Caramel Apple Hard Cider

Got this bubbling away under the kitchen table right now. I added a little DAP during the sugar caramel stage which altered the texture for a while. It crystalized right away in the fermenter and did not mix in very will even with a power drill mixer. Should be fine though.

Edited.

Lol. Gentlemen lets be civil here. If you want to get into recipe copyright laws we can.... You can't copyright a list of ingredients.... You can copyright the wording in the instructions. And to truly make it yours, don't post it on a public forum, where people can copy & paste to their hearts content. (Example to think about: Facebook dude posted a funny video of his kid for his friends to see. Next day woke up to 136,000 likes and 50,000 shares... Once it's in cyberland it doesn't really belong to you anymore, it belongs to the Internet) but since we are all in the business of sharing, just to be nice & learning from one another. Let's get back to the awesome recipe at hand. I made it, with a few variations. And it's awesome. In 2 weeks I'll have some score sheets to tell me HOW awesome.

mcbethenstein said:

Lol. Gentlemen lets be civil here. If you want to get into recipe copyright laws we can.... You can't copyright a list of ingredients.... You can copyright the wording in the instructions. And to truly make it yours, don't post it on a public forum, where people can copy & paste to their hearts content. (Example to think about: Facebook dude posted a funny video of his kid for his friends to see. Next day woke up to 136,000 likes and 50,000 shares... Once it's in cyberland it doesn't really belong to you anymore, it belongs to the Internet) but since we are all in the business of sharing, just to be nice & learning from one another. Let's get back to the awesome recipe at hand. I made it, with a few variations. And it's awesome. In 2 weeks I'll have some score sheets to tell me HOW awesome.

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Here here!

It's like when people say they have a secret ingredient. That's so stupid. Just think if Auguste Escoffier kept everything a secret. It's freakin juice, sugar, yeast, and caramel sauce. Get over yourself.

What if after EdWort I posted a recipe called Apple Wine , that was the same ingredients and process (just more juice and nutrients), and never gave Ed the credit? I don't think it's right. Maybe it is just me, but I think the guy deserves the credit. There has been 765 post and tons of people praising Mike for his recipe and we are just now hearing that he found it somewhere else.

Clifton said:

What if after EdWort I posted a recipe called Apple Wine , that was the same ingredients and process (just more juice and nutrients), and never gave Ed the credit? I don't think it's right. Maybe it is just me, but I think the guy deserves the credit. There has been 765 post and tons of people praising Mike for his recipe and we are just now hearing that he found it somewhere else.

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1: But the original page 1 recipe isn't the same identical recipe to Ellicit/Daves.
2. I didn't get the recipe from HomeBrewTalk, I found it doing a google search. And it was listed as I found it, Caramel Apple Hard Cider.
3: I have since modified the recipe I found (page 42), thereby making it my own. As most people do with cider, beer, food, etc.

I never put my name on this cider. I found a good recipe, and I shared this with the community here. I think the number of replies to this thread speaks for itself.

Where did you find it. The only relevant pages I get from google are this thread and Dave's.

What the F difference does it make?

I've read all of this thread and all of Dave's. I'd like to compare them with the website you originally found the recipe on. What can I say, I can't get enough of caramel apple cider.

Okay, so quick question - I brewed a batch of this on Wednesday night. Its my 3rd time, so I am pretty comfortable with the process... But I have yet to see any airlock activity, and its Saturday morning. The only thing that I can see the difference being is the temperature. Usually I had been brewing this in the summer. My bucket sat in my basement at about 70*. Now that its winter, the same spot is about 62*. Still used Notty, just like before - but way slower startoff. I do have an Irish Red that I have going with BRY-97, and it took off normally and is bubbling like crazy still...

EDIT: So, after checking on it right now, I can tell that its going well in the bucket, however, the lid is leaking tiny air bubbles, just the smallest bit. I can hear it with my ear right next to it, now that I have a very quiet house. I have tried duct taping it down hard, but its still leaking. Will this be okay to leave, or should I try to transfer to another primary?

I've never had this happen before.

janson745 said:

Okay, so quick question - I brewed a batch of this on Wednesday night. Its my 3rd time, so I am pretty comfortable with the process... But I have yet to see any airlock activity, and its Saturday morning. The only thing that I can see the difference being is the temperature. Usually I had been brewing this in the summer. My bucket sat in my basement at about 70*. Now that its winter, the same spot is about 62*. Still used Notty, just like before - but way slower startoff. I do have an Irish Red that I have going with BRY-97, and it took off normally and is bubbling like crazy still...

EDIT: So, after checking on it right now, I can tell that its going well in the bucket, however, the lid is leaking tiny air bubbles, just the smallest bit. I can hear it with my ear right next to it, now that I have a very quiet house. I have tried duct taping it down hard, but its still leaking. Will this be okay to leave, or should I try to transfer to another primary?

I've never had this happen before.

