A first attempt

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JKAlchemist

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So I'm relatively new to brewing. I've brewed a batch if double chocolate stout that turned out quite well and now I'm going for my first cider. So far I'm in the secondary thinking of adding some spice to mimic the woodchuck fall taste (the old lady's favorite). The following is an excerpt from my blog I've been using as a brewing diary of sorts to keep better track of where I'm at. Im sharing it just so you know where I'm at currently.
"Given the time of the year and the fact that the old lady's favorite fermented beverage is Woodchuck Hard Cider, I decided to try my hand at brewing some.

Believe it or not the Walmart brand has some pretty rave reviews for cider making

My recipe is as follows :
5 gallons of Walmart brand apple juice (concentrate, water, and ascorbic acid aka: vitamin C).
2 pounds of brown sugar
1 packet of champagne yeast.
SPLENDA (amount tbd for taste)


I began by emptying the total volume of juice into my stock pot heating to 160 F. Apparently any hotter will release pectins which my research has brought me to the conclusion this is adverse for the Cyser. After adding the brown sugar, at 160, I stirred vigorously until everything was dissolved. I also made certain to ensure no brown sugar was left at the bottom of the pot.

After about 45 minutes at 160. I placed in the primary fermenter (sanitized of course) and covered until cooled till 92 F. Ensured to pour as dynamically as possible to aerate mixture. I then sealed off and place in my basement(70 degrees ambient temperature).
Note: after cooling down to 92 I took a SG reading. Came out to 7.5% alcohol.
12/15/12 was start day
Starting gravity: 1.057

12/16/12 airlock bubbling vigorously at about 1 bubble every 10 seconds.

12/18/12 airlock still bubbling 1-2 bubbles every 30 seconds

12/22/12 airlock 6 bubbles counted over 1 minute at 60 degrees F.

12/25/12. MERRRRRY CHRISTMAS! Tapping into the stout I brewed a month back and celebrating this holiday.. Good and good beer are mandatory staples of this festivity. Then again, when aren't those too mandatory :). But back to the cider.
2 bubbles/ min. Noted at 66 F ambient room temp. Odd odor coming from airlock, aside from alcohol smell of course. Really hope it isn't infected. Guess we will find out at racking. Only a few days left until then I'm hoping :D

12/26/12. 0 airlock activity over 60 seconds at 64 F.

1/2/2012 Time for racking :) Initial reaction after I opened the lid was one of panic and fear! To be perfectly honest the stuff smelled like rhino farts. After doing some research online however, I have found that this is a pretty common occurence initially and that it will subside. I decided, despite the putrid smell, to go on with racking anyway. The initial color while still inside the bucket was almost darker then mollasses. After completing the racking process however It looks like a good shade of
amber. I also decided on a preliminary taste test, for the most part the only distinguished flavor to me was the alcohol. There is minute apple flavor and a weird after funk. However, I'm not too worried after the yeasties have a little more time to clean up and I'm ready to back sweeten I am sure this will make a tasty brew (hopefully)."

I was thinking about adding a little cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg now that its been hanging out in secondary for a while to give it a comparable taste to the fall cider. Suggestions or critiques please.





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Very extensive note taking! Ok, yes some cinnamon and nutmeg are a nice touch to give a cider. Your smell problem usually comes from a stressed out yeast packet. In the future, try adding Yeast Nutrient when you pitch your yeast. Also, EC-1118 is known as a workhorse yeast (and it is!) but it can give off lots of Sulfer, and that may be part of your problem as well. In the Future try K1-1116 or D-47, both have worked well for me. Many folks like the Nottingham ale yeast too, but thats one that I (through no fault of the yeast! just my own idiocy) experienced bottle bombs with.
 
What sort of portioning would you recommend for a five a gallon batch concerning cinnamon and nutmeg? Just wait till just before bottling and spice / sweeten until I like it?
 
What sort of portioning would you recommend for a five a gallon batch concerning cinnamon and nutmeg? Just wait till just before bottling and spice / sweeten until I like it?

As much of a 'cop out' as that may sound, its true. Folks taste perceptions are very different, but that's one of the beautys of homebrewing as well.

As a rule of thumb, go small on your additions of anything and add more to taste.

Having said that, my latest batch of cider will start with 1 Tbs of Cinnamon, 1/2 Tbs of Nutmeg, and 1/2oz of Bitter Orange peel. Will I adjust it? Yes, probally, but that's where I'm starting out.

That is for 7 gallons.
 
What sort of portioning would you recommend for a five a gallon batch concerning cinnamon and nutmeg? Just wait till just before bottling and spice / sweeten until I like it?

This is why I prefer to make a spice extract that I can add drop-by-drop. It's very easy to adjust on the fly rather than having to let it sit on spices for a week. Just take a sample glass of fermented cider and add drops of spice extracts until the flavor is what you're after. Keep track of how much you added and extrapolate for your entire batch. Make the extract by pouring vodka on spice and letting it sit for a week or two. I find that extract also tends to capture the higher and more aromatic notes of spices rather than the musty, spicy or bitter notes I sometimes get from racking onto spices.
 
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