Mead I have Known: Golden Delicious

One of my favorite meads to drink is batch 3-004: Golden Delicious. This cyser embodies Autumn for me and is smooth, sweet without being cloying, and oh so tasty with a lovely touch of cinnamon.

In addition, this cyser won silver at the 2010 Cactus Challenge and took less than four months from brew (6.16.07) to bottle (10.6.07)! The only downside to this cyser is that I am almost out and I need to hoard the few remaining bottles in my cellar. Perhaps I need to start a new batch--soon. Here is the recipe; please let me know if you start a batch of your own.

3-004

• 1 gal clover honey
• Apple juice to 5 gal
• 1 lb dark brown sugar
• 1.12 oz apple pie spice
• 1 vanilla bean (secondary)
• 3 tsp yeast nutrient
• 1 pk K1V-1116
• OG: 1.138
• FG: 1.014
• ABV: 17.1%

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Cactus Challenge 2010 Results

Tonight the award winners from the 2010 Cactus Challenge were announced during the award ceremony. Earlier in the day I went to help judge a couple of beer styles and met in person a few of the people from Ale-ian Society (the host of the Cactus Challenge) that I only know from the forum. It is sad, really, as I do live in the same town as these folks. I helped judge the Brown Ales and Fruit Beers entries.

Although I had to leave the judging around 1pm, Nancy and I did make it back for the dinner and awards ceremony and we had a great time. The folks at theAle-ian Society are all good people. We sat with a couple from Plainview, TX and laughed so hard we were crying. They shared with us a wonderful, tasty Jalapeno Ale that they entered (it won 2nd in the Spice/Herb & Vegetable Beers category). Also, we bought 6 raffle tickets for $5 and Nancy won a t-shirt and a $10 gift certificate to a brew shop. Good times.

You may recall that I entered meads into three categories: cyser, traditional, and other. Unfortunately, they did not have enough mead entries to judge in separate categories so they combined all the mead entries into one category. Here are the results:

• First Place: Safari Bob, Mockingbird Alley aka Prickly Pecker (Southwestern Cyser--prickly pear)


• Second Place: Safari Bob, Golden Delicious (Cyser)


• Third Place: Safari Bob, Desert Goat (Traditional)

I was shocked! Of course I thought that maybe I was the only one to enter meads but there were three others submitted (LOL!). So out of 6, I had the best three. Not exactly a big deal but I'll take it!

I was told that the prickly pear made it to the last 7 (of 35) in the Best of Show, however. I suppose they could be pulling my leg; those guys are ornery and the kegs were getting low!

View Cactus Challenge 2010 results here.

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Summer Knight: 5-002 Bottled

I bottled the 5-002: Summer Knight. This batch is a blackberry vanilla cyser that is red-golden in color with distinct berry and honey aromas. The flavor is smooth, dry with subtle sweet/sour berries, and a distinct creamy finish. Although it is good now, I can't wait until it ages some.

I recovered:

• 12 750 ml bottles
  
• 1 1.5 l bottle (to Mr. Roper)
  
• 3 1 l Flip top
  
• 1 2 l growler

OG: 1.136; FG: 0.996; ABV: 18.7%

-Safari Bob

More Racking Fun

Today I received in the mail a new Auto-Siphon, stainless steel racking cane, and stainless steel mesh screen. My old racking cane was cheap plastic and quickly broke after my last racking adventure. So today I got to work.

I have two batches that needed racking and I was afraid that they might have been on the lees too long: the southwestern cyser and the blackberry melomel. Both have begun to clear and I still had not racked. Luckily, they both taste good for their age.

Batch 5-001 is a southwestern cyser made with prickly pear fruit and apple cider. It has a bright purple color and has thick legs. I added 2 habenero peppers and took a reading. OG: 1.170; SG: 1.012; ABV: 21.1%! This mead is sweet and sour with no hint of rocket fuel (despite the high AV). This one is coming along nicely.

