Cider-Mead?

[EhSteve]

I was wondering if anyone had experience with adding Honey to Apple Juice to make a bit of a stronger Cider (rather than adding sugar). If so are the results any good? What yeast would you recommend?

My thoughts were to go:

5 Gallons Apple Juice
3? Pounds Honey
Yeast (Safale-05? Safbrew-33? - suggestions?)

My thoughts were to warm up one gallon of apple juice to dissolve the honey then mix in with the rest, add yeast and ferment.

I like dry ciders and normally ferment until the yeast has well and truly stopped then I add a little sugar for carbonation. I'm a little worried an ale yeast would have trouble with alcohol levels - is that a founded or unfounded concern?

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

It's called cyser & people have been making it for centuries. Here's a good place to start:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/gtsear...w.homebrewtalk.com/f32/cider-mead-277743/#915

There are also quite a few recipes & a lot of good info here:
http://www.gotmead.com/

For cyser the honey to juice ratio is usually 2:1 or 3:1, being 2lbs per gallon or 3lbs per gallon of juice. I also suggest you read The Compleat Meadmaker by Ken Schramm, it's not just mead, but cyser, melomel, metheglyn, braggot, etc...
and will help immensely with your cyser/mead making.

Unless all you want to do is replace the sugar with honey (that's what I get for answering when I'm half in the bag) Didn't mean to go off on a tangent.
In which case, the answer is yes, lots have done so with great results; and an ale yeast like Nottingham or S-05 will handle 3lbs of honey, no problem.

Have a look here:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results-juice-yeast-sugar-experiments-83060/
Hope this helps. Regards, GF.

 

[EhSteve]

Thank you! Looks like I've got a bit of reading up to do.