Cranberry Apple Something
- Thread starter K&GB
- Start date
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We checked acid this morning and came up right around .60%. I expect the cranberries to contribute more during fermentation, so I decided to leave it alone. CheckedSG again this morning, and it was still sitting at 1.060, so we added 5-3/4 cups of sugar to bring it up to exactly 1.085. The volume of liquid without the bag of fruit is 4-gal and 5-1/2 gal with the fruit floating in the must. I calculated K-meta, pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, and tannin for a 5-gal batch.
Final recipe-
7lbs Granny Smith Apples
4 lbs Gala Apples
8 12 oz bags of cranberries
3 gal apple juice (unsweeteded, no preservatives)
4 cans apple juice concentrate
5-3/4 cups sugar
5 campden tablets
2-1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
5 tsp yeast nutrient
1-1/4 tsp liquid tannin
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118 yeast
We froze the cranberries, thawed, and smashed them in plastic bags. We cored and cut up the apples and smashed them in plastic bags also. Then we stuffed as much of the apples and cranberries into a strainer bag as would fit. ( had to leave 3 lbs of the gala apples out.) We added all ingredients except the yeast and let it soak for 24 hours. Then we pitched the yeast.
Final recipe-
7lbs Granny Smith Apples
4 lbs Gala Apples
8 12 oz bags of cranberries
3 gal apple juice (unsweeteded, no preservatives)
4 cans apple juice concentrate
5-3/4 cups sugar
5 campden tablets
2-1/2 tsp pectic enzyme
5 tsp yeast nutrient
1-1/4 tsp liquid tannin
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118 yeast
We froze the cranberries, thawed, and smashed them in plastic bags. We cored and cut up the apples and smashed them in plastic bags also. Then we stuffed as much of the apples and cranberries into a strainer bag as would fit. ( had to leave 3 lbs of the gala apples out.) We added all ingredients except the yeast and let it soak for 24 hours. Then we pitched the yeast.
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That should be great guys. Lots of memories should be made with this one.
My previous comment was about me seeing a knife in hand and Wade so graciously pointed out to me that I was wrong- it was a bottle. Looked like she was gripping a butcher knife on my screen.
My previous comment was about me seeing a knife in hand and Wade so graciously pointed out to me that I was wrong- it was a bottle. Looked like she was gripping a butcher knife on my screen.
I racked and stabilized the "Christmas Wine" this past weekend. Although it looks red in the carboy, it really appears more orange in a wine glass. Not much flavor at this point either, but I'm sure that'll develop over time. I decided to add some cranberry juice, so I got a quart of pure cranberry and poured in most of it. Much darker red now. It truly looks like a Christmas Wine.
After adding the cranberry juice, I mixed in some Super Kleer. But I have more headspace in this 5-gal carboy than I would like. So here's what I'm thinking. I'll pick up a can of apple concentrate at the store today on the way home from work. Let it melt and add it to the wine, then fill to the top with water. Shouldn't take much. That should add just a bit of sweetness and maybe some more apple flavor. It wasreally tart after I added the cranberry juice.
After adding the cranberry juice, I mixed in some Super Kleer. But I have more headspace in this 5-gal carboy than I would like. So here's what I'm thinking. I'll pick up a can of apple concentrate at the store today on the way home from work. Let it melt and add it to the wine, then fill to the top with water. Shouldn't take much. That should add just a bit of sweetness and maybe some more apple flavor. It wasreally tart after I added the cranberry juice.
okay, so I racked the Christmas wine off the lees (not much) today after a week with Super Kleer. It's still pretty cloudy, but I'm sure it'll clear over time. Not much bouquet to this yet, but I'm sure that'll develop over time too. What concerns me more is the taste. I used no water, only apple juice and apple juice concentrate. I would have expected more apple flavor, but it's not there. Maybe the cranberry juice I added last weekend has overpowered the apple. I'm not sure. The color is nice, but it's pretty tart now. I went ahead and added two more cans of apple juice concentrate. That gave it a hint of sweet, but I still don't get much apple flavor. Does anyone know if this is normal?
