Sea sounds

Or a wedding by the sea. Upcycled 1960s silk wedding dress. 

Cut, hand seen the ecoprinted using leaves and flowers from my garden. 

Worn in Sunday at my wedding by the sea

Quince Cyser (mead)

This is an adapted recipe from http://mountainroseblog.com/ancient-art-mead/and it is in US gallons.

Cyser is the name given to mead made from cider and honey. If you create this mead now, it will be perfectly aged to enjoy during next year’s holiday season! It can even be gently warmed to temperatures below 170 degrees and served with a Cinnamon stick or a couple of Cloves or Cardamom pods.

Ingredients:

- 8 lbs raw local light coloured honey (avoid eucalyptus honeys as they inhibit yeast growth, a city honey is ideal)

- 3 gallons freshly pressed apple juice  (best when pressed from a variety of apples)

- 1 gallon freshly pressed quince juice  (boil 6-10 whole washed but uncut quinces for 1/2 hour in 1.5 gallons water - use the quinces for further cooking adventures)

- 1 package yeast (there are a variety of liquid and dry yeasts available, make sure to use one that can withstand the high alcohol content of mead)

- 1 lb organic brown sugar

- ½ lb organic dates, chopped

- 2 tsp yeast energizer

- 1 tsp yeast nutrient (bee pollen is good)

- Water to 5 gallons (if needed)

- Equipment: Thermometer, plastic food-grade bucket, 5 or 6 gallon glass carboy, fermentation lock and rubber stopper, siphon house and racking cane, and sanitizer.

1.  First, sanitize everything that will come in contact with your mead. You can use a camp deb tablet, or another sanitizer available from a homebrew shop. I use a strong wormwood tea that seems to work well.

2.  Mix the juices, honey, brown sugar, and dates in a food-grade bucket, making sure to blend them thoroughly. Add water if needed to reach a total volume of 5 gallons. Some recipes call for boiling the honey, but this causes the honey to lose its natural antimicrobial and antibacterial properties as well as some of the delicious flavor and aromatics. I prefer to leave the honey raw, but if you are concerned about sanitation, then heat the cider and honey mixture to a temperature of 150 degrees F and hold it there for 10 minutes.

3.  Add yeast energizer, yeast nutrient, and yeast to the honey and cider blend according to the directions on the packages. Mix vigorously to add oxygen and aerate the must. Yeast needs plenty of oxygen in order to reproduce and create a healthy fermentation.

5.  For the primary fermentation, you can use the food-grade plastic bucket with a tight-fitting lid or a glass carboy. With either vessel, you will need to attach an airlock and rubber stopper. Check your yeast strain to see what temperatures are preferred, but most mead is best fermented in an area that is 60 to 75 degrees F.  Now the magic will begin! Within 24-48 hours you should see activity coming from your airlock.

6.  The bubbles will be vigorous in the beginning, decreasing in activity over the next couple of weeks. Once they have subsided to one bubble every 60 seconds or longer and you notice that the yeast has settled into a layer at the bottom of the bucket, it is time to transfer your mead. It is useful to taste the beverage.  

7.  Gravity is needed for this next step, so place the fermenting bucket/carboy on a chair or stool and allow the yeast to settle to the bottom again (I usually let it sit overnight).  Using a siphon and racking cane, rack the liquid off of the yeast into a glass carboy with an airlock and rubber stopper. Store the filled carboy in a cool area such as a basement, which is the ideal place if you have one.

8.  Once the signs of fermentation have subsided and the mead has cleared and is no longer cloudy, it is ready to bottle! You may have to transfer the mead a couple of times before this happens to eliminate sediment at the bottom. Use clean and sanitized wine or beer bottles and new corks or caps (bottles may be reused, but do not reuse closures). 5 gallons of mead will fill approximately twenty-five 750ml wine bottles or fifty-three 12oz beer bottles.

Don’t worry if your mead tastes hot and alcoholic, those harsh flavors will subside with aging.  Most important, remember to always sanitize anything that ever comes in contact with your mead to preserve and enjoy this special beverage.