Super Simple Cyser - Apple Mead - How to Make Mead

Super Simple Cyser. Or Apple Mead. How to make mead! Today we're showing you how to make mead, more accurately, cyser. Mead is made from honey and water, while cyser is apple juice (cider to us Americans) and honey. Technically that makes it a melomel, which is any mead with added fruit, but... let's be honest, there are dozens of types of mead. This is actually a really simple recipe, all you need is honey, apple juice and yeast. Get apple juice that has no preservatives and I try for the bottle with the least ingredients, today's juice said, "Ingredients: Apple Juice", that works for me. I also used a local wildflower honey. Sure, some will say various flavors of honey will affect the final product, and they are right, but, so will apple juice. Make sure to use quality ingredients and get a good yeast. I used Danstar Belle Saison for this, but Safale S04 is good too. To learn more, see our website at www.city-steadi....
Recipe:
2 lbs of warmed honey
1 gallon of apple juice (roughly)
1/2 t yeast
Hydrate yeast with some apple juice in a separate container. Set aside. Mix juice and honey in a sanitized carboy after adding all the honey and enough juice to fill the vessel half way. This step is important to incorporate all the honey before the carboy is too full to mix. Fill with the rest of the juice to about where the jug starts to curve to leave head space. Add hydrated yeast to the carboy. Fill airlock as indicated with sanitized water and close the carboy. Watch airlock for activity and wait for your cyser to ferment. Rack, bottle and enjoy!
Here's some links to the items we used in this video, if you purchase from these links, we get a very small commission at no extra cost to you:
1 gal carboy: amzn.to/2MEIbYF
Hydrometer: amzn.to/2JG9f3s
Star San: amzn.to/2C3VLzO
Plastic Funnel: amzn.to/2N1xLBM
Yeast: amzn.to/2r8CXaG
Bottles (not in this video, but come in handy!): amzn.to/2KqbMQA
Airlocks: amzn.to/2HDskHj
My Other Shirt is Chainmail t-shirt: amzn.to/2wuCZfC
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#cyser #mead #supersimplecyser #howtomakemead

[@davidsutton646]

Started my first batch of your simple cyser on October 1. On Halloween I noticed there was no more activity in the airlock or the carboy. After waiting a few more days, I decided to cold crash it. After about three days in the fridge, the cloudy cyser is now clear, golden in color, and it tastes great. Looking forward to making more.

[@RocRizzo]

Cyser is my favorite to make and drink. It is like liquid gold!

[@A.Filthy.Casual]

This guy is my new spirit animal...

[@geoffmallett]

I made this, having had a lot of failures. It is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Quite strong, but you can taste the honey and the apples and it tastes wonderful. Great recipe, great channel. I'm definitely a committed city steader from here on in. And sooooo simple.

[@srirachaegg2518]

Mixed a batch last night, mesquite honey & juice that came in its own carboy. Added broken Ceylon cinnamon stick + 2 whole cloves boiled in a bit of juice as you described to pasteurize. Today the whole pantry smells like yeast & apples & it's just bubbling away. Thank you!

[@daniellelighton8729]

Love your videos, just racked my first Cyser using your video as a guide, but I used bread yeast.....it turned out SUPER yummy!!! Thank you and your wife for all of the hard work you put in to make these videos!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I've used it for cyser before, yeah, turns out pretty good!

[@Orndrup3]

I just made my first cyser. Thank you for inspiring me to do it. Now we just wait 😊

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The waiting is the hardest part!

[@Chrisevs88]

Just finished making my first batch. Cant wait until it's ready to try!

[@thetruejay20]

One of my new favorite channels!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thanks for your support!

[@steveskouson9620]

One of mine, too! steve

[@shanevanhove8026]

Same, I watched this video and took the rest of the day off to go make it. Might be rich but Christians is at my house this year. Lol

[@sebast007]

oh, that is why last time I went to the USA the waitress did not understand my order. I asked for cider, then apple cider, and finaly apple wine. I was sure it meant the same thing,. In french cidre is apple wine. Great video thx for sharing

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yup! Here we have cider, juice and hard cider. Apple wine is more rare..... It's like ordering latte in Italy, you'll get a glass o milk. But in the US, it's a coffee drink.

[@beefitbeekeeping]

Great video!! Thank you ☺️

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thank you for watching!

[@Madkalibyr]

I’ve been brewing kombucha for a month or so and want to explore creating other beverages. This channel is awesome,I think I’ll try this first

[@mattrebow4]

You remind me of Jamie off of Mythbusters with that hat.

[@michaelpthompson]

Jamie wears a beret and has no beard, (just a majestic mustache) but otherwise, yeah.

[@michaelpthompson]

@@rayskitten78 OK, a little one, but it's overshadowed by his walrus mustache.:-)

[@seanolivares9738]

Dude. Idk how but I can tell you were buzzed, or feeling good rather, during the filming of this video lol great video.

