# Raspberry Cyser



## barls (20/6/07)

ok since most you all tried my raspberry cyser at the last brew day at croz's. so who really wants the recipe?
i can dig it up if enough people want it.


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## Stuster (20/6/07)

I certainly do.


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## oldbugman (20/6/07)

Was that the one I described as being 'fortified'?


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## barls (20/6/07)

i wouldnt call it fortified it was more just a high alcohol ferment but with out the bite. it was the one we started off with


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## oldbugman (20/6/07)

Hmmm.. maybe I didnt get any, I wasnt there for the crush.


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## barls (20/6/07)

it was after the crush, it was a little green stubby i brought. everyone got a nip i think or i thought so. its very aromatic and sweet


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## redbeard (20/6/07)

yes pls, ignore that oldBugman dude ...


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## facter (21/6/07)

I havnt tried it, but i want to make a cyser - please post by all means!


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## barls (21/6/07)

ok here goes now remember this was made as a 5L batch so will need to be scaled depending on the size you want.
2.4L of apple juice
2.4L of apple and pear juice (not essential but leaves some sweetness that cant be fermented out)
750g of light flavored honey
600g of raspberries 

mix all together the day before pitching adding a little pectaneze and sodium metabisulfate to sterilize the must. let sit for 24 hours and then pitch your yeast.
i used ec 1118 for the one you all tried but ive got one with s33 going at the moment so in a couple of months after is been sitting for a while ill bottle. 
i do rack after fermentation has slowed down just to get it off the yeast cake.
my average batch age before bottling is around the 4 month figure but yo could go longer as it wont affect it since its around 14%. i use no preservative no additive juice for this and find it works well it hink its berri juice i use but not sure just walk down the juce isle and have a look.
happy brewing


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## petesbrew (21/6/07)

barls said:


> ok here goes now remember this was made as a 5L batch so will need to be scaled depending on the size you want.
> 2.4L of apple juice
> 2.4L of apple and pear juice (not essential but leaves some sweetness that cant be fermented out)
> 750g of light flavored honey
> ...



This sounds interesting Barls, but where do you get pectaneze and sodium metasulfate from? How much is a little?


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## barls (21/6/07)

i got the pectineze for the country brewer but i think most lhb have it. the metabisulfate (my bad i stuffed it up) was left over from my earlier days when i thought this was alright to clean with. a little is a couple of grams of each.
one point i forgot to make is that this is better with fresh raspberries that have been frozen


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## DarkFaerytale (21/6/07)

barls said:


> one pint i forgot to make



thursty Barls?

 

-Phill


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## barls (21/6/07)

actually i have the flu thats the second one in about 1 hour. i could go a beer right now as i havent had one since saturday last week. that could be my problem no beer 
ill go back and fix it now


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## brettprevans (21/6/07)

barls said:


> mix all together the day before pitching adding a little pectaneze and sodium metabisulfate to sterilize the must. let sit for 24 hours and then pitch your yeast.
> i used ec 1118 for the one you all tried but ive got one with s33 going at the moment so in a couple of months after is been sitting for a while ill bottle.
> i do rack after fermentation has slowed down just to get it off the yeast cake.
> my average batch age before bottling is around the 4 month figure but yo could go longer as it wont affect it since its around 14%.



Hey Barls, sounds awsome. I recon my wife will love it. a few questions though?

Why throw in pectaneze and sodium metabisulfate into the actual brew? surely it can be good for the brew?
With lemonades, ciders etc you boil up the ingrediants together? why no boiling?
What temp did you ferment at? and what temp did you rack at (or doesnt it matter - just cube and forget)?
Im assuming ec1118 is a champagnie or cider yeast? wouldnt s33 die because of the 14%acl?


