Sunday, November 23, 2008

Pumpkin Cyser Update

I racked the Pumpkin Cyser yesterday and discovered about 2" of lees in the bottom of the carboy. I also added 4 cinnamon sticks and a whole vanilla bean to the secondary. SG: 1.022.

Also, I am contemplating a new mead project: a chocolate mead. From what I read, the chocolate takes a longer time to age because of "oils" contained in the coca. I can find nothing more specific about this but most agree that the finished product is worth the wait. I hope to have a viable recipe by next weekend.

In addition, I bottled a traditional mead made from blackberry honey. I will post the finished stats soon.

-Safari Bob

7 comments:

tatgeer said...

I made a chocolate mead, and it actually didn't take too long. It was drinkable in a comparable amount of time to other batches, but is getting better all the time.

Safari Bob said...

Care to share the recipe?

tatgeer said...

hmm. looks like i was too slow, but here's what i did. my record keeping isn't as meticulous as yours, i'm afraid. :)

for 1 gallon:
1 tsp. yeast nutrient
1 packet red star champagne yeast
2 oz cocoa powder
11 c. water
4 c. white sage honey

SG = 1.114
potential abv = 15%

after a month i added another cup of honey.

bottled at 3 months.

Safari Bob said...

That looks like a good recipe! Did you add honey to back-sweeten? Up the punch?

tatgeer said...

I did it to back sweeten, but it seems to me that it then got even sweeter after sitting. Still not tooooo sweet, but could go a little drier.

That's been my impression with a couple of other batches, too - I bottle them and think they're not very sweet, but then when I taste them later, they are fairly sweet. i can't come up with a logical explanation for it, though.

tatgeer said...

any update on the pumpkin?

Safari Bob said...

Its still cloudy and I am considering some sort of fining agent or a filter. I get a distinct pumpkin flavor that is dry with a touch of vanilla. It is tasty!

SG: 1.012