[@bradstanton1344]

Badass shirt👍 Well done sir

[@mrturtle52]

This is definitely next on my list of recipes

[@BernardMiller-u4t]

Folks I had doubts on the twenty sixth of October. I made the recipe you show here and surprisingly today being 0512 in the morning I arrived home to see and smell my fermenting which initially had an unusual smell which I couldn’t place or point at. It smells amazing today and is vigorously still gassing at a rapid rate. The amazing part is the honey is Lowes foods brand pure honey and Publix apple juice concentrate, with 25 Sun-Maid Raisans chopped and red Star yeast. Three days and it’s fermenting it started about 8 am 2nd day and now’s it’s bubbling like Fish tank air pump. I originally wanted to build a contraption to make shine but this is legal and will suit my palate. Shine tastes like rubbing alcohol. Thank you for sharing on KZbin best ever channel it’s my video guide to brewing. Thank you my friends.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thank you. Glad to help!

[@BernardMiller-u4t]

@@CitySteadingBrews I am honored that you noticed and I assume you were up that early thanks for responding. She’s still percolating as of 0151 on the thirtieth.

[@theastronomer5800]

Excellent and informative video. My first one was a complete success and I just started my second one yesterday! First one was with clover honey and apple cider (it cleared beautifully) and now I'm trying one with wildflower honey and clear apple juice to compare. I'll have to do more different comparisons in the future :)

[@hmm1q]

which one was better?

[@chrisblankenship8053]

I just put down my first Cyser today. Thank you for all your videos and inspiration.

[@redtiger4169]

Hello!!!! I tried this recipe or in December and it was sitting in my closet for four months. I used a bread yeast. Took a measurement it came out more like a beer than a mead.. It tastes really good just wasnt excepting that.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Cysers do tend to taste more like a (hard) cider or beer rather than a mead. I'm glad you like it!

[@BigFunnyGiant]

I am really glad I stumbled on your videos. I recently started homebrewing myself. Well, technically for the second time, I used a “spike your juice” kit once a few years ago. I want to do more than just homemade wine, so I’ve been watching lots of KZbin videos. Oh, and I also live in Florida.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Welcome aboard!

[@GypsyRose666]

Huzzah! sounds perfect for Faire.

[@johnnyelectric4844]

so appreciate you and your video thank youuuuuu

[@gadrockduke]

Just made my first, and this will be a second one for me! I cannot wait to try this one!

[@matthewkeller5379]

Finally started my simple cyser, although I added the orange peel, chopped raisin and black tea mixture from traditional mead video. Hopefully comes out well, it already smells amazing! OG 1.107 :)

[@johnk2385]

I did the same Matthew, with a little be pollen and boiled bread yeast in the tannin tea, 2 nights ago and fermenting nicely

[@thechakkim7993]

Awesome Im going to make some today

[@shadcrow522]

Thats an excellent recipe, so simple. I will wait to see the next video on how it turns out. Thanks...

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The next video has been our for a while.

[@reghardtvanderrijst9800]

like watching some of the older vids... :-)

[@billychandler5892]

Thanks for the great video and the info. I will started my first cyser after watching this.

[@alexboeve59]

Hey guy n gal! So I went and made this super simple cyser following your guidelines and that worked out quite nice. I however felt like experimenting and divided the cyser over three vessels for secondary. One I did not change at all, and I kept it at FG 1000 (at about 14% alc). One I added some more honey to and it's doing it's thing, no questions there. The third (1,5 liter) I went a bit more playful on and I added 250 grams of cherries, 50 grams of raisins and 100 grams of additional honey. It worked out superbly and stopped at 1008, bringing it to about 18% according to my calculations. And now finally to my question! What have I created? It was a cyser, but then came the cherries. What should this be called? Melomel? Still a cyser? I'm confused :-) Thanks for all the help I get on your fabulous channel!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Mead :) Don't get too hung up on the naming conventions, it's all mead. I suppose it'd just be a melomel.

[@alexboeve59]

@@CitySteadingBrews thanks! It is very confusing with all the *official* names indeed.

[@RichlandJoey]

I did a simple cyser and it tasted good but, for me, it was missing something. I did another batch but added a couple cinnamon sticks. Although you could taste a bit of the cinnamon in the finished batch, I was hoping for something a bit stronger. So, time to experiment!!! I warmed up a pint of the apple juice and added 4 ounces of cinnamon imperials (those round, hot cinnamon candies) to dissolve them. It turns the cyser a blood-red and I got the "in-your-face" cinnamon flavor I was looking for. I called my new recipe a cinna-cyser. Next test - same recipe and add a little nutmeg...going for an apple pie cyser!