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## barls (21/6/07)

pectineze is for the pectin in the fruit, it helps remove part of the enzyme that sets it as a jam by my understanding. 
the metabi sulfate is to chemically do the same as you would when you boil, because you dont want to destroy the floral aroma both the honey and the berries.
about 16-20 was the temps that i fermented with. 
it is champagne yeast. the s33 was just something i thought id try i cut back the honey to 500g so it should only reach 10% or so and be a sweeter version. ill let you know later as i plan on tasting it today to see how its going


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## brettprevans (21/6/07)

barls said:


> it is champagne yeast. the s33 was just something i thought id try i cut back the honey to 500g so it should only reach 10% or so and be a sweeter version. ill let you know later as i plan on tasting it today to see how its going


Cheer! cant wait to show my wife the receipe. The 10% sweeter version may be the go for her. I dont mind a good mead either.

cheers again for your help.


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## drsmurto (21/6/07)

Actually, the sodium metabisulphate (ph, not f - not a US site...grrrr) is there to kill any wild yeasts, this step is there because people normarily source fresh juice or crush their own fruit. You can buy it from the LHBS as campden tablets. Pectic enzyme is available from a supermarket?

Linky

14%? You'd need an OG of 1.100 to get that. Thats a big BIG drink.

Do you find using the champagne yeast (EC1118) you get quite a dry finish? I am guessing with such a long ferment you are getting a FG of 1.000 or less? What sort of priming rate are you using?

This is intriguing me. Would love to make some other interesting alcoholic beverages. This sounds very very tasty.

Cheers
DrSmurto


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## barls (21/6/07)

started at 1090 down to 990 yeah i think it was right up there for a 14% brew, it was 1040 before adding the honey so theres a hint for you all. it doesnt seem dry due to the pear in the recipe just ask the boys that were at the last brew day and you cant taste the alcohol ether which makes it good. 
as for the campden tabs they are actually potassium metabisulphate but they do the same shit. most normally boil to do the same thing but end up driving off the aromatic volatiles in the boil.

i just tasted the one with s33 its definately sweeter but still too young, was very yeasty.


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## drsmurto (21/6/07)

Barls

Cheers for the quick, informative reply. Any thoughts on using frozen raspberries from the supermarket? What about a priming rate for bottling? You left it in the barrel for 4 months? How much of that time was in primary? And one more question - temp of ferment?

Cheers
DrSmurto


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## petesbrew (21/6/07)

Cheers for the all the details, Barls.
This should be one to please SWMBO, and 5L is a managable amount.
Pete


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## barls (21/6/07)

i find that they dont have as much aroma and flavour as the ones from berry farms and such. if you can get them from a green grocer or berry farm if there is a good one near you.
the priming was about 4-5g/L i think only because i bottled the last batch a couple of months ago and there has been some good beer since then.
temp was on the previous page but here it is again 16-20.
4 months is nothing in the scheme of things for one of these ive had mead that was in there for 8 months. the current batch is pictured below and if you look very carefully you will see 4/5/07 on the carboy.


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## barls (21/6/07)

petesbrew said:


> Cheers for the all the details, Barls.
> This should be one to please SWMBO, and 5L is a managable amount.
> Pete


not a problem pete let me know if she likes it, i might have to go and see if i can sell the recipe for a amount up front and a percentage of the sales or start making it myself commercially.
not like my current batch which is 13L or so


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## drsmurto (21/6/07)

Awesome pic and response Barls. Champion.

Where did you score yourself a 5L demi-john? They would be a perfect size for making the specialty fruit bevies.

Cheers
DrSmurto - salivating.


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## bennyc (21/6/07)

Looks very interesting!

I take it that the berries are blended?

Do you then filter or does all of the gunk settle to the bottom?


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## barls (21/6/07)

most homebrew places have them but here is where i bought mine from
http://www.countrybrewer.com.au/category51_1.htm.
since your down adelaide way why not ask kenny aka gmk where you can get some good berries locally im sure he would know

i actually use the potato masher on them but same result.
i use to a small tube when racking and rack about 2-3 times over the whole process never had much of a problem even last time when i used my racking can which is 3/8 n size. also i cold condition just before i rack in to the final time and they all just fall to the bottom it will then spend about a month at 3 degrees so any remaining particles fall out again.


