Your cyser/braggot recipe

[Guest guest]

Kroyer wrote:

>

> > Aw, darn! Not even estimated amounts? I've never used spruce essence

> > before, so how much did you use?

>

> I made this stuff about two years ago. At the time I could have estimated

> the amounts, but now...well I guess I can estimate them but it will be

> relatively wild estimates:

>

> 4 gals cider

> 1/2 gal malt extract (I don't remember which kind I used either...just that

> it was medium-dark all barley malt)

> 1-2 pints honey

> American Ale yeast

> Mead Yeast

Well I findally put something together.

Mine was

2 gallons apple juice

4# dark malt extract

3# honey

1 oz. spruce essence

Yeastwise, I'm using a yeast which I'm damned if I remember the name of.

I made a batch of beer some time ago, and asked one of the people at my

LHBS for a yeast " which performed well at higher temperatures " . What

she gave me turned out to be a wine yeast, but it made pretty good beer.

One of these days I'll go find that person again at the LHBS and ask

her what that yeast was. Until then I'll just continue to reuse what I

have. It's on its 4th batch now with no degradation in performance, and

I've been _very_ careful about avoiding infection.

> I briefly boiled half the cider and added the malt and honey. I poured the

> hot cider mixture together with the unheated cider, let it cool and pitched

> both pouches (smack-style pouches) of yeast. I might have added a bit of

> yeast nutrients too, since I remember being concerned about the ferment

> arresting early for lack of nutrients relative to sugar...often a problem

> with meads from what I understand.

It's a problem with meads because honey doesn't have nutrients that the

yeastie beasties need. IIUC it isn't a problem if you use unfiltered

honey like Really Raw, or similar. I didn't, I used Mountain Gold

because it was what I had on hand. I didn't boil it either. I put the

must together and just pasteurized it. I wouldn't have done even that,

but the malt extract and the honey have been sitting around long enough

that I'm sure they have nasties in them.

IMHO a stuck ferment shouldn't be a problem with this stuff because of

the apple juice and the malt extract. In any event, the lack of

nutrients won't stop fermentation, just make it take longer. And I

expect I might have to rouse the yeast if it settles out.

The OG of the must was 1.116! My potential scale tells me that's 17%

potential! This stuff is going to be rocket fuel when it finishes!

I left the carboy in the sink without an airlock on it after pitching

because I expected an explosive start. I don't leave it open entirely,

but I put a quart jar over the top to keep the nasties out. It wasn't

as explosive as I expected, but it did raise a 2 " kraeusen.

> As for the spruce essence, I really don't remember how much I used. I know

> that I used a little too much though. Luckily, it continues to mellow as it

> ages, but I still think it would be much better with a much more understated

> spruce flavor.

Hopefully. I admit the must does smell a bit like Pine Sol. I

consulted Papazian on the proper amount of spruce essence. His recipe

for Spruce Ale calls for 2 oz in 5-7 gal. I used 1 oz for 2.5 gal.

Hopefully that was about right.

The ferment smells _wonderful_, though! I left it in my kitchen, and it

makes the whole place smell good. A better air freshener I can't think

of. The fruit flies love it too. I've already had to pick dead fruit

flies out of the airlock.

> Have you tried any of the Legends Limited ales? They have a

> pine ale that might not be a bad idea to use as the model to shoot for.

I still haven't tried them yet. I'll have to arange to be up in the

neighborhood of World Of Beer some time this week, where I can buy a

few.

> Their heather ale is really good too...better than the pine ale actually.

> They apparently just added a seaweed ale too...called Kelpie Ale apparently.

> Their website is:

> http://www.legendslimited.com/

Interesting looking stuff. I'll have to work my way through their

selection.

> > Hey, maybe when my beer or cyser is finished we can work out a swap?

>

> Sounds good! Let me know when it's ready!

Well, my batch of 's Ass Kicking Porter turned out disappointing.

It's good, but it isn't as malty as I expect a porter to be, and just a

touch too bitter. I must've underprimed it as well because the

carbonation is kind of low, but I'm told that fits with the style. It's

drinkable, but IMO not worth trading.

I just put a batch of Rollin' Oats Red Ale in the bottle. I tried a

twist this time and dry hopped it with Hallertau in the secondary. It

smells wonderfully hoppy. The uncarbonated beer wasn't exactly what I

was expecting, I was expecting it to be even hoppier than it turned out,

but it was still good. Now we'll just see what comes out in a couple of

weeks.

My cyser has dropped clear, but I haven't racked it yet. It's been 3

months in secondary now, so it should be about time. I expect it to be

dry and fragrant. I'll rack it to a tertiary on tuesday, and sample it

then. Or maybe I'll just bottle it. I'll see.

Health,

AP

--

Aviation is more than a hobby. It is more than a job. It is more than

a career. Aviation is a way of life.

A second language for the world: www.esperanto.com

Processor cycles are a terrible thing to waste: www.distributed.net