Simple cider recipe

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Misplaced_Canuck

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I think I've made one of the best batches of cider that I've ever made, so I thought I'd share the recipe... (why not!)

Ingredients:
5 gallons (10x 1/2 gallons) of Wal-Mart apple juice, no preservatives, made from concentrate. Only ingredients are apple juice concentrate, water and ascorbic acid.
Wyeast 1028 (vial from a previous beer batch - you can use a new pack)
1/2 tsp Potassium metabisulfite
2 1/2 tsp Potassium sorbate

I made a starter from 1 of the 1/2 gallons of juice, which I put on the stirplate with the Wyeast 1028 vial. I let the yeast start good and strong (2-3 days in my case).

Pour 4 gallons (8x 1/2-gallon) of the apple juice in a sanitized carboy, and add the yeast starter. Put airlock on top. [This reserves one 1/2 gallon for back sweetening]

Let it ferment around 72F (Wyeast 1028 generates some nice aromas/flavors around that temp). Fermentation time was approximately 2 weeks.

Rack over to secondary, and add the metabisulfite and the sorbate, and I gently rocked the carboy to mix it in. Secondary for about 4 weeks. The cider should clarify very nicely.

I then kegged the cider into a corny, adding the final remaining 1/2 gallon of apple juice to make it 5-gallons. Carbonate to around 2.8-3.0 volumes, chill and serve.

It is quite reminiscent of a woodchuck, but a tad less sweet. I consider woodchuck to be very sweet (call it "10/10 for sweetness"), my version is closer to a 7/10 for sweetness.

I'll post a picture shortly. It's got a light golden hue and a fabulous clarity. Very good aroma & taste of apples/juice.

MC
 
Has anyone tried bottling? Would I just need to skip the potassium sorbate and add 5oz priming sugar the day of bottling? I imagine it would be ready in bottles in about 2 weeks?

Thank you,
 
I would, I just bottled 48-12oz bottles back sweetend with AJ Concentrate and they are friken awesome. I'll post some pics.
 
image-1160280199.jpg

This was poured on the 14th, a day after I bottled my cider.

image-3579512759.jpg

And this is the same cider that I let ferment until today and look at how carbed it is! Whoo hooo! It's a little to much for me I would say 3-4 days would have been the perfect amount of time to let ferment in bottles, then throw them in the fridge to stop the action. BTW Iused 2 cans of concentrate to 4 gallons juice for back sweetening.
 
Misplaced_Canuck said:
I think I've made one of the best batches of cider that I've ever made, so I thought I'd share the recipe... (why not!)

Ingredients:
5 gallons (10x 1/2 gallons) of Wal-Mart apple juice, no preservatives, made from concentrate. Only ingredients are apple juice concentrate, water and ascorbic acid.
Wyeast 1028 (vial from a previous beer batch - you can use a new pack)
1/2 tsp Potassium metabisulfite
2 1/2 tsp Potassium sorbate

I made a starter from 1 of the 1/2 gallons of juice, which I put on the stirplate with the Wyeast 1028 vial. I let the yeast start good and strong (2-3 days in my case).

Pour 4 gallons (8x 1/2-gallon) of the apple juice in a sanitized carboy, and add the yeast starter. Put airlock on top. [This reserves one 1/2 gallon for back sweetening]

Let it ferment around 72F (Wyeast 1028 generates some nice aromas/flavors around that temp). Fermentation time was approximately 2 weeks.

Rack over to secondary, and add the metabisulfite and the sorbate, and I gently rocked the carboy to mix it in. Secondary for about 4 weeks. The cider should clarify very nicely.

I then kegged the cider into a corny, adding the final remaining 1/2 gallon of apple juice to make it 5-gallons. Carbonate to around 2.8-3.0 volumes, chill and serve.

It is quite reminiscent of a woodchuck, but a tad less sweet. I consider woodchuck to be very sweet (call it "10/10 for sweetness"), my version is closer to a 7/10 for sweetness.

I'll post a picture shortly. It's got a light golden hue and a fabulous clarity. Very good aroma & taste of apples/juice.

MC

How would I do this if I wanted to bottle carbonate? Skip the sorbate and use some concentrate to prime rather than half a bottle of juice?
 
How would I do this if I wanted to bottle carbonate? Skip the sorbate and use some concentrate to prime rather than half a bottle of juice?

I wouldn't recommend it UNLESS you do pasteurization. There's a thread about that somewhere on this site. Not saying it can't be done, but you'd have to be very careful at what time you pasteurize.