[@zackpetersen1560]

If you want a simple Apple Pie Cyser Recipe I would do 1 Gallon of Water 4lbs of Avocado Honey 1lb (Can) of Apple Pie Filling 5g of Lalvin QA23 yeast It’s an easy recipe to use when teaching others, such as family members, how to make good tasting meads👍

[@zackpetersen1560]

You could also add a few sticks of cinnamon later on if it is not to your liking

[@louiel8711]

Just made my first ferment ever, I hope it turns out good can't wait to try it.

[@Max_Snellink]

I'm still on a Kefir leaf quest diving deep into the vault. Dude this was 5 years ago and you look younger today. Must be all the home produce. This will be my next project a nice Cyser. Loving the early videography as its evolution into what we are treated to today. Just made my first Mead Movie for KZbin.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Sooo much has changed in 5 years, for sure!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The kefir lime leaves weren’t at all as it turns out. They were rangpur limes. We used them in… pomegranate I think? And something else I cannot recall. They did NOT add to the experience in a positive way. 0/10 would not recommend. It is possible some of those videos were removed too. We do that from time to time if we feel it’s giving out bad information.

[@Max_Snellink]

@@CitySteadingBrews Ahhh.. When you said in one video if you havent seen the kefir leaves you've not watched enough videos i was on 6 to 8 hours daily binge watching and had to go find that video to appease the im not eatching enough joke.. Leaf quest or not. I'm still on the same frequency and time with your most wonderful channel.. Payday I'll be ordering a Thwack your packet T shirt. Thats ambiguous in my world for a double giggle.

[@Hrolfsca]

Thanks for the content just made my first attempt at mead making over the weekend and followed this one.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Nice work!

[@Hrolfsca]

​@@CitySteadingBrews Question on this. It has been 36 hours and no sign of anything. This is what I used. I used 1 gallon 100% apple cider, 3lbs 100% natural honey from a local source Hair over 1/2 pack (3 grams) of Lalvin D47 yeast which I hydrated in the apple juice. coercedimpatient

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It can take a few days sometimes.

[@abitofthisabitofthatwithda5379]

BRIAN OPINION NEEDED! ALL OPINIONS WELCOME! i just came out of brewing retirement for a buddy's wedding. always brewed in a small group and never seen a major blow out. im using a Speidel 30L fermenter. it says you can brew 7.9 gallons. with all the head room i think i could do about 10 gallons o mead. its big!! i would have to measure it out. im doing 5 gallons of Mott's fresh/considerate, 5 lbs honey(about a 1/2 gallon), 3 quarts TART cherry juice, the store didnt have SWEET cherry juice(about 3/4 gallons and yes i seen ur last vid. TART!), yeast nutrient for 5 gallons and wpl720(because i head good things about it). mixed on this past friday. came down sat morn(15/16 hrs later!) the beginning of a major blow out! major if it was in a regular 5g carboy! like i said before i never had a blow out before. the speidel come with an Andrea the giant airlock! looks like a 3 peace airlock! dumped the airlock right then and there. then again a few hrs later. went to ace and go some canning cloth. then wet the cloth and rubber band the wet cloth over the bung hole. for all you Beavis and But head freaks! SHHHHH!!!!! i already have the image running through my head! LOL!!! your opinion on using a wet cloth till the blow out resided. didnt loose much thanks to all that headroom the Speidel 30L has!! if i was to put an amount on the loss- maybe a shot glass and a half. almost didnt get the speidel because i have two 5 gallon carboys in case i chose to come out of brewing retirement. IM GLAD I I GOT THE SPEIDEL!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Sounds like you have one hell of a fermentation going! I think you're fine. Lots of people say to just put cheesecloth over a ferment in the first week, so you're good there. the blowout is just a really active fermentation, happens a lot with beer. On the plus side... your yeast are happy :) If you only lost a shot and a half, ehh, chalk it up to the donation to the mead gods. Best of luck, I'm curious to hear how it comes out.

[@abitofthisabitofthatwithda5379]

LOL! im a man of many faiths. the fist thing thing i did was to ask Odin and the lot for a successful batch after almost 20ish yrs not brewing. there getting the first round! who you kidding! it was like 7ish am NY slandered time when i checked it and it was playing Krakatoa for almost 12 hrs before was able to put the airlock back on and popping smoothly. i think i would have lost way more if i used a 5g carboy. i have heard horror stories about blow outs with meads and ciders. never did any beers. im an out of the loop medievalist getting back into what i enjoy again. if im granted success ill post it on my rinky dink channel. i was too exited and wasnt thinking u-tube. ILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN ITS UP. i may do 2 maybe 3. 1st rack, 2nd rack and bottling. thats if i remember! ill let you know. needless to say- LUV DAT SHIRT!

[@abitofthisabitofthatwithda5379]

City Steading I told you I would give you the heads up when the video is out. Well I did 3 shorties! Going to do an every 2 week update till 3rd or the beginning of the last week in sept. Just in fingers crossed time fore a wedding.

[@slowe60]

I Love the shirt! Besides mead, my other favorite thing to do is chain Mail...

