First time making a Cyser - problem!

[Tom from VA]

Screwed up, and not sure how to proceed? Recipe was a conglomeration of two videos from youtube.

Where I got my self possibly into trouble, Recipe called for 6 lbs of honey in a 3 gallon batch. I used three Honey bears I thought were 1 lb - insted were 1-1/2 lb. Thus I used 7.5 lb of honey.

My notes:

3 Gallon batch

5+ – 64 oz. (2 Qt) bottles of Lidel 100% Apple Juice

7.5 lbs. Honey (4.5 lb. Kirkland Raw Honey) & (3 lb. Kirkand Raw Unfiltered Honey)

Juice of 1 Lemon

3 teaspoons of Fermax Yeast Nutrient (label suggest 1-1.5 teaspoons per gal.)

1 package Lalvin EC-1118 yeast

Hydrometer reading = 1.128 (16.5% ABV possible) - thought this was way high, but it was my first time using one.

Vodka in Airlock

Day 2. Added additional teaspoon of Fermax.

Swirled bottle a little on day 1,2, and 5 to de-gass a little.
On day 13 (04/23/23) bubbling in airlock slowed down from 1 bubble every second to 1 bubble every 2 seconds. On 04/24/23 it was producing 1 bubble every 4 seconds.

On day 21 (05/01/23) bubbling has decreased to one every 28 seconds.

Day thirty - no noticable bubbling.

05/17/23 – Gravity measures 1.018. Tasted sweat but far from enjoyable. Not vinegar. Smelled good the whole time brewing..

What should I do? Sitting on Lees. Should I put into Secondary container and de-gass? Afterwards add water or more Apple juice and see if it starts to brew again? What the best advice?

 

[Tom from VA]

No one? Am I wrong to expect the gravity to go to 1.00? Or less?

I'm going to check gravity a second time in a few days and make sure it hasn't change. Question is what is the recommended course if gravity has not changed?

This is my FIRST time brewing anything - sio forgive my ignorance.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Your first ferment sounds like it's going great. It may take a while to knock off the last few points. Leave it where it is or rack off the lees into a second vessel to finish.

 

[Rish]

What @DBhomebrew said. Also, what temp is your fermentation area? At this point you could bump it up some if it's on the cool side. You can add more juice later if you want to drop the sg.

 

[bernardsmith]

I guess I am a little skeptical. Seven and half pounds of honey dissolved to make 3 gallons is 2.5 lbs per gallon or an SG of about 1.090. Two qts of apple juice added to the 2.5 qts of honey (assuming 1 gallon of apple juice = 1.050 so 2qts = 1.025 but diluted so closer to 1.012 , so it looks more like 1.100 +/- or 13% ABV if the gravity drops to 1.000. Best to treat the bubbles in the airlock as entertainment for kids rather than useful data. Your hydrometer is the tool you use to determine how well (or not) the fermentation is going.
Obviously unsure what videos you may have watched but if you are making a cyser, you don't need/want water. Wine ain't beer. Water is good for cleaning. You can use say, 2.75 gallons of apple juice (1.050 approximately) to which you add your honey. One qt of honey = about 3 lbs and 3 lbs would increase the gravity by .035 when diluted with apple juice to make 3 gallons of must, so would give you a total SG of 1.090(or as near as dammit) or 12% potential ABV

 

[Tom from VA]

What @DBhomebrew said. Also, what temp is your fermentation area? At this point you could bump it up some if it's on the cool side. You can add more juice later if you want to drop the sg.

Its in my basement, and its been cool in central VA. Probably averaging 60-65 degrees. Outside its averaging 70-80 degrees.

 

[Tom from VA]

I guess I am a little skeptical. Seven and half pounds of honey dissolved to make 3 gallons is 2.5 lbs per gallon or an SG of about 1.090. Two qts of apple juice added to the 2.5 qts of honey (assuming 1 gallon of apple juice = 1.050 so 2qts = 1.025 but diluted so closer to 1.012 , so it looks more like 1.100 +/- or 13% ABV if the gravity drops to 1.000. Best to treat the bubbles in the airlock as entertainment for kids rather than useful data. Your hydrometer is the tool you use to determine how well (or not) the fermentation is going.
Obviously unsure what videos you may have watched but if you are making a cyser, you don't need/want water. Wine ain't beer. Water is good for cleaning. You can use say, 2.75 gallons of apple juice (1.050 approximately) to which you add your honey. One qt of honey = about 3 lbs and 3 lbs would increase the gravity by .035 when diluted with apple juice to make 3 gallons of must, so would give you a total SG of 1.090(or as near as dammit) or 12% potential ABV

First time doing any of this so I will eagerly axxept criticism. I know I could have done much better, but this is my Learning. Worst case I throw out about $30 of goods.

Little more details. After opening a 64 oz bottle of Apple juice, I poured half the juice into the carboy, and then added at least a pound of honey to the bottle of Apple juice, gave it a good shaking to dissolve it, and then added the resulting contents to the carboy. I did this till the fluid level got high on carboy. I did use the empty containers to for mixing.

Three gallon carboy is heavy and I really couldn't swirl it well. I used a turkey baster to fill the beaker for testing gravity. Maybe this would have earned me an "F" in chemistry? Wish I had bought something to stir with ( I have it now). I was shocked that the gravity reading was in the "Desert Wine" portion of the Hydrometer. My first gravity reading is not something I would bet money on considering my knowledge level. My thinking at the time was there is nothing I can do other than let things run their course.

If your right - it sounds great to me. Nothing ventured. Nothing gained.

 

[DBhomebrew]

I have zero confidence in your gravity numbers, but everything you describe  sounds like a well-going ferment. It's not done, but it sounds like it's on the right track with nothing to fix.

Once you rack into a secondary vessel the primary will be free for you get a new one going with a better recipe and process.

 

[Tom from VA]

Thanks. I've since bought four 1-gallon carboys, a 1-1/2 bucket, and another three gallon carboy.

Got some great deals on apple cider, Cranberry juice, strawberries, and figs from my tree.

Going to do some wine - fig, strawberry, and some juice wines. I figure in six months I might have a clue.

 

[T Murph]

If it were me I would move it to a slightly warmer area of your house. I like to ferment meads at 68 d F. 65 isn't too low but 60 will take a long time to get where you want to be. And it can cause tired yeast to simply go to sleep.