Yeast for cyser

[DAustin]

Hello everyone, I'm brand new to mead brewing and have some questions on my second batch my buddies and I want to make. I bought a kit from craft a brew and made my first batch this past summer. I've never really had mead before this but according to my friends the brew that I made following the instructions was pretty good. Long story short we're gonna make a cyser together for the next batch and I have some questions. I have all the ingredients, honey from a collegue of mine, two types of yeast, and I'm working on getting some preservative free apple cider for this batch. My main question is with the two types of yeast I have. The original recipe, which I'll post a link of below, can be modified for a cyser and can use the exact same ingredients, minus the cider of course, and will get the results in two months of fermentation. So on hand i have Lalvin D-47 which was used for the first batch, but I've been getting some more information online and have recently bought some lalvin EC-1118 after reading a few things about cysers. My main question is which one would people recommend? I'm wanting to try using the EC-1118 but would want to know if I would have to modify the recipe at all as I've heard it can ferment faster, and if I would need to use nutrients for the mead.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...e_082223_Digital_fedex_bleed.pdf?v=1692726129

 

[lumpher]

You'll do fine with either 1. EC1118 is aggressive, and it was designed for wine, so will do well in a cyser, also. It might add a touch of lemon flavor, but I think that would work.

 

[bushpilot]

I love a good cyser, and they are the simplest mead to consistently make with a good result.

I would use nutrients either way, it is just better practice. Any one of the several forms of staggered nutrient additions (SNA) would work fine, for example TOSNA. The cider will have some nutes, so you could maybe reduce to half the quantity indicated for a traditional mead.

Either yeast would work. I have never used D-47, but I have no reason to say it is a bad choice. EC-1118 is pretty foolproof, but is said to "blow off" subtle flavors. But, again, either would work.

I like and use K1V-1116 for my cysers, and for most meads; it just works for me.

Be aware that that recipe with cider instead of water will hit 15-16% ABV, and might be a little "hot." I would shoot for a lower by reducing the honey. 1.5 lbs of honey should land you right around 12%, which I think would be preferable. (Someone check my math, I did this away from my usual resources.)

 

[lumpher]

I love a good cyser, and they are the simplest mead to consistently make with a good result.

I would use nutrients either way, it is just better practice. Any one of the several forms of staggered nutrient additions (SNA) would work fine, for example TOSNA. The cider will have some nutes, so you could maybe reduce to half the quantity indicated for a traditional mead.

Either yeast would work. I have never used D-47, but I have no reason to say it is a bad choice. EC-1118 is pretty foolproof, but is said to "blow off" subtle flavors. But, again, either would work.

I like and use K1V-1116 for my cysers, and for most meads; it just works for me.

Be aware that that recipe with cider instead of water will hit 15-16% ABV, and might be a little "hot." I would shoot for a lower by reducing the honey. 1.5 lbs of honey should land you right around 12%, which I think would be preferable. (Someone check my math, I did this away from my usual resources.)

Your math is about right, and yes, I always use yeast nutrient when I make wine or cider. A teaspoon of nutrient goes a long way toward making it better.

 

[William Wallace]

Hello everyone, I'm brand new to mead brewing and have some questions on my second batch my buddies and I want to make. I bought a kit from craft a brew and made my first batch this past summer. I've never really had mead before this but according to my friends the brew that I made following the instructions was pretty good. Long story short we're gonna make a cyser together for the next batch and I have some questions. I have all the ingredients, honey from a collegue of mine, two types of yeast, and I'm working on getting some preservative free apple cider for this batch. My main question is with the two types of yeast I have. The original recipe, which I'll post a link of below, can be modified for a cyser and can use the exact same ingredients, minus the cider of course, and will get the results in two months of fermentation. So on hand i have Lalvin D-47 which was used for the first batch, but I've been getting some more information online and have recently bought some lalvin EC-1118 after reading a few things about cysers. My main question is which one would people recommend? I'm wanting to try using the EC-1118 but would want to know if I would have to modify the recipe at all as I've heard it can ferment faster, and if I would need to use nutrients for the mead.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...e_082223_Digital_fedex_bleed.pdf?v=1692726129

How'd this turn out for you? I am currently finishing a similar recipe using the same kit. I used 3lb of orange blossom honey and the D47 yeast with 1.5 liters of Treetop apple juice. My understanding is D47 can strip some apple flavors and very sensitive to temperature where the ec-1118, while aggressive is a bit more predictable. I'm no expert by any means but curious how it worked out for you

 

[DAustin]

How'd this turn out for you? I am currently finishing a similar recipe using the same kit. I used 3lb of orange blossom honey and the D47 yeast with 1.5 liters of Treetop apple juice. My understanding is D47 can strip some apple flavors and very sensitive to temperature where the ec-1118, while aggressive is a bit more predictable. I'm no expert by any means but curious how it worked out for you

This actually turned out quite well! I bottled it a few weeks ago and shared some with my buddies from my college. The first picture was about 24 odd hours after I started and the second was immediately after bottling. I ended up using the ec-1118 like I mentioned and didn’t change anything from what I said I was going to use in the original post. After bottling I added some cinnamon sticks to a few bottles and any friends told me these ended up being the best bottles of the batch!