Aging cyser on apples

[arif8910]

So I made a 3 gallon batch of cyser (OG: 1.11) about a month ago and racked it from 5 gallon primary to 3 gallon secondary about two weeks ago. I lost more volume than expected to fermenter trub, if you will, and decided to fill the additional headspace with a blend of fresh apples. I prepared the apples as follows:

-Soaked whole apples in apple cider vinegar and water for 10 minutes and scrubbed.
-Soaked whole apples in StarSan solution for 2 minutes and allowed to air dry.
-Cut into wedges just small enough to fit through carboy neck.

I couldn't find any hard and fast rule on sanitizing fresh fruit but I did not want to heat pasteurize.

The apples have been in the cyser for about two weeks now and there has been no sign of infection and the mead has pulled most of the color from the skins.

My questions for all of you who have more knowledge and experience in this than I are as follows:

Can I age for several months on the apples? I read somewhere that once they sink, they have given their all. I was planning on leaving them in for 6 months.

Will I need to rack off the apples to tertiary before bottling? or can i bottle right off of the apples?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Caliper]

Well, I've never aged on fresh fruit, but did you stabilize at secondary? I'd think the sugar from the apples might restart fermentation otherwise.

 

[arif8910]

I did not stabilize and had actually anticipated a slight restart in fermentation. I would say I got exactly what was expected in that regard: some small bubbles hugging the apples and very minimal airlock activity. Is it problematic to have some additional fermentation in secondary? I would say the yeast cake on the bottom is relatively minimal.

 

[NibblesMN]

Can I age for several months on the apples? I read somewhere that once they sink, they have given their all. I was planning on leaving them in for 6 months.

Will I need to rack off the apples to tertiary before bottling? or can i bottle right off of the apples?

I've aged several batches of bochet on apple slices. I find that they always add just enough sugar to start a brief but vigorous refermentation.
I leave them in for about a month. After that I find that the don't add anything additional and are already fall-apart-soft. Then I re-rack with a dose of pectic enzyme and let it sit for a few more weeks to let any remaining apple bits to settle out.

There's no harm in letting the apples stay in there for 6 months though, as you already got all the flavor out.

 

[Yooper]

I've aged several batches of bochet on apple slices. I find that they always add just enough sugar to start a brief but vigorous refermentation.
I leave them in for about a month. After that I find that the don't add anything additional and are already fall-apart-soft. Then I re-rack with a dose of pectic enzyme and let it sit for a few more weeks to let any remaining apple bits to settle out.

There's no harm in letting the apples stay in there for 6 months though, as you already got all the flavor out.

In my experience as a winemaker, fruit breaks down pretty quickly and unless it stays submerged it can get moldy/dried out. I would never go 6 months on fruit, regardless of the type. I normally go no more than a week or so on fruit, and then rack off. Of course, I would make sure the fruit was sulfited first to ensure no foreign microbes take hold.

 

[WVMJ]

Man those are some clean apples What did you do about the yeast and bacteria that are inside the apple core? I think you really just resupplied your wine with more trub at the end of this ferment, maybe some apple juice would have been good to top it off with, maybe a little honey stirred into it first? WVMJ

 

[theDREWery]

Man those are some clean apples What did you do about the yeast and bacteria that are inside the apple core? I think you really just resupplied your wine with more trub at the end of this ferment, maybe some apple juice would have been good to top it off with, maybe a little honey stirred into it first? WVMJ

Truth! In the future I would take some honey or apple juice concentrate and dilute it down to your OG. That way your FG is still accurate, less trub, etc. Preference is always some finished mead, but is best to top up with some kind of liquid.

 

[arif8910]

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[arif8910]

Hey all, thanks for the food for thought here. Apologies for the delay...life gets in the way.

With regards to bacteria within the core, I cut the apples off the core so I don't think it is a huge issue. In terms of the fruit cap, I have been agitating lightly every day or so just to keep everything moist and evenly submerged. No sign of infection or surface mold so far!

I think next time I will probably top off with cider or concentrate for ease and peace of mind, but I really wanted to get the freshest apple flavor possible. Nothing like the taste of a fresh apple. Anyway, its all an experiment and always a plus when it tastes good. Fingers crossed.

I am thinking about racking off of the apples and into tertiary in a few weeks. Any thoughts on pectic enzyme at that point? It has a fantastic color, but is a bit cloudy. If it ends up cloudy and tastes good, I won't be that fussed, but I would like to try to clear it if possible.

 

[HerWolfie2817]

How did this turn out? I've been contemplating adding slices of fresh honeycrisp apples to my secondary but I wasn't quite sure whether or not it was a good idea. I'm not too concerned about it clearing personally so long as it tastes good. I've got a 3 gallon batch that's ready to transfer into a 2nd carboy so a fairly quick reply would be much appreciated lol

 

[dmtaylor]

I would think the fruit pulp would just absorb a large volume of the finished cyser. Also, apples have a super mild flavor compared to honey, and will basically only add tartness unless gallons of juice are added. Any addition of apple flavor should be by juice only IMO, not whole (or sliced) fruit.