... Started another yeast on Monday, here comes batch #5. I've been getting Wal-mart's apple juice for $1.49 for 1/2-gal, works out to a $15 5-gal batch (I reuse yeast).

MC
 
Misplaced_Canuck said:
I wouldn't recommend it UNLESS you do pasteurization. There's a thread about that somewhere on this site. Not saying it can't be done, but you'd have to be very careful at what time you pasteurize.

... Started another yeast on Monday, here comes batch #5. I've been getting Wal-mart's apple juice for $1.49 for 1/2-gal, works out to a $15 5-gal batch (I reuse yeast).

MC

I tried my hand at stovetop pasteurization on my last batch and will again this weekend so I don't mind doing so.

How does walmart juice compare to treetop? I know they have regular and no sugar added.
 
I tried my hand at stovetop pasteurization on my last batch and will again this weekend so I don't mind doing so.

How does walmart juice compare to treetop? I know they have regular and no sugar added.

Wal-mart's has water, apple juice concentrate, and ascorbic acid, nothing else. Ferments easily and quick, too! I have a starter on the stirplate right now, at 36 hours the krausen(!) came out of the top of the erlenmeyer!

MC
 
I'm a little confused on how to bottle this. Could someone explain the best way to do this? Do I still need the Potassium metabisulfate and potassium sorbate? What exactly do these do?

thanks

Steve
 
Hey Steve,

I have made a batch of a similar cider, and I will be making another this weekend. Bottling is very easy. You just put apple juice and yeast in primary, let it sit for a few weeks, then rack to bottling bucket. I backsweetend with 4 cans of thawed "frozen apple juice concentrate". So just rack onto the concentrate. Let sit in bottles for 3 days, then Stovetop Pasturize the batch of bottles.

So easy!!!
 
So i made this recipe 3 weeks ago as my first cider.
I was dumb and read it wrong 3 or 4 times and thought the Potassium metabisulfite and Potassium sorbate were some wort of yeast nutrient or something, so i added them in at the same time as the yeast. It did bubble a little during fermentation, less than my beer usually does, so i just thought it was a cider thing. But now i just read the recipe correctly and then looked up the two chemicals and found that they stop fermentation! Ill check the gravity this week and see if anything actually happened.

I also have a general question about stopping fermentation. If i do everything correctly, and add the sorbate and sulfite at the correct time and then cold crash it, will i be able to back sweeten it without it fermenting any more? What exactly do the two chemicals do to the yeast? Would i be able to bottle the cider from a keg and keep the bottles at room temp after force carbonating in the keg?
Thanks again and ill report back on my SG readings.
 
You will be able to back sweeten. I do the as,e thing, but you will not need to cold crash. Add the k metabisulfite and let sit for 24 hours with the airlock on. What this does is kill the yeast that is currently in the cider. After 24 hours add the k sorbate, what this does is if any wild yeast or anything gets into the cider it preserves it and does not allow for further fermentation. Once you have done this and the cider is clear keg and carb or even leave still as some prefer their cider this way.
 
Have 5 gallons in the primary. One week old, CO2 production waning. How long in primary; appears to be some confusion. Polyclar to clarify at two weeks, keg after 5 days, 2.8-3.0 atmospheres CO2 to carbonate? Used Wyeast cider strain. What say ye, oh gurus?

Thanks in advance!
orthodoct
 
Have 5 gallons in the primary. One week old, CO2 production waning. How long in primary; appears to be some confusion. Polyclar to clarify at two weeks, keg after 5 days, 2.8-3.0 atmospheres CO2 to carbonate? Used Wyeast cider strain. What say ye, oh gurus?

Thanks in advance!
orthodoct

There's no need for polyclar - have a look at my pictures earlier in this thread. 2 weeks primary (until no more CO2) and 2-4 weeks in secondary to let any sediment fall out of suspension.

MC
 
Doesn't appear to be a distinct separation between supernatant and precipitate like I have seen with beer over the years but has only been in primary for 8 days and airlock still producing some CO2. With no distinct layer, seems like racking to a secondary will be difficult. Is is still too early for precipitate to layer out? First experience with cider. Was in London recently for a meeting and hard cider is quite the rage over there. Thanks for the polyclar advice and Happy New Year!

orthodoct
 
Doesn't appear to be a distinct separation between supernatant and precipitate like I have seen with beer over the years but has only been in primary for 8 days and airlock still producing some CO2. With no distinct layer, seems like racking to a secondary will be difficult. Is is still too early for precipitate to layer out? First experience with cider. Was in London recently for a meeting and hard cider is quite the rage over there. Thanks for the polyclar advice and Happy New Year!

orthodoct


If you used plain apple juice (as per the recipe), it will clarify nicely, usually at 2-4 weeks in the primary. Secondary isn't quite necessary but it won't hurt.