[@theastronomer5800]

Cool! I have made several pieces as well. I have not tried drinking my mead while wearing one (yet). Maybe I will next time I go axe throwing :)

[@MeadyBeard]

I just finished the begining of my first batch. Just put it in a room we use for storage, and eagerly await to hear bubbling in a day or so. Trying it with Lalvin 71B-1122. Thus begins the waiting game.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Time seems to be the biggest ingredient sometimes.

[@darlasherwood8799]

We have really enjoyed your videos and have just gotten out fermentation. equipment. We're anxious to begin our own mead adventures!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Awesome! Happy brewing! I still have a couple bottles of this cyser aging!

[@thormach]

Love this channel. Starting my first brew today with an apple cyser. The airlock was one dollar.

[@thormach]

just finished and the reading came out at 1.120 . Only thing I changed from above was I used raisins instead of the nutrient.

[@phillipduncan2497]

I started a batch of this an hour ago, Looking forward to tasting it. Bought a gallon of organic apple juice at Whole Foods for less than $10. It came in a glass jug like the ones you use. I purchased an empty jug from our local brew store and it was over $6. Thank you for your videos. It gives me something to do in the winter when my bees are waiting out the winter.

[@danhealy9906]

Thought about this since I saw your first video, need to make a trip down to our brew store.

[@bryantblack514]

i fashioned a bug filter out of a paper towel..... by taping a paper towel over the vent holes on the air lock it can breathe sufficiently while preventing critter entry

[@Ninathemystictruther]

Hey am back lol I finally did my apple cider mead lol got a gallon of apple cider (from the farmers market) put in just over 1 lb of honey (half raw unfiltered/half no name brand) 1 tsp of fermaid-o and 1 pack of Lalvin 71-B , fingers crossed lol

[@gailedon]

I made this as my first attempt at mead starting July 21st with a SG of 1.100. I racked it on 8/21 when it had stayed at 1.022 SG for a week. It was surprisingly tasty then. A mild alcohol harshness in the middle but strong honey and apple in the beginning and especially an apple finish. I'm a little concerned about headspace because I didn't have a smaller bottle and this is just below the shoulder of the one gallon fermenter. It also doesn't really seem to be clearing. I'm thinking I need to get one of those 3 liter Carlo Rossi bottles and rack it again. I added a couple of cinnamon sticks when I racked it and I am really looking forward to seeing those notes added.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Clarity is overrated to be honest. Mine is 2 years old, a little hazy and tastes as you describe! Yes, I still have some from this video! Those 3L bottles are great in this situation.

[@williamoneil9787]

You guys are awesome!...I just made a Cyser and your video gave me some great tips...I spiced mine with oak cinnamon cloves and ginger in the secondary ..about a week...what I got was incredibly good..very dry...and tasted like a dry white wine with some tartness and apple in the background mostly cinnamon background with an oaky finish....just wondering how I could make it sweeter...I've had some commercial Mead's...to compare..I like mine..and it's my first batch..how do I make it sweeter without carbonating it.. oh I used champagne yeast..thanks again..I'm hooked!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's the yeast tolerance and amount of sugar that makes sweet or dry... here's a video explaining it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJKvnX2Lgqd4hJI

[@joelfell6205]

Made it with 3 pounds of honey... whoops be interesting how it tastes added vanilla bean and dark sweet cherries as well

[@CitySteadingBrews]

So... you made something completely different than this, lol. Might be sweet and high ABV depending on what yeast you used.

[@tylerhebert8237]

Just followed this recipe and I am anxiously awaiting the first bubbles. It is 66° F in the closet I have it stored and the temp will get in the low 60s overnight so I wrapped it in a pillowcase.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

60f and above should be just fine. Just might take a wee bit longer to ferment.

[@tylerhebert8237]

Just racked it and tasted it. Like a good I didn't write down the starting gravity, but it should have been 1.10x or something. Measured it at 1.001 so I think it's pretty much done. It's a little harsh, but the flavor is good. Cloudy as all hell, so I'm gonna let it sit for a while. My intent is to let it sit for 1-2 weeks in the secondary, then bottle it. Anything I need to cognizant of?

[@Allazander]

Unfiltered honey is unfiltered. Any of those little bits you don't want in it float in honey. The honey is allowed to settle for a period of time, the bits are skimmed off and the clear honey is drawn from the bottom.

[@briancroegaert4856]

Hello Brian and Derica! Posting on this older one as it pertains to a cyser. Recipe is: 3 lb honey clover, 1 gal apple juice and Lavin 71Beast. OG turned out to be 1.145 (eek!) I knew I was in for a wild ride. It has been over 4 weeks, and just checked spgr is at 1.055. Tasting confirms super sweet. I see no action up the sides of my glass 1 gal fermenter, and no bubbles in the airlock. By my calculations with the "advanced" method on my app, I'm looking at 14.44 ABV, which is essentially the tolerance of the yeast. I will check in a week for spgr changes. Planning ahead- what are your thoughts on getting this spgr down to a more drinkable 1.020 or less?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You can dilute or use stronger yeast.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

But, you're at more like 12.5% so give it time.

