Cider Digest #0086

eZine lover (@eZine)

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Cider Digest

 · 7 months ago

Subject: Cider Digest #86 Tue Dec 10 11:00:05 EST 1991 
Date: Tue, 10 Dec 91 11:00:06 EST 
From: cider-request@expo.lcs.mit.edu (Are you SURE you want to send it HERE?) 

Cider Digest #86          Tue Dec 10 11:00:05 EST 1991 
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues 
Jay Hersh, Digest Coordinator 
                              
Contents: 
  My cyser recipe (Chuck Coronella) 
  white spots (dmf) 
                              
Send submissions to cider@expo.lcs.mit.edu 
Send requests to cider-request@expo.lcs.mit.edu 
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Date: Mon, 9 Dec 91 16:39 MTS 
From: Chuck Coronella <CORONELLRJDS@che.utah.edu> 
Subject: My cyser recipe 

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query regarding a cyser recipe.  I 
received many more responses from my post here, in the cider digest, than I 
got from the same post in the HBD.  I found this kinda' surprising, since I 
assume the HBD is a superset of this forum.  Make what you will of that.  

Anyway, let me give a brief summary of the responses I got.  Mead makers sure 
are an eclectic crowd; they don't agree a whole lot on recipe formulation.  

Nearly everyone straightened me out about using an apple juice with no 
preservatives.  To press my own apple juice might be a little too much, 
especially since I don't own any of the necessary equipment.  

I asked about optimal rates of honey addition, and got answers ranging from 1 
#/gallon to more than 5#/ gallon.  

Best spices?  Everyone has his favorite.  

Yeast?  Either ale, champagne, or epernay yeast are preferred!  

Acid blend and/or yeast nutrients?  Yes, maybe, depends on personal 
preference, or no.  Depends who you talk to.  

Thanks to everyone, my recipe formulation was clear.  As mud.  ;-) Here's what 
I'm going to do:  

For two gallons,  
7 lb honey  
1.5 gallon pasteurized apple juice (w/o preservatives)  
~1/2 gal water  
2 tsp. yeast nutrient  
3 sticks of cinnamon, 
chooped up  
3 whole nutmeg, chopped up  
Champagne yeast  

Boil Honey and H2O for 10 minutes, skim off scum if possible.  Heat off. Add 
spices and yeast nutrient.  Sit for 20 minutes. Add to apple juice. Cool.  
Pitch rehydrated yeast.  Agitate like hell (for aeration).  

I think I'll do the initial fermentation in a 5 gallon carboy, and after a few 
weeks, transfer to 2 1-gallon cider bottles for the duration of the 
fermentation.  This way, I'll have my carboy free for brewing (beer).  I 
anticipate temperature being a small problem.  My apartment is quite cool 
during the winter, around 60F, and apparently, meads like to ferment at warmer 
temps.  Oh hell.  I just hope that the yeast will make it.  Geez, I should be 
brewing beer, now that my apartment is at lagering temps, instead of in the 
summer, when it's around 75-80F.  I'm always getting this stuff backwards.  

Cheers,  
Chuck  

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Date: Tue, 10 Dec 91 08:50:44 -0600 
From: dmf@westie.unl.edu 
Subject: white spots 

Hi, 
 On 11/16/91 I started a batch of hard cider. I boiled some 
 malt, brown sugar and white sugar with water, cooled and 
 added to cider and pitched some yeast. 

 By 11/25 it had stopped bubbling and I racked it to a 5 
 gallon carboy. There was only about 4 gallons of cider so 
 there was a substantial gap between the surface of the cider 
 and the stopper in the carboy. I let this sit while I 
 foolishly drove to Minnesota over Thanksgiving and watched 
 it snow.  

 Yesterday I decided I should get around to bottling it and 
 went to take a look at it. It is by the way in a dark closet 
 at 64 degrees F give or take a couple degrees. 

 On the surface of the cider are a number (15 or 20 I suppose) 
 little white spots. They are a very pure white and not very 
 large. The largest would be smaller then a dime. 

 The question is what is it and is it harmfull and how do I 
 avoid it in the future. I did not add any campden tables to 
 the cider before I started this time. The next question  
 is is it fixable. Perhaps boiling the cider before I bottle, 
 recognizing of course that this would mean a still cider. 

 I would appreciate any insights you folks might have. 

 Thanks, 

Dale Finkelson 
dmf@westie.unl.edu 

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End of Cider Digest 
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