ABC Mead

[vcasey]

So Mead Day is this Saturday and I am making a cyser that will have a lots of honey & sugar in it, therefore I need a starter. Yesterday I mixed together 1 gallon of apple juice and 2 pounds of dark muscovado sugar until well blended. I split it into 2 1 gallon baby carboys and added 1 package of Wyeast's Eau De Vie to each carboy. Today both are bubbling nicely and I should have a nice size starter to add to my must Saturday morning.
I have decided on 1 change from the original recipe. I decided since this is supposed to sit in the primary for a couple of months that having cloves and cinnamon sitting in a plastic fermenter might not be the best thing so I am throwing them in the secondary instead and I am only using 1/2 the amount called for since I can always add more.

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[vcasey]

I put the rest of the supplies together this morning and thanks to my
gallon starter this mead is already started bubbling. Smells like apple
juice &amp; molasses - very sweet. The SG was a bit lower then my
Christmas Cyser at only 1140. Fortunately this yeast can handle the
sugars. The next step is to splash rack this 2 times a day, because the
yeast also likes lots of air. I'll get pictures up in a bit.
VC

 

[vcasey]

Here are some pictures.

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Sure looks delish , Ive never used muscovado sugar, surely it imparts a good flavor.

 

[vcasey]

This is the third time I've used this sugar, the Christmas Cyser which is still in the primary, and the Fall's Bounty which is in the secondary. I'll have a taste of the Christmas Cyser in a couple of weeks when I rack it to the secondary to begin its 4 month long stay.
Right now the thing that stands out is the mouth feel, its smooth, creamy and full. I imagine this is due to the DME. The sugar does come through in the aroma. Very nice!
VC

 

[vcasey]

Holy Smokes Batman, this thing is cooking! Dropped from 1140 to 1102 in 24 hours. It has at least an 8 inch head of foam so taking the SG reading was challenging. Sure glad its in the 10 gallon fermenter right now! Still smells &amp; tastes really sweet and the dog keeps checking it out - he's never done that before.
VC

 

[vcasey]

The ABC is down to 1036 and its almost at a point I'll feel comfortable putting it to bed for a couple of months. Today is the first I have noticed the alcohol taste, yesterday I got a nice smooth taste with a bit of sweet and no alcohol.
The apple flavor is coming through rather nicely with a creamy, chewy feel in my mouth.
VC

 

[vcasey]

The SG is 1020 now so I added some oak and its been put away until 10/1. For something that is this young and almost 17% it is very smooth, not at all hot. Can't wait to add the rest at its first racking.
VC

 

[vcasey]

I think this yeast has reawakened! I had a couple of days where airlock activity had dropped to once every 30-45 seconds. Yesterday I moved the fermenter and ever since the the airlock is going every 15 seconds. I did break down and take another SG reading and its now at 18%. At this point getting the whole 21% from the yeast seems very possible since I'll be racking it onto raisins in a couple of months which should add more food.
This has certainly been an interesting experiment. One of the things I did this time was add a little bit of the yeast nutrient every day, I don't know if it made that much of a differance but I never got the stinky feet smell everyone else did and the SG dropped steadily.
I think this yeast may make a pretty good port and you sure would not need to add anything to up the alcohol! A project for next year perhaps.
VC

 

[paubin]

21%...wow...rocket fuel....lol. I'm suprised that you dont taste alcohol with it at 18% now. I made a cyser a couple years ago that came in at 16 and tasted hot till the last bottle was gone.


Pete

 

[vcasey]

21%...wow...rocket fuel....lol. I'm suprised that you dont taste alcohol with it at 18% now. I made a cyser a couple years ago that came in at 16 and tasted hot till the last bottle was gone.


Pete

You would think rocket fuel, but that is so not the case. I'll be racking this later today so I'll update with my impressions later.
VC

 

[vcasey]

I made it, well the ABC made it and I actually followed directions! 2 months in the primary and finally I racked this to the 6 gallon BB onto the spices &amp; raisins. Left about 1/2 gallon of sludge behind. This is a bit hot, but its now at 20% and only 2 months old, and not as smooth as it was but still has a nice full mouth feel. Looking forward to what the spices will add to the flavor profile.
I'll add some bourbon soaked oak in 2 months and then rack it 2 months later and then hide it for a good long while.
VC

 

[vcasey]

The ABC got racked off the spices and the bourbon soaked oak this week. We were able to have a taste and boy was it good and no rocket fuel. Hint of the bourbon and oak with a nice bit of cinnamon tossed in for good measure, this baby is really smooth. The cyser itself is very clear (all on its own) and I left almost a gallon more of spent fruit and sludge behind.
I know I made this for mead day but I think I may turn this into to leap year tradition. Since it takes so long to mature, I can be making the next batch as I enjoy the previous batch.
Sorry I forgot to take pictures and the ABC is now hiding behind the Red Mountain Merlot. Color wise though it looks like bourbon. When I bottle the Merlot I'll try and remember to take a picture.

 

[vcasey]

Happy St. Paddy's Day

It has been a while since I've played with these so I thought I would post an update on the cyser. We racked it into a keg this past weekend so it can continue to age for another few years - and yes at 20% it does need some aging. The color is similar to bourbon and right now the bourbon soaked oak is this first thing you smell or taste. It's very warm going down, not rocket fuel, but the alcohol is not hiding. The spices are mixed in nicely and the honey is peeking out a bit. All in all not bad, not as good as my Christmas cyser but that one has coffee and coffee beats almost everything. The Christmas cyser is really good also and it too got racked to a keg for a few years. The color on that one is more of a deep red with the cherries and blueberries battling with the coffee for attention. Warm going down but the alcohol is softer.
I didn't take any pics at the time but I did pull off a bottle of each so when we taste these again I'll try to remember to snap a pic then.

 

[fivebk]

They both sound GOOD!!!

BOB