[@thomaschristensen5592]

I started one to Day. 4 kg Honey, 500g dark muskavado sugar, 500g raisins and 16,5l applejuice. Og 1.103. Hope it is going to be great. And I only pay 1,8$ here 😁

[@johnburke5087]

Just curious. Did you take a hydrometer reading? Seems like a lot of sugar

[@johnburke5087]

Ahh I see your reading. Thank you

[@thomaschristensen5592]

Yes i did, 1.103

[@chackett99]

Love your videos and enjoy your content. I wish that you would update the descriptions on videos like this. How did it turn out? Did you bottle it still or was there any sugar left to make it sparkling after your bottle? Would love to have seen the end product on this.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We actually have a follow up video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZjCd2OPn66Wi6M

[@scottarico3090]

Thanks to your video, @citysteading, I'm going to take my third and first successful forray into brewing things.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Third and first successful. I like that.

[@markbarnes6626]

I only have bread yeast(plenty of it) . Will that not work for cyser or will it be decent? I'm on disability so money is very tight.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I use bread yeast a lot, no worries.

[@nixvonedge]

I made a new Cyser on the 26th of last month. With Martinelli's Unfiltered Apple Juice, a cup of Lipton tea, and 3 pounds of honey. My reading on my Hydrometer was 60 way at the bottom of it. My airlock almost blew out twice now it is almost empty. What would be my abv? And should I change out my airlock?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I'll guess your gravity was about 1.150 or so. That's going to be tough for a yeast to ferment well, just so you're aware. I'd replace the airlock and liquid in it yes. Your ABV, if it is able to finish, could be about 20%, but, I doubt it will get there as most yeast don't go that high. Next time, use less honey, as the apple juice has sugars too.

[@brandenstrochinsky2865]

Im going to try to make 5 gallons of this as my second mead e v e r

[@ghostcraft9343]

I can’t believe this is the exact same recipe as the one I made yesterday

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Why not?

[@ghostcraft9343]

CS Brews I just thought it was odd

[@CitySteadingBrews]

@@ghostcraft9343 A simple cyser is pretty common, yeah.

[@ghostcraft9343]

CS Brews cool

[@billybobjones4317]

Just curious but why do you need to pasteurise the apple juice ? Is it in case they didn't wash their hands when they squeezed the apples or in case they didn't wash their feet if they made the juice like they make grape juice in Italy ? I am going to make a Cyser after my next Honey harvest as I will have two gallons of spare honey. If I make my own apple juice will I need to cook it ?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We didn't pasteurize it and don't recommend it unless there's a good reason.

[@iannicely1]

I just started some of this on Friday and that’s exactly what happened. I ended up pitching more yeast

[@honeylady108]

Brian and Derica, I watched this video and tonight I made a gallon of Apple cyser. I used about 2 lbs honey, maybe a little less, and Publix Greenwise Apple juice. I used favorite pitcher to mix the honey and juice and aerated like crazy. For yeast I used 1 tsp Red Star Premier Cote des Blancs, and 1/4 tsp fermaid O. I poured it all back into the 1 gallon carboy that the apple juice was in. I thought about throwing in a cinnamon stick and 1 clove, haven't done it but wondered your thoughts on it. In your video, your o.g. was 1.090. Mine is 1.118. Will that be a problem? Sounds high to me. Thank you!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's only 28 points :) I'm finding your honey to be a little higher than 35 points per pound by the way! It's alright, should be fine. Different juices might be different too.

[@chriscummins6325]

I am going to try this, where is the second vid? do you have a link please?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZjCd2OPn66Wi6M

[@ghostreapr3292]

Good morning, I'm just getting started in brewing and I want to make my first batch of Cyser based off you simple cyser recipe. Does it matter if I use a carboy still fermenter or a wide mouth? Your input is greatly appreciated & keep up the great work. I always look forward to your videos. Thanks

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The main difference is size and ease of access. If you're using all juice, either is fine. If you're using whole fruits that need to be removed... wide mouth is easier, obviously. For me though, the size difference matters. I might start in the narrow neck, then rack to a wide mouth since I find they are about 10% smaller.

[@ghostreapr3292]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you so much. I'm just using juice so I'll definitely go with the narrow. You guys are great and I'll ordering my supplies from your Amazon page. Hope you have a great day!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Thank you!

[@georgiapinball]

Could you use Fleischman's bread yeast for this recipe?

[@randomness3235]

I look forward to making this! Does it clear up though or remain that cloudy color? Thanks.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It clears in a few weeks.

