On 2009-05-20, zxcvbob > wrote:

> I have some crabapples in the freezer; sour and dark red all the way to
> the core. I was planning to make jelly with them someday, but we don't
> eat much jelly and still have crabapple and mayhaw jellies left from
> several years ago.
>
> So I been thinkin' about making cyser with them. (mead with apples
> added.) The freezing/thawing should help them release their juice. Do
> I need to do anything about all that pectin? And do I add them to the
> fermenter raw or should I cook them first? I want the end product to
> have a nice rosy color; it would be nice if it was clear instead of
> cloudy or hazy.

Oops!

Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. My beer brewing mentor did mead.
I've never made even basic mead. Looks like you know more about it than I
do (I had to look up cyser!).

I could ask my mentor about your question. Sounds like you're asking if you
can use crabapples and some jellied fruits to flavor some home made mead.
Is that correct? You say the crabapples are red to the core. Are they
processed or preserved in some way?

As for the clear vs cloudy issue, that's typically an age factor. Like
beer, I suspect the cloudiness is the yeast proteins in suspension. These
usually drop out over time. This shouldn't be an issue with mead as a good
mead should be aged at least a year. I'll ask my buddy to clarify.

nb