Batch 5-002 is a blackberry melomel that has a slight pinkish hue in the carboy but a bright yellow cast in the glass. I added 2 vanilla beans and took a reading. OG: 1.136; SG: 0.996; ABV: 18.7%. This mead has some slight sweetness with definite hints of blackberry and apples with a noticeable alcohol burn. Hopefully it will age out and the vanilla should give softness to the pallet.

In another couple of months I should be bottling. Time to work on the next recipe!

-Safari Bob

Batch 5-002: Blackberry Cyser

Today I brewed another batch. It has been sometime since I brewed a melomel and I was thinking about blackberries. Finally, I settled on a blackberry cyser. Here's the recipe:

5-002
1 gal clover honey
12 lbs blackberries
Apple juice to 5 gal
5 tsp yeast nutrient
2 1/2 tsp pectin enzyme
1 pkt K1V-1116 (hydrated)

Secondary (planned)
2 vanilla beans

OG: 1.136 (Potential ABV @18%)

I pureed the blackberries in apple juice to create a slurry and added directly to the glass carboy. I have not tried this before but I no longer have a brew bucket so I guess I'll see how it works. The must sure tastes great!

Wassail!

-Safari Bob

Batch 5-001: Southwestern Cyser

Tonight Nancy and I brewed our first batch together: a southwestern cyser. Here's the recipe:

5-001
1 gallon clover honey
3 pints prickly pear nectar
3+ gallon apple juice (to 5 gallon)
2 lbs dark brown sugar
5 tbsp yeast nutrient
2.5 tsp pectin enzyme
1 50gm EC-1118 (hydrated)

Secondary (planned)
4-6 cinnamon sticks
2-4 habenero peppers
2 vanilla beans?

OG: 1.170 (potential ABV: 22.31%)

-Safari Bob

Prickly Pear Nectar

Yesterday I collected about 5qt (dry) of prickly pears from which to brew a Southwestern Cyser for my next mead. I am not sure if I will do so ever again as I am still pulling fine needles from my hands and legs. Still, tonight I began to process the fruit for brewing.

I knew that I could not boil the fruit because the pectin could set up and I would have a tart jelly, so I instead purchased a blender and began to puree my way through the bag. Soon I had about 1 gallon of prickly pear "gloop". I stuck it in the refrigerator for about 2 hours and the mixture began to separate the solids from the juice.

I strained the mixture twice which resulted in about 2qts (liquid) prickly pear juice. I decided to not rinse the solids because I did not want to thin the final product. Soon I will begin the actual brewing!

-Safari Bob

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

Pumpkin Cyser

Today, I finally pulled the trigger and took a shot at a pumpkin cyser. Here is the recipe:

Primary
3 gal Apple Cider (pasteurized)
1 gal distilled water
12 lbs Clover Honey
15 oz Libby's Pumpkin (no additives)
2 lbs brown sugar
2.5 tsp pectin enzyme
5 tsp yeast nutrient
1 packet EC-1118 (hydrated)

Secondary (Planned)
4 Cinnamon Sticks
4-8 cloves
1 vanilla bean (whole)

Steps
First I boiled 1/2 gal of water, reduced to 170 F, and slowly dissolved the pumpkin while stirring.

Next, I sterilized the carboy, added the nutrient, enzyme and 2 gal cider.

Next, I removed must from heat, added honey and brown sugar slowly until dissolved.

Finally, added must and hydrated yeast to carboy. Topped off with cider to 5 gal.

OG: 1.51 (20.1% ABV).

-Safari Bob

Raider Red: Batch 3-008 is Bottled

Today I bottled batch 3-008 which is a cyser I brewed on 10 November 2007. This cyser was brewed with mint honey and finished with a distinct red hue. In order to commemorate TTU's come from behind victory in the Gator Bowl, I have named this batch Raider Red. Out of a 5 gallon batch, I bottled the following:

6 1.5 liter bottles
7 750 ml bottles
2 16 oz Grolsch bottles

The mead is smooth, sweet, and smacks of apple, vanilla, and mint. I can't wait to see how it ages.
OG: 1.144; FG: 1.022; ABV: 17.9% (adjusted)

-Safari Bob