Richter's Intoxicant Production

[Richter]

So, a while back I started a grapload of Cider - based booze.  One fine fall day I rolled through a local orchard farmstand and bought out a signifigant portion of the cider they'l pressed for the day.  Apparently only local suburbanites normally come through for a half - gallon at a time, so some Scadian brewer  looking for 5 or 6 throws them off. 

Here's what I put down:

Cyser (Cider / honey mix)
2 Gallons Cider
1 gallon water
2 lbs. Local honey
Cinamon.

-Boiled, pitched with champagne yeast, and set to ferment. 
- 3 weeks later it's a very tart, dry headfucker with a note of cinamon.  I want to serve it a bit more spiced, or fortified with honey liquer to sweeten it up a bit.

The Straight Cider Shit
-3 gallons cider, shut in a carboy and left to it's own devices
- 3 weeks later it tastes a lot like the cyser, but a bit sweeter.  I'm serving this at Thanksgiving.  Family members have heard of this, and have suddenly found themselves in Atlanta or Hawaii respectively.  Approximate ABV will be clearly labeled on both this year.

Local spags are encouraged to drop by, or ask about some.  LARP apgs will be inflicted by this brew regardless.
I may start another batch if I can be arsed

[LMNO]

Have you been sampling that cider as you type?

[Jenne]

  Aw, I thought he just sounded excited about his homebrew, LMNO.

Richter, please tell me more about this honey stuff.  I have been meaning to try honey + cider combo, and I think I've halfway convinced the old Muslim husband to give it a whirl (he's always suspicious of me trying my hand at this stuff for some reason).

[Richter]

  Aw, I thought he just sounded excited about his homebrew, LMNO.

Richter, please tell me more about this honey stuff.  I have been meaning to try honey + cider combo, and I think I've halfway convinced the old Muslim husband to give it a whirl (he's always suspicious of me trying my hand at this stuff for some reason).

You can get recipies and scientific advice up the wang about making mead / cider / cyser, or you can just fucking wing it.  There's a lot of brewing advice about from Suu / 000 / Me.

Regular mead I don't do as much, since I'm not as much a fan of the flavor.  I'd recomend checking for recipies for a "Quick Mead", which will be done in a few weeks. 

For Cyser (apple + honey mead), I jsut throw honey into the apple concoction, add yeast and let 'er fly.  Basic advice overlapps with general brewing how - to, but here are a few mistakes I've made

-sterilize and rinse tubes, bottles, carbois (or other brewing - vessel) first.  Bleach.
-boil your product first.  Both cider and honey have natural yeast / bacteria which might outcompete and fuck up your brewing yeast.
-let the yeast sit in a small covered bowl full of very sugared / honeyed water before adding it to your carboi. 
-let the stuff cool before adding (aka pitching) the yeast.  too hot will kill it.
- More honey = more sweet results.  Some yeasts will be able to stand their own alchohol longer to make more of said honey into alchohol, whatever's left when it's all dead (or you stop it) will be adding flavor. 
-Don't let it sit in the yeast once it's done.  Weird flavor.  Siphon it off to clean containers as the crap settles out of it.

Have you been sampling that cider as you type?

I'm at work.  That should explain a lot.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Triple Zero]

I can confirm I had my best initial tryout results with apple juice ("100% pure from concentrate") and (cheap) honey and .. bread yeast

About the temperature, I've always learned that yeast dies above body temperature, so that's a good estimate.

[Richter]

That's a good tip.  If it's too hot to put a finger in comfortably, it's likely too hot for the yeast.

[Triple Zero]

No, quite a bit colder than that! It needs to be below body temp, and afaik a hot bath of 40°C can be quite comfy, but kills yeasties

[Cainad (dec.)]

Local spags are encouraged to drop by, or ask about some.  LARP apgs will be inflicted by this brew regardless.

This sounds good! Next summer, remind me to make a bigger batch of blueberry beer to share with everyone.

[Suu]

Do you think that if you pitched sweet mead yeast instead of champagne yeast the cyser wouldn't be so dry?

[Precious Moments Zalgo]

Do you think that if you pitched sweet mead yeast instead of champagne yeast the cyser wouldn't be so dry?

Yeah, or if you use more honey.

[Precious Moments Zalgo]

No, quite a bit colder than that! It needs to be below body temp, and afaik a hot bath of 40°C can be quite comfy, but kills yeasties

Most yeasts like to be room temperature or cooler.  They'll ferment faster at warmer temperatures, but will also produce higher alcohols that will give it a solventy taste and make hangovers worse.

Edit: Re-read the thread, and you were talking about pitching temperature, not fermentation temperature.  My bad.  For pitching, as long as it's below 85F / 30C you should be fine.

[Jenne]

Ooh, I so want to try this. Hmf.

[Richter]

Do you think that if you pitched sweet mead yeast instead of champagne yeast the cyser wouldn't be so dry?

Yeah, or if you use more honey.

Sounds right, I THINK you should choose the yeast to get it as close to your target flavor / ABV as possible without waiting for the yeast to stop on it's own. 

[Richter]

ACTUAL TESTIMONIAL!

"I made better behind my desk at school in an old milk jug with a condom over it" 
    - Richter's Dad