Mead and Cider (and Peary too) Mmmmm

[NewEnglander]

So I picked up a gallon of fresh cider at the farmers' market today and want to make it all alcoholic and stuff. I tried this same sort of thing last year and got a thin, sour vaguely apple-flavored beverage. Not that it stopped me from drinking it. Last year I also bothered to order Wyeast Cider yest, for all the good it did me.
This year I just want to dump in some of the dry yeast I have kicking around in the fridge. Here are my choices:
Lalvin ICV D47
Lalvin 71B-1122
Lalvin K1-V1116
Lalvin EC-1118
Danstar Windsor

Which one should I go with???

[jkane]

Cider is thin vaguely apply stuff. It's what happens when the sugar is all gone! Some people add more sugar because apple juice is only about 4-5 % alcohol to begin with. The yeast will eat all of that leaving only dryness behind.

Another way to sweeten is to use potassium sorbate when it stops fermenting to kill the yeast. Then add more fresh cider to sweeten it before serving.

I'd use the D47 or the 1118, but that's just me!

[NewEnglander]

I added 7 oz. of brown sugar to my gallon of fresh cider and pitched the D47. It was happily bubbling away within 3 hours of pitching and still going strong this morning. I also added a few raisins and a couple cinnamon sticks to this batch we'll see how it turns out.
I opened a couple bottles of last year's cider, added a splash of fresh cider to the glasses and thoroughly enjoyed them yesterday afternoon.

[Dirka Skene]

Could you adopt me?

[Kerr the Walker]

I was inspired by this thread. I've now got 4 one gallon jugs (cider + brown sugar + champagne yeast) bubbling happily in my spare room.

[jkane]

Got 20 lbs of cranberries last week. 2 grocery sacks full. Smacked the yeast pack last night, and have the honey sitting on the counter. We'll be starting it tonight. :-)

That'll be our last batch for the year. It's just racking and stirring them for the rest of the year.

[Old Hippie]

Ooooohhhhhmmmmmm...Cranberry mead! And when the cranberries are done fermenting you can cook them down into a heavenly cranberry sauce. You'll have enough for the next year! Extra B vitamins from the lees, too.

I picked up an Honourable Mention for mine in competition. It was still a little young at the time. At two years in now it's gorgeous.

[jkane]

We got a 2nd place a couple months ago with our last years cranberry. It is like drinking cranberry juice cocktail! Very berry. My wife added some ginger to it, but the cranberries overwhelm it and I can't even tell with a couple handfuls worth added to 5 gallons! That's cranberry overload!

Not sure about making something out of the berries after. Might be a bit yeasty unless they are washed first. We have 4 lbs of berries for eating, and since I don't like them that much, those might be in the freezer yet next fall!

I found a couple lbs of blue berries in the freezer last night! Darn! Forgot to ferment them. Hmmmm. What to do with them now. ;)

[Old Hippie]

I went a little lighter on the cranberries for mine -- I wanted to keep the delicate floral notes of the local honey I was using. It could have used more cran (hence only an Honourable Mention) but it did well up against some of the more wine-y traditional fruits. I wasn't too broken up about it, because my stout got a first that year.

[piperdbh]

Would it be possible for someone in, let's say, western North Carolina to obtain (legally, of course) a bottle of the pear cider when it's finished?