Bush_84

Recipes 

Ya we need a final comparison!

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Primary- Raspberry Melomel - Raspberry Cider
Secondary-Welch Grape Wine - Mapfelwien
Bottled- Mott's Cider - Strawberry Mead - Hard Lemonade - The 84 Bushwacker (~11 abv cider) -Mixed Berry Cider - Graff
-The 84 Bushwacker v2.0

Knight03

Recipes 

So out of the 3 which do you like the best and why?

Clifton

Recipes 

Very interested. I'm planning on my first batch of graff soon.

JRDroid

Recipes 

I would like to hear the compro as well! I am torn between the three!

bpm2000

Recipes 

any word on this?

Wonderjojo

Recipes 

I have a question - I'm new to this and my first cider is on the go, bubbling away in a 5 gallon glass jug like yours. When you do a Hydrometer reading, do you just siphon off just enough? Do you have to worry about oxygen getting to your cider? Do you then discard the sample?

JarrodH

Recipes 

I use a wine thief and try to get just enough for a hydrometer reading. Have a batch of Graff going right now and will have to check it in a day or two. Oh and I usually just drink the sample.

beancurdturtle

Recipes 

Jonathan sold his brew equipment and I picked up the 5 gallon fermenters. Three of them had these ciders, which have been bulk conditioning in secondary for almost 2 years. I drew samples from each and took gravity reading and tried them. I think I have the brews correct based on a tag on one, anf the color and taste of the others.

The Apfelwein - FG is 1.000, aroma is full of apples and clean, flavor is vinous and cleanly complex. Very dry. This is a good one. I'm not going to leave it still. No heat or booziness. I'll prime it with corn sugar and fresh yeast and bottle it in a week or so.

Graham's English Cider - FG is 1.004, lot's of apple in the aroma, low complexity, dry tart almost peppery. No heat or booziness. It needs help. I added Saigon Cinnamon (cassia), Szechuan peppercorn, and Chinese Liquorice root. I will prime with sugar and yeast in a few weeks and bottle. Hoping to increase the peppery complexity, add some glycerin sweetness and slippery body. Like a hint of Cinnamon candy apple soda and heat to go with tamales or chili.

Brandon O' Graff - FG is 1.008, interesting aroma and aroma with hints of both apple and barley, drinkable but a little unusual, slightly bitter, smooth back notes. No heat or booziness. Needs help. I added Ceylon (true) Cinnamon, Chinese dry Ginger Root, and Chinese Liquorice root. I will prime with sugar and yeast in a few weeks and bottle. Hoping to layer spice flavors over the smoothness and bring faint sweetness and depth to the mouthfeel.

We'll see how it goes. I'll be sure to share a few bottles of each with Jonathan if they improve as planned.

JonGoku

Recipes 

Daniel, that is so awesome! And thanks for putting some closure to this thread. No doubt 2 years might have been a bit much and may have given one of the ciders a leg up over the others, but I'm glad they all were still drinkable.

To those who might be curious, my brewing (cidering?) days took a hiatus as life and family and work took higher priority and put what brew time I had on hold. I'm sure one of these days I'll start brewing again, but space around my house being a premium forced me to sell or get rid of what wasn't in use. I'm very excited to hear my cider experiment is still alive and can't wait to get a taste sometime soon.

Like a true homebrewer, when Daniel came by to pick up what he wanted, including the ciders, he dropped off a bottle of his own homebrew. A very easy drinking amberish beer with a really nice coffee aroma and taste. IIRC it was a 90 shilling scotch ale. While I've had a number of stouts with coffee, chocolate, or similar types of taste I'd never had a lighter/amberisk beer with a coffee taste and it was actually very nice. A flavor balance that could get very addictive. Thanks a million!

Cheers!

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Jon

beancurdturtle

Recipes 

Glad you enjoyed it. It was the last one in the second of my "Rooster" series.
http://untappd.com/beer/85454