My Apple Cider Mead - How did I do?

[JavaMac]

Hey folks. Yesterday was my second, more proper attempt at making any sort of wine or brew. I'll tell you about my first endeavour later.
I made the following recipe as a small batch, hoping it would turn out in about a year or so:
15 Apples
2Kg Honey
Dash of Cinnamon
1 pack EC-1118 Yeast

First, I put the honey in a pot with approx. 1/5 and brought it to a boil over approx. 45 minutes, and immediately brought the temp. down below boiling.
I peeled, cored, and blended the apples (my juicer started smoking) and put them in a large pot, adding equal parts water. I also added a little bit of cinnamon to the pot and brought it to a boil, holding it there for about fifteen minutes.
I started the yeast in a small bowl of warm sugar water covered for about ten minutes. I added the honey to the apple mash and stirred them together while the yeast was starting, mixing it together really well. I then pitched the yeast.
I immediately started bottling (unfortunately I have no fermenter) a strained mix with 1/4 water and airlocked them (three with balloons, and the big bottle has a real airlock. I also have the leftovers in a small pale, covered with a hole in the center (pin-hole).
I know this is a crude way to ferment, but I was unable to get to further supplies and needed to get a start on this this month, so I went ahead.
As this is my first 'real' attempt at this hobby, I'm anxious to hear from other people to hear if they think this will turn out, and also to hear if they think the recipe sounds good too. Thanks for any advice or input.

 

[fatbloke]

Hey folks. Yesterday was my second, more proper attempt at making any sort of wine or brew. I'll tell you about my first endeavour later.
I made the following recipe as a small batch, hoping it would turn out in about a year or so:
15 Apples
2Kg Honey
Dash of Cinnamon
1 pack EC-1118 Yeast

Ok, that doesn't look bad, though I'd suggest that you locate a little nutrient, as the apples, honey and cinnamon won't have enough - the EC-1118 is quite a furious fermenter so it might slow things down a little without nutrient (fermax, fermaidK or something like those)

First, I put the honey in a pot with approx. 1/5 and brought it to a boil over approx. 45 minutes, and immediately brought the temp. down below boiling.
I peeled, cored, and blended the apples (my juicer started smoking) and put them in a large pot, adding equal parts water. I also added a little bit of cinnamon to the pot and brought it to a boil, holding it there for about fifteen minutes.
I started the yeast in a small bowl of warm sugar water covered for about ten minutes. I added the honey to the apple mash and stirred them together while the yeast was starting, mixing it together really well. I then pitched the yeast.
I immediately started bottling (unfortunately I have no fermenter) a strained mix with 1/4 water and airlocked them (three with balloons, and the big bottle has a real airlock. I also have the leftovers in a small pale, covered with a hole in the center (pin-hole).
I know this is a crude way to ferment, but I was unable to get to further supplies and needed to get a start on this this month, so I went ahead.
As this is my first 'real' attempt at this hobby, I'm anxious to hear from other people to hear if they think this will turn out, and also to hear if they think the recipe sounds good too. Thanks for any advice or input.

So, to the method ?

Well I'm a great believer in "no heat", especially as you've used apples/juice. They will display a "cooked" taste in any of the apple flavour that remains. With apples it's either best to juice them either electric juicer or press - or you can ferment on the pulp - though that can be a little messy when it comes to straining it off the pulp. The no heat thing is because if you've used a honey that's got any kind of varietal flavour to it, heating it drives off a lot of the more subtle flavours/aromas (as can champagne yeast like EC-1118).

As for the actual fermenting ? Well, big bottles with balloons is as good a way as any, though it could leave room for infection of different types in different bottles/containers - plus temperature swings can affect the flavours some as well.

If you have a lidded plastic bucket (that will seal air tight), it's just as good to use that to be getting on with.....

If you can get it into such a container, then it will be easier to control the ferment, as well as treating it with sulphites/sorbate etc when it's done. Not forgetting the management of the clearing/racking etc.

If you don't already have the basic equipment then it's a good idea to get some i.e. bucket - lidded, with rubber/plastic grommet to allow fitting of airlock, airlock, hydrometer and testing jar. If you have something big enough to syphon the batch off the yeast into, once it's finished, then as long as the container is large enough, then you can just syphon into that, resanitise the bucket and then syphon the back back into the bucket to continue clearing.

It's fair to point out that while you can do these things like that, the whole point of using jars/demi-johns etc is to be able to minimise the air space above the finished ferment - meads/honey based wines don't suffer from oxidation in the same way grape/fruit wines do, but it's still better to avoid oxidation if possible.

If you have a dig around over at Gotmead and their forums, you'll find lots of hints, tips and ideas about how best to go about doing these sort of ferments. I think you'll find it worthwhile.

don't forget to post how you get on with this.

Oh and don't expect to have something drinkable anytime soon. The one thing that makes the biggest change (in a positive way) to taste/flavour of meads is ageing them. Think of 6 months to a year minimum. Some can take considerably longer.

Hope that helps some.

regards

fatbloke

 

[Malkore]

How large a batch is this? 2 gallons I hope? 2kg of honey is way too much for 1 gallon of mead.

Definitely don't boil your honey, especially that long. I do 'no heat' mead making, no issues. If it freaks you out too much, do a low heat pasteurizing instead so you don't drive off all the honey aroma.

My first cyser (apple mead) was just juice, 3lbs of honey, bread yeast...in a 1 gallon jug with no airlock. I had to vent it every day, several times, so it wouldn't explode in my closet. It was hot to drink but was still tastey. I was too young to brew legally and had none of the right supplies (I didn't even sanitize!), and we just drank it from the primary for a few days, then I poured it of into a different jug to finish it without pouring out all the sediment.

Ahh to be a dumb kid again!

 

[fatbloke]

Well spotted Malkore, how stupid of me to have missed the 2kg thing.

With the juice of 15 apples it'd be about 3lb of honey or possibly a 1/2lb more and if that didn't make it a gallon then it should be topped up with either water or more Apple juice.

2kg of honey is enough for about a gallon and a half.........