Also, since this is supposed to be a Christmas wine (for drinking next Christmas) I thought of adding a cinnamon stick or two. Has anyone tried this before?
Also, since this is supposed to be a Christmas wine (for drinking next Christmas) I thought of adding a cinnamon stick or two. Has anyone tried this before?
I guess not but I always give it more time for the lees to compact so as not to lose as much wine and youll be getting sediment in this carboy and have to rack off that to. I always tilt my carboy to 1 side when starting to clear and let sit for a few weeks and then tilt the carboy gently back the other way and rack off the shallow end. This allows you to get more wine with less transfer because of the compact lees which arent as easy to disturb and because all your lees are on the other side.
I made a cranberry cyser this past year and added 5 cinnamon sticks, 20 whole cloves, & 10 whole allspice to the gallon. I've just recently tasted it (its just been stabilized after 6 months of fermenting) and its very similar to a mulled wine. I may even add a cinnamon stick when I bottle. But I've read where others thought 1 per gallon was too much. Not helpful but its a lot like adding oak.
Oh yeah the spices were added at the start of fermentation and I racked off of them 2 weeks later.
VPC
Oh yeah the spices were added at the start of fermentation and I racked off of them 2 weeks later.
VPC
Wade, I like your technique. Wish I had a dedicated wine room (with running water). Maybe my next house. But for now, it's the kitchen and I've had the counter lined with carboys for the past week. Makes it hard to get into the cabinets and just looks plain scary when I have a carboy tilted over the edge. So for now I just tilt them as I rack. I do try to set them up on the counter for 4-5 days before I plan to rack so I don't disturb the lees by lifting them up there.
VPC, wish I'd thought of cinnamon and spices earlier. I think for now, I'll toss in a few sticks and check on it after a week. Did you oak your cyser? If so, what type?
VPC, wish I'd thought of cinnamon and spices earlier. I think for now, I'll toss in a few sticks and check on it after a week. Did you oak your cyser? If so, what type?
I thought the cloves would stand out, but they don't at all. Maybe the oak helped? It's at about 16% and I'm going to back sweeten it with maple syrup so even if they were a bit strong that would hide it. I guess I should mention that I like cloves.
VPC
VPC
dragonmaster42
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Cyser is a type of mead with honey andapples. Here's a list of some othernames for types of mead:
traditional mead - honey (can have other flavors, but honey dominates)
sack - mead strong mead made with extra honey
show mead - honey only
braggot - honey and malt
capsicumel - honey with chile pepper
cyser - honey and apples
hippocras - honey, grapes and spices
hydromel - a less common name for mead, also the French name
melomel or mulsum - fruit other than apples or grapes
metheglin - honey and spices
miodomel - honey and hops
mora - honey and mulberries
omphacomel - honey with verjuice, the juice of unripe grapes
oxymel - mead mixed with wine vinegar
pyment - pyment-claree honey and grapes
rhodomel - honey with attar, a rose petal distillate
thalassiomel - honey and sea water
weirdomel - honey with other unusual flavorings
Not sure what would be considered "unusual flavorings" with the last one. Guess it's the "all other honey combinations" bucket.
traditional mead - honey (can have other flavors, but honey dominates)
sack - mead strong mead made with extra honey
show mead - honey only
braggot - honey and malt
capsicumel - honey with chile pepper
cyser - honey and apples
hippocras - honey, grapes and spices
hydromel - a less common name for mead, also the French name
melomel or mulsum - fruit other than apples or grapes
metheglin - honey and spices
miodomel - honey and hops
mora - honey and mulberries
omphacomel - honey with verjuice, the juice of unripe grapes
oxymel - mead mixed with wine vinegar
pyment - pyment-claree honey and grapes
rhodomel - honey with attar, a rose petal distillate
thalassiomel - honey and sea water
weirdomel - honey with other unusual flavorings
Not sure what would be considered "unusual flavorings" with the last one. Guess it's the "all other honey combinations" bucket.