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## Barramundi (22/6/07)

good stuff barls , bee4n lookin at gettin a 5l demijohn , looks like this is the reason i needed to justify it ....


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## drsmurto (3/7/07)

Put this down on the w/end. Cant (or you shouldnt) get fresh raspberries at this time of the year (in SA) so went a frozen pack instead. Got some honey from the local greengrocer. Would post a pic but it looks just like yours Barls, funnily enough. Only got 1 demi-john so hope to get another before its due for the 1st rack. Also only added half the apple juice cos it wouldnt fit. Might add more at racking once all the crap is left behind.

Cheers again for the recipe Barls - i cant wait :beerbang:


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## barls (4/7/07)

not a problem mate mine is clear as now after racking it no floaties at all. which yeast did you go with in the end?


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## drsmurto (17/7/07)

barls said:


> not a problem mate mine is clear as now after racking it no floaties at all. which yeast did you go with in the end?



oooops, sorry Barls, only just noticed your question. Went with the champagne yeast, EC1118. I use it for my ginger beers so have some lying around.

As for racking, excuse the ignorance but would u just siphon out using a PVC tube as per racking? And is there as easier(less chance of infection) way than sucking it through? :blink: 

Mines being bubbling away for 2 weeks now, forgot to add some yeast nutrient so may add some tonight before i rack in another week or so. Got another 2 demi-johns so i can play around with mead/cider and various other brewing capers on a small scale. I find my partner isnt too fussed if a 5L demi-john is sitting on the coffee table when compared to the 30L barrels! Not sure if its art deco or what? <_<


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## barls (20/7/07)

i normally half fill the tube with boiled water then put the one racking from about 1 bottle height above the other and use gravity to get it started


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## DrewCarey82 (4/9/07)

Questions.

Do I need to buy specialty honey or would regular Homebrand honey be ok - any brands to recommend on supermarket shelf.

Very stupid question is just juice okay to use?

Cheers.


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## barls (4/9/07)

you can use homebrand honey but it will be a blend of different honeys. i suggest a single variety of honey like clover or orange blossom. 
im not sure about the just juice check to see it it has added sugar and preservatives if it has ether its no good i use berri in mine


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## DrewCarey82 (5/9/07)

Hey Mate.

Ended up going with strawberry's instead no rasperry's @ woolies but chucked 1.5kg's with it. 1.5 kg's of honey and 9 litres of just juice, had no preservatives or additives, used 6 litres of apple and 3 litres of apple and pair.

Boiled a yeast for yeast nutrient, and used a english ale yeast that I had in a 1.25 litre starter before hand.

Tad different but hopefully will end up with something the missus will like.

For some reason it only had a 1.040 OG though.... - Suspect just juice maybe heavily watered down.


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## barls (5/9/07)

interested to know how it goes mate


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## DrewCarey82 (5/9/07)

I'll let you know the Mrs report, apparently I am forbidden to touch it lol.


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## dan_pilbara (15/9/07)

How did the strawberry Cyser go? I want to make something along these lines for the GF. Also what is a cyser? and are there other non beer fermented beverage's on the site besides cider and ginger beer?


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## Barramundi (16/9/07)

dan_pilbara said:


> How did the strawberry Cyser go? I want to make something along these lines for the GF. Also what is a cyser? and are there other non beer fermented beverage's on the site besides cider and ginger beer?




dunno bout the strawberries mate but if your keen to give something a go id definately recommend the raspberry version as originally posted by barls at the start of this thread... i have tasted this brew as made by barls and can tell you its is the goods , im planning on makin one myself sometime soon just gotta go and get the raspberrys which i think are now in or almost in season ....


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## barls (17/9/07)

dan_pilbara said:


> How did the strawberry Cyser go? I want to make something along these lines for the GF. Also what is a cyser? and are there other non beer fermented beverage's on the site besides cider and ginger beer?


a cyser is a honey apple wine its like a cider but with honey added as a fermentable.


