference of State Liquor and Alcohol.) Beyond that, a cyser is a mead (honey wine) made with apples, or juice/cider, having the majority of sugars fermented from honey.

 

[fuelish]

I sell mine for $20 a quart. I bottle it in quart jars and the final cyser is ready to drink in a month and a half.

Hopefully you either operate a meadery, or live outside of the US....selling homemade "adult beverages" is illegal here, just saying. Give it away or drink it...

 

[JDWebb]

Hopefully you either operate a meadery, or live outside of the US....selling homemade "adult beverages" is illegal here, just saying. Give it away or drink it...

Maybe he sells it as alternative fuel...hell, I'd run mine through my lawnmower....

 

[Gudthng]

Honey is not vegan. It is not collected by bees. It is made by their bodies and time http://insects.about.com/od/antsbeeswasps/f/beesmakehoney.htm

 

[Alchemymead]

So it's vegetarian but not vegan...

#threadjack

 

[Newsman]

According to Wikipedia (I know, not "official") if it has honey and juice, it's a Cyser. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead) That seems to be the definition as well over on GotMead.

 

[SerifSansSerif]

A cyser is a cyser regardless of the amount of honey. I make mine in three gallon batches. 2.5 gallons of apple cider, 12 lbs of honey, 1 tsp of clove, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of lalvin d47 1122 yeast, and top it off with spring water. Makes a final product around 26% proof. I sell mine for $20 a quart. I bottle it in quart jars and the final cyser is ready to drink in a month and a half.

That's a ****ton of honey (over 4lbs per gallon)for such a low ABV (assuming you mean 26 proof or 13%ABV)... It must be pretty damned sweet still after brewing.

And you pour it all in at once, and not step feeding?

As for the OP, just pitch some yeast in the AJ, and enjoy a cider.

(if you want something tasting like Jolly Ranchers, there's a thread or two that were posted on the cider forum about that. They're a crazy bunch that'll experiment with just about any combination. Though, the grain free guys are pretty damned persistent and innovative).

 

[MarkKF]

I'll take a wild guess and say that a ratio of honey at 2 plus pounds per gallon of liquid would be considered mead. Cyser if the liquid is apple juice. Pulled that out of my *** but it makes sense to me.

I've been doing lotsa research and I'm finding cyzer 2-3 pounds per gal. of apple juice. Mead seems to be 2, 3 or more pounds per gal. spring water. I have my first cyzer in the secondary and will def. make more.

I've seen Melomel recipes much like meads with berries or other fruits or fruit juices. What is it called if I make a cyzer with berries? What's the ratios?

1 gal. Apple juice + 2 pounds honey + 3 pounds fruit