A warning on spicing cider

Toppers · 06-26-2008, 01:54 PM

Small batch experiment, racked a gallon of cider to a secondary, this time spicing with 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, clove, and put a cinnamon stick in there.

2 weeks later it has fermented out, and I gave it a taste test. Yuck.

I'm going to bottle it in the hopes that it settles out or ages well in 3-6 months, but it isn't tasting good. Overpowering and disgusting is the only way to explain it, a nostril full of clove and cinnamon.

Be careful with spicing

**the_bird** · 06-26-2008, 01:55 PM

Spicing does tend to drop out with beers, so I wouldn't abandon all hope.

jmulligan · 06-26-2008, 02:02 PM

You could always rack this into a secondary to bulk condition while you make another batch. Then you could combine the two, which would dilute your spices (or, you end up with 2 gallons of overly-spiced cider, depending on how strong it is).

k1v1116 · 06-26-2008, 02:06 PM

Ive made a lot of 1 gallon mead experiment batches and found the only way to spice them is with a very accurate gram scale because 1 gallon requires so little. a full cinnamon stick is enough for a full 5 gallon batch and nutmeg tends to get stronger with age, I prefer mace to nutmeg its a similar flavor but much more mild. Ive also ruined a few batches with too much star-anise. for a medium level of spice in 5 gallons ive used about 1 cinnamon stick(3inches), 1 tsp of mace, 10 or less allspice berries, same with the cloves, and 3-4 star-anise pods. remember that a mulled cider needs more spices because the sweetness covers a lot of their flavor but with fermented stuff the spice becomes much more pronounced as the yeast drys it out.