Cider and Mead

[BeerSmith]

I've been toying with some Ciders and Meads so I decided to add a board for discussion - have fun!

Brad

[Erosion]

Thanks Brad, are there any thoughts about a Mead tab like mashing where we can do the staggered nutrient additions and degassing inside Beer smith?

Cheers again,
Sean

[KellerBrauer]

Greetings - I can add that I've always wanted to make a mead, but I'm under the understanding that it takes months and it can't be made with your average store bought honey with any level of success.  So, I'm all for learning any information on the subject.

[Erosion]

Great mead can be made in 2-3 weeks is all in the fermentation management, check out www.meadmaderight.com  this is just one merhod that helps make great mead easily.

[KellerBrauer]

Thanks for the link, Erosion.  However, I visited the website, Mead Made Right, and the recipe states "With TOSNA, your mead should be ready to drink in well under 3 months". This statement pretty much solidifies my understanding that a good mead takes months to complete.  That said, I believe their approach to rehydrating yeast makes good sense and well worth exploring.

Thanks again!

[Erosion]

KellerBrauer, I agree It Does say "With TOSNA, your mead should be ready to drink in well under 3 months" Should be in the operative word.
I have had mead ready in 3 weeks it all depends on the recipe and how you treat the fermentation. A general rule is lower alcohol meads 'session meads' will be ready in a short time and higher alcohol mead will also be ready sooner with this TOSNA method.

The mead made right site just helps dispels the "Old Facts"  and provides a scientific best practise way to make high quality mead sooner.

Something to note is that wine makers have been using staggered nutrient protocols for a long time, its just most Mead makers were preferring to stick their old ways.

[BeerSmith]

I've just started to add some very basic Mead, Cider and Wine making features to BeerSmith.  I'm working on Fruits and juices at the moment to make those easier to manage, but may add some tools for basic TONSA nutrient schedules, sulfite additions, etc...

I'm trying to get some basic features done and get that out to the community before diving into some of the in-depth tools.

In prep I've been making ciders, meads and wines and have learned a lot in a short time.  I have several meads in fermentation now.  With TONSA and proper degassing I've had two finish fermentation  (110 point gravity drops) within two weeks.  However both were high gravity melomels so they still need a few months for the flavors to settle out.  I'm very interested in seeing how they turn out as I really enjoy a good mead.

[mj1angier]

Glad to hear this. I like to do ciders also and it is a bit clunky in the program right now, lol

[BOB357]

Thanks for expanding to Cider and Mead Brad. Haven't tried Mead yet, but have made a few 1 gal. batches of Cider and have  a5 gal. batch in primary. Also making organic Cider with mother for my wife who is tired of paying 5 or 6 bucks/qt. for Bragg's. 

[Davidbog]

What are the differences between the yeasts, other than a higher fermentation temp for the 71B?71B is a Beaujolais yeast so it tends to produce a mead that is ready to drink sooner and in fact does not age well sur lie. It is also very good for melomels made from berries. 71B can raise the pH of the must by metabolizing malic acid.D47 is generally used for white wines, particularly chardonnay. It has a more complex profile than 71B and develops the typical spicy, citrusy flavors when aged on the lees. It also has a more silky, viscous mouthfeel especially when aged sur lie. I think D47 makes a better cider than 71B and is also good for show meads.

[TheSnair]

I've just started to add some very basic Mead, Cider and Wine making features to BeerSmith.  I'm working on Fruits and juices at the moment to make those easier to manage, but may add some tools for basic TONSA nutrient schedules, sulfite additions, etc...

I'm trying to get some basic features done and get that out to the community before diving into some of the in-depth tools.

In prep I've been making ciders, meads and wines and have learned a lot in a short time.  I have several meads in fermentation now.  With TONSA and proper degassing I've had two finish fermentation  (110 point gravity drops) within two weeks.  However both were high gravity melomels so they still need a few months for the flavors to settle out.  I'm very interested in seeing how they turn out as I really enjoy a good mead.

Hey Brad,

I just wrote you on another thread but I just saw this post. I asked in the other thread if the Beersmith 2.3 has a calculator for adding fruits and juices to get starting gravity and final gravity? Mainly whole fruits since fruits don't release their water and the little sugar that they have until after fermentation starts but fruit juices would be great too.

[cjdock]

Hello all,
I have made hard apple cider from a recipe that Brad had post a while back. I really like it but find its hard to carbonate. I have a kegerator an it holds 2 kegs. I kegged the cider at around 30 psi for 4 days and then turned down the psi to around 18 psi for another full 7 days. When I turned the psi down to 18 psi, I also added another keg of an ipa that I brewed. The ipa is nice and carbonated but the cider is still basically flat. I've check to make sure the cider is getting co2 by purging from the top, and also by just pouring it but no luck. I checked for leaks with starsan as well.
I've done this batch a few times and its always harder to make bubbly but this time its even tougher. Any idea what I may be doing wrong?
Thanks!

[filoubrasseur]

Hello Brad,

It would be nice if you added really simple fruit juices in the ingredients list. Just so they are there. I just started a batch of hard cider, and cannot find apple juice anywhere in the ingredients.

If you add it really simply, we can tweak the data to make it fit.

Thanks.

[mclynch]

Hi Brad... yes please add cider & mead tabs somehow.  I always have a hard time entering cider ingredients into BeerSmith 2.3.  For example... I just made a Common Perry... crushed and pressed 100lbs of Bosc pears to get about 5.5 gal of delicious pear juice.  Going to BeerSmith, the best I could do was to find Fruit: Pear (adjunct).  Adding 35 lbs of that threw off BS's numbers:  initial gravity 1.028  (it is 1.054).

While I'm sure the perry will turn out fine, it would be great to use BS for the calculations... and tweak it over the years.  So yes, please add as soon as possible!

thanks!

[telder4336]

Also is there a way to add other honeys such as Meadowfoam and Coffee Blossom? I know that there are a ton of honey varietals but these two are pretty popular.