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03-27-2011, 08:36 AM
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#1
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Caramel Apple Cider
Recipe Type: All Grain Yeast: Champagne/Wine Yeast Yeast Starter: Optional Batch Size (Gallons): 1 Gal Original Gravity: - Final Gravity: - Boiling Time (Minutes): 15mins Color: Light gold Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Until dry Tasting Notes: Tastes like apples dunked in caramel and honey.
For a 1 gal batch:
Ingredients:
2 cups raw sugar (I would believe that the sugar is interchangeable, doesn't matter if it is white or brown)
250 ml honey
1 gal Apple Juice/Cider (preservative free)
Any standard wine/champagne yeast.
Method:
1. Add 2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup apple juice to a pan. Caramelise on medium heat for around 14 mins. NOTE: If you want this to be a clear cider, substitute JUICE for WATER.
2. Once sugar is caramelised, add to fermenter.
3. Pour half of your juice into the fermenter and SHAKE.
4. Add the rest of your juice.
5. Pitch yeast.
6. Ferment till dry, and yeast clears (see notes).
7. Add honey (Adding extra sugar is optional at this point, depends on your tastes) to a pan and caramelise to taste. (I used 15mins).
8. Siphon clear cider into clean fermenter and add half of your cider and the honey mixture from step 6.
9. MIX, MIX, MIX, MIX. I ended up mixing for almost half an hour to get it all to homogenise. Be wary that your cider may still be releasing CO2, so release the pressure often. Once you have mixed in the honey/sugar solution, add the remaining cider.
10. Bottle and pasteurise.
Notes (READ):
The sugar mixture will take a long while to mix in both times. It is more important to mix in the sugar at the latter part of the recipe, as the yeast will eat the sugar not in solution during primary fermentation.
Ferment till dry and yeast clears. If you have used apple juice with your sugar mixture, your cider will not completely clear, I would suggest using a hydrometer and wait for stable readings.
Do NOT burn your honey or sugar. This will most likely ruin your pot, and will smell and taste awful. That being said, watch for splashes and remember that the sugar will continue to caramelise after you remove it from the heat.
Essential Reading:
Pappers_ pasteurisation thread which is stickied at the top of the cider forum. I do not know how this would go being dry, but the flavours are complemented as a sweet cider.
Finally, I did not take gravity measurements, but I would hesitate a guess of a final ABV at 9%. This is the single best cider I have made to date. It tastes like I am drinking apples dunked in caramel, with a honey aftertaste. It is SO smooth. I had a sample of it as I was mixing and ended up going through a whole 750 ml bottle. BE CAREFUL with this stuff, it's dangerous because it is so smooth, even straight out of primary. |
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04-18-2011, 09:15 PM
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#2
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Do you sterilize immediately after bottling?
Is there any carbonation?
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04-20-2011, 01:52 AM
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#3
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I pasteurised it for a sweet, still cider. I thought that a still cider would go better with the smooth caramel taste. There's no reason why anyone trying this can't make it sparkling, they will need to read Pappers thread on Stove Top Bottle Pasteurisation to ensure that they don't get bottle bombs. Another thing to note is that this comes out VERY sweet, almost too sweet. But that's how I like it. The most important thing to do with this recipe is to experiment to your taste.
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Primary: Cherry Melomel
Secondary:
Bottled: JAOM, Amber Ale
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04-20-2011, 07:24 PM
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#4
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Sweet man, I will definitely give it a try, thanks.
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04-20-2011, 08:49 PM
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#5
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Location: Valley of the Sunstroke, AZ
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Sounds great!!
Is oxidation a concern in ciders like it is beer? With all that post fermentation mixing and all
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Be very, very quiet, I'm hunting gnomes.
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04-20-2011, 10:17 PM
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#6
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It definitely is. Mine was still releasing CO2 when I was shaking it hence releasing pressure, so I wasn't that worried about it. If you're going to bottle condition + pasteurise then I don't think it's as big as a problem because it is still going to go under a secondary fermentation in the bottle and consume/overwhelm any oxygen in there.
It is also completely acceptable to not add any sugar (except priming sugar) after fermentation. You could probably add the first lot of sugar and stop fermentation before all of the sugars are consumed (whether by chemicals or pasteurisation). Also, you can experiment with this addition of sugars. Adding a small amount of citric acid to the pan with the sugar will help convert the sugar to simpler acids which the yeast may not be able to consume, leaving the taste and the sweetness.
It's all up to you!
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Primary: Cherry Melomel
Secondary:
Bottled: JAOM, Amber Ale
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04-22-2011, 12:55 AM
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#7
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Wait, now I'm confused again...
How long do you let the bottles sit between capping them and stovetop sterlizing them?
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04-25-2011, 12:01 AM
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#8
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I did it within the hour because I was not concerned, I have never had a problem with oxidation.. I would suggest somewhere between 4 and 5 hours. If you have no problem using campden tablets, you might as well stabilise then backsweeten and bottle (the sulphur will provide an extra level of protection). I don't use additives or chemicals in my brews.
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Primary: Cherry Melomel
Secondary:
Bottled: JAOM, Amber Ale
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05-29-2011, 05:37 PM
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#9
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Haha oldmate, you weren't kidding around about the 9%.
My batch is crystal clear in the carboy after 3 weeks. According to my calcs the cider is actually at 0.995 gravity right now, which makes it about 9.2%.
I'm going to combine it with the honey and pasteurize the bottles today. Will let you know how the finished product is!!
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05-30-2011, 09:30 AM
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#10
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Awesome! Keen to hear for some feedback! I have to emphasise not to burn the sugar/honey. Just finished another batch where I slightly burned it and it ruined the whole thing.
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Primary: Cherry Melomel
Secondary:
Bottled: JAOM, Amber Ale
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