[@borttorbbq2556]

Quick question so I'm a huge fan of spiced apple cider especially in winter. So my question is should I spice my cider first for primary fermentation should I use the spices once I have it racked and it's going for secondary fermentation or should I add it to the primary but not spice The Cider before hand? The Cider I'm using will be kind of expensive one of the drawbacks to living in Seattle so I would prefer not having to experiment

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Well, it's probably better to flavor in secondary, due to the spices you want will be antibacterials, so can harm the fermentation.

[@borttorbbq2556]

@@CitySteadingBrews thank you that is very useful to know

[@antham8112]

As a beekeeper, I've actually heard that you use your nastiest, least appealing dregs of honey to make mead. Obviously those aiming for incredible quality won't want to do this, but that's how it was used when food utilisation really mattered. Good honey would be used as a preservative or directly as flavouring. With that in mind, I don't think it matters all that much about what honey you use.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I can test it but... good honey tastes better to me than cheap honey so... I think there would be a difference in the mead.

[@antham8112]

@@CitySteadingBrews I 100% agree with the taste difference in raw and cheap honey. I don't have much experience brewing as I've only made a single hydromel, but maybe I'll see for myself too. Thank you for the video, I was wondering how to go about making a mead with foraged blackberries, apples, and pears; and I might just mix up the fruit into a juice and then treat it like this recipe.

[@trudyhoffmann6405]

Is there a comparison yeast for what you used? I want to try this. I have to order everything!

[@Offgridheathen]

Hi,I was wondering can I use a plastic home-brew barrel?Not a gallon glass bottle. Other question is would I have to fill my barrel near the top?Thankyou Arv.🙂

[@CitySteadingBrews]

If it’s safe for brewing, sure.

[@madisenmus2135]

If I start this in a week will it be aged enough to be tasty by thanksgiving?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

We have a newer version of this... kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXi7oXx5pL11hck&ab_channel=CitySteadingBrews Much better and was good to drink in just a couple months.

[@crustybear]

Apologies if this has been asked before, but theres so many of your vids with so many comments, hard to sift through them all. Q: When you take things out of your red epic sanitization bucket, do you need to rinse off the sanitizer with clear water? I would imagine unboiled tap water would re-introduce some germs.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It’s a no rinse sanitizer so no we do not for the exact reason you said :)

[@crustybear]

@@CitySteadingBrews I got another Q along that line, If I may: Our tap water here is quite tasty directly from the tap, but we don't have an RO system. If you were to add such water to lets say a hydromel, would you still boil it first just to be safe / kill anything that potentially lives in there?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Possibly try it without first. Most likely not necessary which I lnow sounds off given the readon for not rinsing.

[@cbates55]

What effect would there be by adding a "Black Tea, 1/2 an Orange peel & about an once of Raisins" (steeped liquid mixture) to it?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Not a lot of difference. More tannins maybe.

[@retireddec04]

Can I make cyser with raw cider just fresh pressed, not homogenized? Just salvaging some extra apples from my Mom's backyard. I was going to try it with honey as you did here.

[@hutdon23]

Hi, question. For the yeast. I bought a packet of Lalvin, Wine Yeast. Says for wine, so assume it's ok. What are yeast nutrient and yeast energizer, does all of that come in my packet? Also says, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ex-bayanus)

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yeast energizer and nutrient are pretty much what they say, no they do not come with the yeast. We don't use energizer, but use Fermaid O as our nutrient of choice.

[@shadowfirekarp]

You can also use raisins instead of the nutrient.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yes... I keep meaning to! Though I have heard they do nothing too.

[@77k10]

@@CitySteadingBrews how much raisins would you use in this 1 gallon of cyser?

[@timsmith602]

I make cheers as well, but I add cut up apples at the same time I was wondering have you ever done it that way.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Apples and cherries in mead... never did that but sounds good to me!

[@rogerlareau7621]

Brian I was wondering if you can 1 mix frozen apples in with the apple juice and how much for a 1 gal batch if I should do it in 1 primary or secondary thanks for the info love your channel Roger

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You can, the amount is personal preference, and I like to do it in primary and conditioning. I know... so helpful, but honestly it's personal choice here.

[@rogerlareau7621]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks Brian love your mead and wine channel I think I have watch all of them can't wait for the new ones to come out

[@gailedon]

This is my first brew and I made it last night. I know you said you agitate it pretty often the first few days, how often should I be swirling it after that? The airlock is bubbling away, and I'm pretty excited.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

I swirld for a bout a week or so, but no specific timeline.

[@gailedon]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thanks so much. I'm going to be starting a couple more of your recipes soon. You guys make it simple and I really appreciate that.

[@CarlPapa88]

Just rewatching older videos. Peels from a few apple wouldn't provide much nutrients besides some nitrogen, would they?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Nitrogen is exactly what the yeast need.