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You'll be just fine. A lot of people ferment without even using an airlock (on large batches I generally tape some cut cloth from a jam bag over the bung hole in the lid myself, as the airlock just generally spits all the water out). The co2 being produced will keep your ferment safe, just keep checking sg and rack to secondary when fermentation slows.

pasteurised my second batch the other day and have two in the fridge cooling. they oughta be awesome. Added more cinnamon extract this time.:rockin:

manco171 said:

pasteurised my second batch the other day and have two in the fridge cooling. they oughta be awesome. Added more cinnamon extract this time.:rockin:

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Careful, a little cinnamon extract goes a long way.

I was reading some of the earlier posts regarding the difficulties of carmelizing the sugars then adding it to your juice.

Has anyone thought of adding some Karo syrup to the mixture after taking the sugar off the heat? I thinking that it should stabilize the sugar syrup and allow it cool down without crystalizing before adding to your juice.

UpstateMike said:

Careful, a little cinnamon extract goes a long way.

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Mike,

Are the ingredients in this liquid cinnamon extract similar to yours? Any dramas using this oil in the brew?

Cheers

Fossey said:

Mike,

Are the ingredients in this liquid cinnamon extract similar to yours? Any dramas using this oil in the brew?

Cheers

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Is that cinnamon extract, or cinnamon oil? They are two very different things, the cinnamon oil being the stronger of the two.

I use the McCormick Cinnamon Extract. The ingredients are Propylene Glycol, Alcohol (40%), Water, and Extractives of Cinnamon.

UpstateMike said:

Is that cinnamon extract, or cinnamon oil? They are two very different things, the cinnamon oil being the stronger of the two.

I use the McCormick Cinnamon Extract. The ingredients are Propylene Glycol, Alcohol (40%), Water, and Extractives of Cinnamon.

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This is the one...

Has anyone ever made this WITHOUT adding the cinnamon/brown sugar, and just the apple juice concentrate upon bottling? If so, how did that turn out, as that is that I am planning to try with my first batch that is in primary now.

Also, if you wanted to make half still, half carb'd... How would YOU do it?

ste6168 said:

Has anyone ever made this WITHOUT adding the cinnamon/brown sugar, and just the apple juice concentrate upon bottling? If so, how did that turn out, as that is that I am planning to try with my first batch that is in primary now.

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I believe that is called plain old backsweetened cider.

ste6168 said:

Also, if you wanted to make half still, half carb'd... How would YOU do it?

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Transfer half of the batch into your bottling bucket. Add half of the recommended concentrate for a full batch (1.5 - 2 cans instead of 3 - 4). Bottle the first half. This will be your carbed cider.

Add 3-4 campden tablets to the remaining cider that you did not bottle. reinsert your airlock.

Wait 24 - 48 hours.

Bottle the remaining half.. This will be your unsweetened still cider.

Fossey said:

This is the one...

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Based on the ingredients, I would think it is stronger than McCormicks. You may want to find someone that has used it in baking, they may know how strong it is. Other than that, I say experiment away.

UpstateMike said:

Based on the ingredients, I would think it is stronger than McCormicks. You may want to find someone that has used it in baking, they may know how strong it is. Other than that, I say experiment away.

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Cheers! It was a battle to find someone local to buy this from (local = opposite side of Australia) so I will just experiment and wing it...

I've managed to find apple concentrate and pear concentrate now so all is not lost with replicating recipes on HBT!

Picked up about 6 gallons of apple juice and I am going to do a 3 gallon batch of this Caramel Apple and a 3 gallon of EdWort Apfelwein. Has anyone done the Caramel Apple with the Montrachet yeast? I read through 20 pages and saw a few other references to other yeasts but not Montrachet. I have US-04 and US-05 readily available as well if one of those would be a better choice.

My plan is

3 Gallons Apple Juice into one carboy with a campden tablet for 24 hours or so then 1 pounds of dextrose and one 1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast into one carboy for the Apfelwein.
3 Gallons Apple Juice into another carboy with a campden tablet for 24 hours or so then 1 pound of dextrose and a packet of yeast into the other carboy for the Caramel Apple.

After I hit target gravity I will cold crash the Caramel Apple, make the syrup, back sweeten with concentrate, keg and carbonate. The Apfelwein will just get cold crashed, kegged and carbonated.

See any problems with my above plan?

MidTNJasonF said:

My plan is

3 Gallons Apple Juice into one carboy with a campden tablet for 24 hours or so then 1 pounds of dextrose and one 1 five gram packet of Montrachet Wine Yeast into one carboy for the Apfelwein.
3 Gallons Apple Juice into another carboy with a campden tablet for 24 hours or so then 1 pound of dextrose and a packet of yeast into the other carboy for the Caramel Apple.

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Why use campden at this point? I'd just pour the juice, add the sugar, add the yeast, and pop an airlock on it.

UpstateMike said:

Why use campden at this point? I'd just pour the juice, add the sugar, add the yeast, and pop an airlock on it.

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Always done that on fruit juice based stuff to kill off any wild or native yeast prior to pitching the planned yeast. I guess it might be overkill for this.

