Cyser taste is bad.

[Donatelo]

I started this in hopes of a gentle type of mead.

May 12th, 2018- This is a one-gallon batch of apple mead. I started with one gallon of fresh, not from concentrate, apple juice, two pounds of clover honey and two small packets of Chaucer’s brewing spices (cinnamon, orange peel, and nutmeg) that I had left over from a bottle of mead.
Added one teaspoon of yeast nutrient, one teaspoon of yeast starter, one cinnamon stick, ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg, two clove stems and one teaspoon of tannin. Shook it up and added a packet of EC-1118 yeast. Sg is 1.100.
Covered the bottle with an old black tee shirt to keep out the light. Installed an airlock.
May 13th, Air lock is perking along nicely.
May 14th: Still perkin’ . Smells so nice!
May 16th : Added honey water to top up the jug. The mead is still cloudy. Still perking.
May 19th , I checked it today and the air lock is still bubbling nicely, not cleared yet
May 28, : I tasted this, and syphoned it into a fresh carboy. It tastes acidic, but the PH is 4.06. The SG is .996. ABV is 13.65. It is still cloudy and I need to add a clearing agent.

So, should I put some sparkloid in or some bentonite. Should I just wait for it to clear?

 

[meadmaker1]

Apple will test your patience.
And has a tendency to have what I call a motor oil hew.
I back sweeten my apple with concentrate.

 

[meadmaker1]

Oops

 

[Donatelo]

What is the proper PH for cyser? And what do you mean "oops"?

 

[Stressbaby]

I think it was the classic "double post."

What about pectic before anything else? Also, not a mead maker but it seems way to early to be clear.

 

[meadmaker1]

What is the proper PH for cyser? And what do you mean "oops"?

Classic. Some how posted a single letter and it looked stupid so I edited it to a stupid word.

 

[meadmaker1]

Any answer I have to ph would be based on research. I too am curious what the big dogs have to say here..

 

[heyyou]

Patience, Mead takes along time. 2-4 weeks in the primary, then rack when fermentation slows to about once every 30 seconds. I like pectic enzymes in mine to help clear. If it does not do that then I add bentonite to it. Once in the bottle i wait 6 months before trying. After that i'm not a patient guy so try once a month. usually by the last bottle it is great

 

[jburtner]

I have some 2yr cyser that’s great now. It was tart so i kept step feeding honey till the yeast died then I added a little more honey. This cyser mead also had dried mango macerated as well as a couple cinnamon sticks, oak sticks, barrel age, and the initial must also
Had maybe 30lbs of fresh apples too. I think I used pectic enzyme and superkleer to fine it.

Cheers!
-j

 

[Donatelo]

Just a waiting game now , I suppose. The airlock shows no action and the ABV is .996. I'll just wait . I can always throw it out later, rather than sooner. My first attempt at mead.

 

[AkTom]

Dude... don’t even about throwing it out. I did a dried cherry mead. It wasn’t very good. I kept tasting it. Soon I only had 1 bottle tucked away. At 14 months, sniff, sniff. It was more than delicious. I use beer bottles. Have a designated test bottle. Take a taste, if it’s not good, recap it and wait 2 months.
Patience.

 

[meadmaker1]

Although there are methods and yeasts that can speed the prosses mead has a reputation for needing age.
For clearing I put bentonite and pectic enzime in primaries of everything I do.
If it doesnt come around it becomes vinegar.