Cherry Cyser

School has yet to let up--in fact, the pace is quickening with final projects and exams approaching in the next couple weeks--but it's beyond time to post about the current state of fermentation in the house.  DeAunn's running perilously low on mead and cider; she's finished everything we brought back from our time in Oregon and San Fran last month, about which I'll write soon over at the Nonic blog.  Fortunately, this little batch has been aging away in the corner for better than three months now, which, following my personal mead timeline to date, means it's about time to get it in a snifter (albeit a small, sampler sized one).  Down the road, I'd like to give my meads a year or more to mellow, especially in a barrel, but for now they've been turning out very nicely on a more compressed schedule following Curt Stock's SNA recommendations.

DeAunn's enjoyed getting to know the worlds of cider and mead, and in general her preferences land on the semi-dry side of both.  My first cyser finished a little drier than intended but was a big hit.  The present batch adds in another of her favourites, cherries.  While normally I aim for a larger volume of fruit, I'm counting on the (again, for me) extended contact time, especially with the pits, to add more character.  I'm hoping to bottle this soon--later today, if time and my pile of homework conspire to allow it--so I should have more information on how it's turned out in the near future.

Cherry Cyser
Projected OG: 1.113
Volume: 2 gallons

Fermentables
1 gallon Big B's Organic Cider
5 lb Cox Honeyland Honey
20 oz Organic frozen cherries

Yeast
WLP775 English Cider

Extras (boil)
1 tsp Yeast nutrient (10 min)
1 tsp Yeast energizer (10 min)

Brewday: 3 January 2013
Fermented at 60F ambient.
SNA added at 24 hours - 1 tsp each yeast nutrient and yeast energizer