add brandy to cider??

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Over the holiday weekend we were sharing our first batch of hard cider with family, and my grandfather said that his dad used to make hard cider and he would add brandy to the cider at the very beginning. he said it added to the alcohol content and to the flavor. Has anyone heard of this or tried it? He said for a 5 gallon carboy to add about 6 oz of brandy. Im wondering if this is any good. ??
 
I just bottled about 1 gallon of fortified apple mead, which I think is going to turn out awesome in a year or so. I oaked it and there's alot more brandy than what you're talking about, but even at that it doesn't taste like brandy. Personally I think it might need a little sweetness if you're adding brandy, but that's up to you. I had looked for a Pearson Square calculator or something to see how much it will boost your alcohol level, but with only 6 oz it doesn't seem like it would increase it that much.
Depending on the yeast that you used you'll kill it off with alcohol level and then you could backsweeten to taste.
 
I'd be inclined to add twice that much to 5 gallons. Try some in a glass with some cider to see how much you need and multiply up to 5 gallons. Adding 12 oz of 40% abv to 5 gallons will increase the alcohol content by about 1%.

I would recommend adding it at bottling to ensure fermentation does not scrub any of the aromatic compounds from the brandy.

I add rum to some of my beers at bottling. Goes well in an oaked robust porter.
 
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