[@tomminou]

Hi Brian, I just discovered your videos it's facinating! I was wondering if it is possible to brew cyser and mead with spontanious fermentation? Only using wild yeast? If yes does the fermentation take longer? Thanks for sharing your knowlegde! I like your style, efficent, simple and direct. Cheers from Belgium

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Okay... wild fermentation is highly dependent on where you are and where you got your honey. I'd think if you popped down the road to a beekeeper and he cracked open a comb and gave you honey and you made mead with that... you have a yeast strain embedded that -might- work with the honey well enough to make a good mead, but you never know. I live in the middle of a city, lots of cars, pollution, etc. I can't imagine what kind of yeast would like to call that environment home, so I haven't done a wild fermentation .... yet. Though I plan to do one with cider, just to see. Wild fermentations take longer to start, usually by a few days. The wild yeasts generally have lower alcohol tolerances than commercial strains too. Thanks for your support!

[@tomminou]

Ok I see what you mean, I live in a city too so I guess it's better to put all chances on your side. I'm gonna get me some material and get started, I've been dreaming about doing my own mead for a long time. Thank you very much for time, I love your channel. =)

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Anytime! Do you have a local brew supply? I tend to go there or use Amazon. If you use Amazon, please use one of the links in the description, it gives us a tiny commission on your purchase at no cost to you. It's one way we can afford to keep making videos.

[@tomminou]

Will do!

[@billybobjones4317]

Just to let you know about Honey, as you made a slight error by saying Honey has to be filtered or there will be odd bits in it, this is incorrect as I have Hives and never need to filter my Honey, and nothing goes into my jars other than the occasional Bee and raw unfiltered Honey. The Bee gets scooped out and hopefully had used the feet cleaner I put at the entrance to the Hive ;) It really depends on what Hive system you are using, if you have Flow hives then no filter is required, Using plastic or Wax frames, you may need to use a strainer of some form, they may not class a strainer as a filter ? Hope this helps as far as the filtering necessity of Honey :) Just search Flow frames on KZbin to see what I mean, cheers

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Fair enough.

[@stephenrogers2502]

Hi, I have kindly been given several crates of farm house pressed apple juice and would like to make a Cyser from it. There are several variety of apple juices in the crates, all with different SG. The apple juices I have range from 1.035 to 1.45. Is there a tool or method I can use to work out the blend of apple juice to honey to get an SG of about 1.1?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Honey is around .035 per pound in a gallon of must. The best ciders come from mixing apples, so I'd mix those juices then add honey. You'll need to go from 1.040 to 1.100 if you mixed half and half or so. That's 2 lbs of honey and cider to fill a gallon.

[@stephenrogers2502]

@@CitySteadingBrews Thank you for the reply. I will be sure to blend the juices.

[@allendunwoody3505]

Greetings! Love the channel... I noticed after making my cyser that the apple cider I used Contained potassium sorbate. Will this affect the brew? Thanks Kindly!

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Yes. It may never ferment. You might get lucky though.

[@jbrn4500]

Can you explainabout the yeast a bit more...where do we purchase it? And, is Brewer's Yeast something you could use here?

[@theastronomer5800]

Any yeast will do. One of my friends does wild ferments so he doesn't add any, but sometimes that takes a while to start. The advantage of wine yeasts is that the lees on the bottom will the more compacted, so it's easier to rack.

[@DavidThomasTimmer]

For a five gallon batch can I use three gallons water 2 gallons cider 15 one vin stick and 15lbs of honey?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Multiply our recipe by 5.

[@n000000ber]

What about bread yeast? I have some Fleischmans left over from making a "very first mead"

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You can certainly use bread yeast.

[@Offgridheathen]

Hi guys,me again. I took your advice and brought my apple 🍎 juice that I juiced myself out of organic apples to the boil on the stove ,it's taking a very long time to cool to room temperature. My question is can I put my pot of juice in fridge to get temp down to room temperature faster?Can I cool It down too much,if I left in fridge too long? Thankyou,and best wishes,Arv from Australia.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You can't cool it down too much (unless you freeze it). And it really only needs to be below the temperature of hurting your yeast. So it needs to be below 140 F or 60 C.

[@alexhansen5418]

I started a cyser on 15Jan21 using 3/4 gal apple cider and about 3 lbs honey with 2 cinn sticks and 4 cloves, and lalvin 71b, OG 1.13. It has been nearly a month and seems to have stalled at 1.035or about 12%ABV well below lalvin 71b tolerance. I racked it today to get it off the cinn sticks and cloves and was hoping it would continue to slowly ferment down. A taste test revealed it is sweeter than I prefer, lacking in the spiced flavor I was hoping for. and definitely still a bit green. Tastes like alcohol first, with a apple juice and honey flavor after. My question is do I re-pitch to try to get it down another 10 to 15 points? Did the cinnamon possibly hinder the fermentation?