MC
 
Do you continue the primary fermentation at room temperature? I am a week and a half out and no more CO2 production.

Thank you, MC!

orthodoct

PS: Made 15 gallons all grain Munich Helles yesterday; in the fermenter starting to bubble. Been brewing for 15 years; undergrad degree in microbiology/biochemistry from Clemson, but first foray into cider.
 
Do you continue the primary fermentation at room temperature? I am a week and a half out and no more CO2 production.

Thank you, MC!

orthodoct

PS: Made 15 gallons all grain Munich Helles yesterday; in the fermenter starting to bubble. Been brewing for 15 years; undergrad degree in microbiology/biochemistry from Clemson, but first foray into cider.

I would say that room temp should be fine as long as it is pretty consistent and is in the range listed for the yeast which is 60-75°F...but I'm in no way an expert
 
Thank you again, MC. Force carbonate in a keg at about 5 psi? Usually do beer at about 12psi, but probalbya bit excessive for cider.
Helles bubbling away merrily!

orthodoct
 
So could you skip the Potassium metabisulfite and Potassium sorbate, back sweeten with some thawed frozen concentrate, and then cold crash too keep from fermenting too much?

SO steps would go as... Ferment > back sweeten > sit for a few days to carb > then cold crash to stop the carbonation?
 
So could you skip the Potassium metabisulfite and Potassium sorbate, back sweeten with some thawed frozen concentrate, and then cold crash too keep from fermenting too much?

SO steps would go as... Ferment > back sweeten > sit for a few days to carb > then cold crash to stop the carbonation?

You could do that, should work, provided that your storage is fridge-cold. I store my ciders at room temperature (after sorbates & sulfites) and they get very little carbonation after they are kegged with new juice.

MC
 
BaconManic said:
So could you skip the Potassium metabisulfite and Potassium sorbate, back sweeten with some thawed frozen concentrate, and then cold crash too keep from fermenting too much?

SO steps would go as... Ferment > back sweeten > sit for a few days to carb > then cold crash to stop the carbonation?

I do this all the time. I have a fridge in the garage dedicated to storing and cold crashing my ciders. As long as they're kept cold they should not explode. I usually let mine ferment a few days before I place them in the fridge. To gauge the fermentation do the plastic bottle method. Works like a charm
 
ok, so I am thinking of making this recipe this weekend, but have a few questions. 1st, if the cider is going to be going from fermenter to keg, do I have to add the potassium meta, and potassium sorb.? 2nd, would it be fine to let it sit in the fermenter for two or three weeks, and then keg? 3rd, what temp should the Wyeast 1028 ferment at? Thanks a lot guys for all the information contained on this website. I have made beer from the extract kits, and my last included crushed grains, so I would like to continue to progress and now try a cider.
 
ok, so I am thinking of making this recipe this weekend, but have a few questions. 1st, if the cider is going to be going from fermenter to keg, do I have to add the potassium meta, and potassium sorb.? 2nd, would it be fine to let it sit in the fermenter for two or three weeks, and then keg? 3rd, what temp should the Wyeast 1028 ferment at? Thanks a lot guys for all the information contained on this website. I have made beer from the extract kits, and my last included crushed grains, so I would like to continue to progress and now try a cider.

I like to ferment at around 70F with the Wyeast 1028. It gives it just the right amount of fruity flavors.

If you are going from primary or secondary to keg and STRAIGHT to fridge, you should not need the K Meta/Sorbates. But if you store the keg at room temperature after you add fresh juice for back sweetening, it will start fermenting and will become dry all over again.

You can go straight from primary to keg and immediately into fridge.

MC
 
Got me some WLP013 in my Cascade SMASH I just did, thinking about using it for this recipe... should be the same right?

Also, wondering why it calls for Potassium Sorbate? That to stop fermentation and clear it out?
 
Got me some WLP013 in my Cascade SMASH I just did, thinking about using it for this recipe... should be the same right?

Also, wondering why it calls for Potassium Sorbate? That to stop fermentation and clear it out?

It's to prevent refermentation in the keg. Have a re-read of the first page.

WLP013 is a good choice.

MC
 
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