UpstateMike said:

Why use campden at this point? I'd just pour the juice, add the sugar, add the yeast, and pop an airlock on it.

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Ya shouldn't need campden, the juice should be pasteurized already

Ste6168: when I did my half carbbed half still batch I just put everything in the bottling bucket as normal, no campden tabs, then bottled it all... The still went into the beer freezer at 32^ while the carbbed sat out for a few days with the reccomended plastic 20oz soda bottle check

tx-brewer said:

Ya shouldn't need campden, the juice should be pasteurized already

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I will check them and if so I will leave out the campden step. One of the juices is a raw unfiltered no preservative juice but it still might be pasteurized.

No comments on the Montrachet yeast from anyone? Will it leave a bit more of a wine like finish/taste instead of cider?

Hey Mike, I just bottled my first batch following your first recipe verbatim and had a bottle last night (while studying for my Constitutional law class!) and it's freeking AWESOME!!!

However, I prefer some carb in my cider and it's still at this point. I understand that this is due to the addition if the Campden tablets, but my question is this:

I've read that Campden tablets don't kill yeast, per se, but instead stop the reproduction of yeast. Now, I have noticed over the past couple of days that the bottles are becoming a bit more firm when I squeeze them (I bottled in 1-liter PETs). Is it logical to assume that the yeast is reactivating in some way and metabolizing the syrup as if it is a priming sugar and not simply a back sweetener?

Thanks man!

MidTNJasonF said:

I will check them and if so I will leave out the campden step. One of the juices is a raw unfiltered no preservative juice but it still might be pasteurized.

No comments on the Montrachet yeast from anyone? Will it leave a bit more of a wine like finish/taste instead of cider?

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Hi Jason, I've used Montrachet in 1 batch of mead so far. It dried it out nicely making for an almost red wine (blueberry mead). I am curious how it would work in this case because, with the back sweetening, I'm not sure how much "drier" you'd be than using the Notty. But, I'll admit, I'd like to know how it goes. I may try it myself.

bombilla said:

I've read that Campden tablets don't kill yeast, per se, but instead stop the reproduction of yeast. Now, I have noticed over the past couple of days that the bottles are becoming a bit more firm when I squeeze them (I bottled in 1-liter PETs). Is it logical to assume that the yeast is reactivating in some way and metabolizing the syrup as if it is a priming sugar and not simply a back sweetener?

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Possibly, if they are left out at room temp. The only thing I can say is keep an eye on them, you may have to toss them in the fridge if they get too hard. Keep us posted with what happens.

UpstateMike said:

Possibly, if they are left out at room temp. The only thing I can say is keep an eye on them, you may have to toss them in the fridge if they get too hard. Keep us posted with what happens.

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Gotcha. Well I have 18 liters sitting in the cabinet right now (1 in the fridge is destined for a different metabolism as soon as the kids are in bed and I can relax!!)

Thanks for the reply!

Racked my first batch from primary the other day. Thankfully the chunky hunks of caramelized sugar were indeed eaten up by the yeasties. Now for the "dunked in honey part" and bottling.

Locus415 said:

Racked my first batch from primary the other day. Thankfully the chunky hunks of caramelized sugar were indeed eaten up by the yeasties. Now for the "dunked in honey part" and bottling.

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Wait, did you put the cinnamon/sugar mixture into your primary?

I needed a few things from the LHBS so I just grabbed a pack of Notty instead of trying it with Montrachet. Which brings me to my next question. Is there an ideal fermentation temp for Notty in this Cider? I could control it in the ferm chamber but if it is fine at an ambient of 68'ish I can just put it in the closet for a little while.

bombilla said:

Hey Mike, I just bottled my first batch following your first recipe verbatim and had a bottle last night (while studying for my Constitutional law class!) and it's freeking AWESOME!!!

However, I prefer some carb in my cider and it's still at this point. I understand that this is due to the addition if the Campden tablets, but my question is this:

I've read that Campden tablets don't kill yeast, per se, but instead stop the reproduction of yeast. Now, I have noticed over the past couple of days that the bottles are becoming a bit more firm when I squeeze them (I bottled in 1-liter PETs). Is it logical to assume that the yeast is reactivating in some way and metabolizing the syrup as if it is a priming sugar and not simply a back sweetener?

Thanks man!

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You should pasteurize them either by any method you choose and yes campden will not not the yeast. It will consume the syrup and if not pasteurized can make for some wicked fountains after opening. Let them carb for a week then pasteurize.

MidTNJasonF said:

Is there an ideal fermentation temp for Notty in this Cider? I could control it in the ferm chamber but if it is fine at an ambient of 68'ish I can just put it in the closet for a little while.

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I usually use it at mid to upper 60's

Has anyone had slow carbing? Its been over a week and I'm still left with still cider. Its great but I would like it carb'ed. I used 5 cans of Frozen Apple Juice Concentrate along with some dextrose. Still nothing.

What temp are you carbing at? If below 68, that may be your issue.

Yea I think I am around that temp. Ill try to get them around warmer air and see what happens.