[@theastronomer5800]

If your OG was 1.13, that can give you ~17% abv but 71B goes to around 14%, so you probably maxed out the yeast. Perhaps a Lalvin 1118 yeast that goes to 18% would help. I had something similar happen to another mead, I put it in a warmer place and added a bit of year and it dropped another 20 points (it was at 1.040 after two months, with 71B, and well within the tolerance of the yeast). 3lb of honey in a cyser is a fair bit, as the apple juice has its own sugar. Good luck!

[@greenthumbpatriot3295]

Just made this, I’m on day two of ferment and I have a white wrinkly blob in the bottom 1 1/2” of my 1/2 gallon jar. Is this normal for cyser or did I just get my first ferment failure?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It's normal.

[@MFLuder-ru2bl]

Can i use lavin 47 for this as well

[@jasonheiser9770]

I started a one gallon cyser yesterday, Apple cider (almost a gallon) 2lbs raw honey 1/2 pack lalvin k1-v1116 1tsp feramax nutrient. Sg 1.096 Still no activity, all my other brews pick up in the first few hours? What should I do

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It can take up to three days.

[@dc5131]

If you don’t pasteurize the cider - I’m assuming it’ll rot ?

[@alexanderlarrabee4704]

Hi I’m a new mead maker and started a cyser last week based on your recipe except using a cider for a local orchard that was pasteurized by the orchard but I couldn’t get any nutrients my question is do I need to add the nutrients to my mead or is there an substitute I can find at the local supermarket I can add instead? The mead seams active but slow. Thank you

[@CitySteadingBrews]

No need, we don't usually add them anyway. Mead will ferment slow anyway.

[@themonkeyking5]

I just made some with 3 cinnamon sticks in it and a bit of lemon. It's been a month, no more bubbles, some of the apples I put in are still floating. I gave it a little taste and I can really taste the alcohol, but hardly anything else. Should I rack it, and add more honey, apple juice, or cinnamon?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

At this point, it's personal taste. Over time, with some aging, honey and apple flavors will come back.

[@carrievonpseudonym9398]

Would pectin be useful with a Cyser? Would it impede the fermentation?

[@michaelkisil4052]

Not pectin, pectin enzyme, it breaks down pectin. Pectin is what causes jelling in jelly, in wine it makes wine hazy and hard to get clear wine or cyser. Most fruits need pectin enzyme to achieve optimum clearity.

[@tazblink]

I am considering adding honey to my hard cider that has been fermenting for about a week. It is still very active and the airlock is bubbling once a second or more. Is it to late to add honey and make it a cyser or do I still have time to add the honey as long as the cider is chugging along? Thanks for any help.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It’s fine. You can add it now.

[@markbarnes6626]

Me again. If I added 1/2 to 1 cup of brown sugar to this would it change anything drastically?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

It would alter your gravity reading, yes. It will either come out sweeter or with a bit more alcohol, depending on the yeast you use. Why brown sugar?

[@markbarnes6626]

@@CitySteadingBrews I like the taste of brown sugar.

[@Alex.Jones.914]

Curious - why not use fresh apples instead of juice? Thanks for the video.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Juice is easier.

[@Alex.Jones.914]

@@CitySteadingBrews fair enough! I just started a batch of apple mead with fresh chopped apples and it’s fermentation is off to an unusually slow start… wondering if I didn’t get all of the wax off. Time will tell 🤷🏻‍♂️ Love the content y’all put out too. Thanks for sharing.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Wax should ‘t affect fermentation but could maybe possibly affect flavor.

[@stanford2444]

Watched this video after watching your traditional Mead video. I noticed you used a pound less honey for a gallon of Cyser then for the Mead. Is that because you get some sugar from the cider (juice)? Feel it is kind of a dumb (and picky) question, but the juice can not have as much sugar as honey. So maybe not quite as much alcohol? Yeah, watched the next one and it was a little less alcohol.

[@CitySteadingBrews]

The juice has about a 1.055 gravity on it's own so... that's about 1.5 lbs of honey worth!

[@TwoMorbid]

Really want to try making this but unsure what yeast I should use. Would Gervin cider yeast work?

[@georgewiggins3578]

Brian, do you need to test the gravity of the apple juice by itself before adding the honey? Will this cause a differance in ABV calculation because the apple juice is already more dense than water?

[@CitySteadingBrews]

You don’t have to no. Most is about 1.050 or so. When you add hony they just combine. So if you are trying to hit an ezact gravity then measuring separately might help.

[@sunnybremer9413]

good morning .novice herd going to try to make some meatd cider so I just wanna make sure I'm going to have the correct supplied: apple juice 2 pounds pure honey apple juice yeast then set everything up for a few weeks is that correct? I'm going to use this this is this ok? North Mountain Supply 1 Gallon Glass Fermenting Jug with Handle, #6. 5 Rubber Stopper, Twin Bubble Airlock, & Black Plastic L

[@CitySteadingBrews]

Follow along with what we did in the video and you will be fine.