Cinnamon Cyser

This recipe yields 5 gallons of a crisp, sparkling, lightly spiced cyser. It’s a great fall drink to complement barbecued chicken, buttery fish, and sharp cheese (I recommend a classic Vermont sharp cheddar!)

Ingredients

• 10 Cups Wildflower Honey (7.5 lbs)
• 5 gal pasteurized apple cider
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 a lemon
• 8 Cloves
• 1 pkg (5g) Red Star Pasteur Champagne Yeast

Directions

1. In a medium brew pot (4 gallon) bring 3 gallons of cider to 150 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Slowly add the honey while stirring continuously so the honey dissolves without burning on the bottom of the pot.
3. Bring the must back to a simmer while letting all the honey dissolve. Add the Cloves, and 3 Cinnamon Sticks.
4. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into the pot, then drop the half into must.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes and continually skim any white foamy scum that forms on the surface.
6. Submerge the brew pot in an ice bath, or cool through a worth chiller to bring the must to around 70 degrees.
7. Add the must to a 6 gallon carboy with the additional 2 gallons of cider, aerate, and pitch the yeast. Make sure you re-hydrate dry yeast before pitching.
8. Seal carboy with bung and airlock and store in a dark place at a temperature of about 70 degrees.
9. After 2 weeks, with a siphon, re-rack the mead into a 5 gallon carboy, adding the remaining 2 Cinnamon Sticks.
10. After 2 weeks, re-rack, then continue to rack every whenever a layer of sediment appears on the bottom of the jug for 6 months.
11. Dissolve  1.5 cups (~1lb) of honey in 3 cups of warm water then add to the carboy, stirring gently.
12. Bottle the mead and let age 6+ months.
13. Serve chilled, and enjoy!