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## drsmurto (19/11/07)

*BUMP*

Bottled this yesterday, same recipe as Barls. I forgot to take an SG reading. It sat in secondary for 4 months. Bottled it into stubbies and primed as normal.

Barls - you said yours was 14% - i assume thats based on gravity readings or a refrac? 

Had a nice warming effect when i tasted it during bottling, it was about 22C at a guess. Cant wait for it to carb up and then chill it down. Mmmmmm. Very tempted to do it again but i should taste it first!

For any Adelaideans, the Berri juices are on special atm at foodland - $3.99 for 2.4 L. I made a cider yesterday with approx 18L of this juice. 

Cheers
DrSmurto


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## Benniee (19/11/07)

I've also made up a Raspberry Cyser based around this recipe - using 600g of Yellow Box honey.

I bottled it on the 20th September - around half the bottles being primed and the rest left as a still cyser.

Had a couple of samplers at a BBQ over the weekend - very nice. It finished up a little dry with an SG of 1.002 but that suits my tastes. With just a couple of months aging this has really improved. The rest will be stashed away until Christmas time so I don't drink them all.  

I am currently gathering up the ingredients to do a larger batch of this one - something around the 20L mark.

The only comment I'll add is that I primed my bottles at the same rate as I would for a beer, and it seems a little under carbonated. For the next lot I'll add some more priming sugar - perhaps even double the amount to bring it up closer to a level similar to champagne.

Definite two thumbs up from me on this recipe.

Benniee


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## tangent (19/11/07)

DrSmurto - you were still ripped off  
i won't pay over 99c per litre for apple juice


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## SpillsMostOfIt (19/11/07)

tangent said:


> DrSmurto - you were still ripped off
> i won't pay over 99c per litre for apple juice



Unlike the love of my life who seems to only like the Wanker Class Boutique juice blends that seem to cost four or five dollars a litre and have to be thrown out half way through the bottle... :angry:


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## bennyc (10/12/08)

Sorry to drag up an old thread, but I brewed this last September and wasn't too impressed with it. Last tried it about six months ago and still wasn't all that impressed. Just tried it again and it's developed into something very, very tasty. Still got a six pack to go, so looking forward to drinking them over the next six months!


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## barls (10/12/08)

good to hear mate. mine are progressing nicely


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## 3GumsBrewing (17/12/08)

Hi All,

Looking to do something different, Barls got me thinking!

Got all the ingredients ready for the weekend, just unsure as to the steps involved.
Can anyone help put the steps into one post, that would be a massive help.

Cheers
DK


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## barls (17/12/08)

barls said:


> ok here goes now remember this was made as a 5L batch so will need to be scaled depending on the size you want.
> 2.4L of apple juice
> 2.4L of apple and pear juice (not essential but leaves some sweetness that cant be fermented out)
> 750g of light flavored honey
> ...


this sums it up mate pretty much


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## drsmurto (17/8/10)

Noticed i still had 3 bottles of this left so cracked one open tonight.

Wow!

So smooth, a touch acidic and with a big whiff of honey. My patience has been rewarded :icon_drunk:


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## barls (17/8/10)

great to hear mate might have to open the bottle of mead that i made about the same time as the first batch soon.
also i have found that the sweet mead yeast cuts back on some of the acid bite. might have to try d47 with it in the next batch.


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## gruntus (18/8/10)

The missus and I recently enjoyed a bottle of this....it was delicious and packed a nice punch too.

Thanks Barls :icon_cheers:


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## drsmurto (18/8/10)

barls said:


> great to hear mate might have to open the bottle of mead that i made about the same time as the first batch soon.
> also i have found that the sweet mead yeast cuts back on some of the acid bite. might have to try d47 with it in the next batch.



Scored 1/2 a Wyeast sweet mead yeastcake last night so planning a mead and another cyser or 2.


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## barls (18/8/10)

ive used both wyeast and whitelabs and cant tell the difference between them. go for it mate, im thinking i might put another one down and use d47 this time.
gruntus im glad you both liked it. might have to enter a aged bottle in to the castle hill comp if they end up doing a seperate mead comp


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