Wild Cyser Recipe Critique

[taylja06]

So, I got a bit bored over the weekend and threw together a holiday cyser meant to age until Thanksgiving 2014. I've never brewed mead, cider, wine, or cyser before, so any input on this recipe (I assume negative) is worthwhile for the future! Meant to be very "Holiday"-ish, like a winter warmer, but with farmhouse funk in it.

15lb Orange Blossom Honey
96oz Vintner's Harvest Apple Wine Base
2 vials of Brett C (may add Lambicus and Brux as well, then culture out the mixture as a house wild blend if possible)
2oz white oak
1oz Cinnamon Sticks
4oz roasted Coca Nibs

My major concerns are possibly needing to add wine or champagne yeast to fully ferment (though hopefully the alcohol tolerance of the brett and a year of working time will help) and that the roasted cocoa nibs may not impart the bitterness I was expecting to counter all the sweet stuff. Thoughts?

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I think brett will go to around 12-13%, but doing brett without regular yeast will result in 0 funk. The funk comes form Brett competing with yeast IIRC.

Maybe let the brett go for a few months, then add yeast to finish off, but at some point your going to want brett and Sacch to both be at the same party. The issue here with adding yeast too early would have the yeast finishing up all the sugars, and going beyond bretts tolerance, before it (the brett) can really take hold.

 

[taylja06]

Well I'm not going complete barnyard, but thought the brett would be interesting in getting a nice tangy saison going while drying the cyser out completely. Perhaps adding Safale 05 (for the clean, fast work) then letting the brett go for the sacch to produce a bit extra funk?

Again, I don't know mead very well, but it seems like with the higher alcohol safale would die first, brett would survive and thrive a bit longer, then add in D-47 (that's the traditional mead yeast right?) at about the six month mark? Maybe?

Sorry, much better with beer.

 

[taylja06]

So at about 4am I realized I had a packet of S-04 available, and with the fast response time of that yeast and british character, thought it would be interesting to put some pressure on the brett / possibly have some sacch death for the brett to react to. So that is in there now, and with the slow pace of the brett I doubt much fermentation has already occurred.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I remember having an 8 day lag phase on my Lambic mead, and that was even with Sach.

 

[taylja06]

Yeah, I learned that from all my play with beer sours / wild ferments. I added the sach based on the advice here, but time isn't really a concern (unless a year isn't long enough but figured this isn't roselaire blend / lacto / pedio / etc). I figure it will "ferment" for about 6 months, then spend 5 months clarifying in a second carboy.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

My Lambic Mead is crystal clear at the moment. At least the one with oak is, the strawberry one has strawberries in it so it's pretty cloudy.

I think yours will clear fairly quick too but who knows.

 

[taylja06]

Yeah, meads are obviously not my specialty. I'd just like a very clear, dry, lightly funky winter warmer mead for next Thanksgiving, and hoping this works out.

 

[TexasBrew88]

With all that honey, I'd think a touch of yeast nutrient would be beneficial (up available nitrogen and get yeast nice and happy), but I'd probably pitch a low attenuation sacc strain (I prefer wyeast 1968/wlp002 for my sours) with the Brett in primary. Just pitch one smack pack of 1968 with 2 vials Brett c and wait. It won't be fast and furious, but it should work. Keep us posted on the progress!