de-Cyser Apple Mead-pagne
Source: John (The Coyote) Wyllie
Ingredients:
- 4 gal fresh pressed cider (from an orchard)
- 5 lbs honey (used local clover/alfalfa)
- 1 tsp acid blend
- Handful chopped raisins, or ¼ tsp grape tannin
- 1 tbsp yeast nutrient
- Irish moss (or other clarifier)
- 2 tsp pectic enzyme
- 4 campden tablets (sodium metabisulfite)
- Epernay yeast (or champagne)
Directions:
- Pour the cider into a sterilized 5-gallon carboy. Allow it to splash to aerate.
- Treat overnight with campden tablets. Crush and predissolve.
- Add the raisins to the carboy.
- Next day heat the honey in < 1 gallon of water (160 deg 1 hr, or boil if you choose).
- Add all other ingredients to the syrup and then add to the fermenter.
- Use some of the treated juice to hydrate the yeast, and pitch the starter after it bubbles.
- After a few weeks, rack to a secondary.
- Add more finings if needed (isinglass is good) and top up with juice or honey syrup.
- I've generally liked to let cysers, and ciders, age for a pretty long time. Most have been in fermenters for at least four months.
- You can bottle still, or sparkling. Use ½ to ¾ cup corn sugar and champagne bottles for a nice sparkle. These have taken a long time to gain a good bubble level. They have been stored cold (55). But well worth the wait!
Notes:
A potent and pleasing fruity wine. Once mature, a clear, bubbly champagne-like mead. My dad really enjoyed this one, and he usually drinks nicer wines. I was flattered. He kept grabbing the bottle at dinner!
If you rack several times you can eliminate most of the sediment, and only have a fine layer in the bottle. I prefer to keep the priming down, because they seem to continue fermenting slowly for a long time. I've had a batch carbonate without priming! So much for a still wine! You could stabilize and sweeten to taste if you choose. Bottling with teas is a nice addition. I've used cinnamon, but I'd bet ginger, or a tad of clove would be nice.
Specifics:
- OG: ~1.070 Will vary depending on source of cider.
- FG: 1.000.
Dave's Notes:
As I've commented elsewhere in the recipes, with what I've learned over the years, I would add the acid blend to this recipe after the first or second racking, rather than at the beginning. As this recipe can ferment quite dry, very little acid is needed to balance it, so taste first, and only add what's needed.