Fall Flavors?

After looking through the recipe section here and taking a look at some commercial cider websites, cinnamon and nutmeg seem to be the choices for making a spiced cider for autumn. Anyone have any suggestions for other spices or flavors to add? Skoal!

I'm not a cinnamon fan, or cloves either, in cider.

What about just a hint of vanilla? That doesn't scream "fall" but it would probably be great.

Vanilla is a great idea, thanks!

Mine has baked pumpkin in it currently. I think it is doing quite nicely. It also has cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cloves. Though I am a big fan of all of those spices.

All good ideas, thanks. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and maybe some allspice are all pumpkin pie spices, I think. I think I'll split the next batch in half and spice portion of it. Again, thanks for the ideas.

I know its not recommended, but what about boiling down some fresh juice? I'm thinking it would give it that cooked apple flavor reminiscent of apple pie. In a sweeter cider that might be pretty nice. Maybe a little cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg too. Just a thought. I was eating a piece of toast with apple butter when reading this thread.

Would boiling it set the pectins and make applesauce. Maybe if you added some pectic enzyme to fresh juice to break them down, then boil?

Never use clove. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Fletch78 said:

Never use clove. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Click to expand...

ha! I take it you have tried?

Clove is ok in a bundle of mulling spice which you steep in hot sweet cider on the stovetop to which whiskey is added and consumed like a hunch-punch, but steeped or fermented in a cider or mead as a flavor in the bottle will result in an inevitable failure. Anyone who disagrees with me is an idiot and should not be trusted.

ok . . . no clove, got it

Fletch78 said:

Clove is ok in a bundle of mulling spice which you steep in hot sweet cider on the stovetop to which whiskey is added and consumed like a hunch-punch, but steeped or fermented in a cider or mead as a flavor in the bottle will result in an inevitable failure. Anyone who disagrees with me is an idiot and should not be trusted.

Click to expand...

Little harsh don't you think? I've got some cloves in my cider now, and I think it tastes delicious.

Bubbles541 said:

Little harsh don't you think? I've got some cloves in my cider now, and I think it tastes delicious.

Click to expand...

ok . . . . put cloves in, got it

Cloves should be used very very sparingly. They give a nice little bite but can quickly overpower everything else. We're talking a couple whole cloves or no more than 1/4 tsp ground in a 5 gallon batch

The problem with cloves is that they can quickly become overpowering, so much so that only two to four in a 5g batch is as much as I will recommend.

I've been on the receiving end of a methelglyn (spiced mead) that was done only with cloves, and it failed utterly as a beverage. As medieval mouthwash though, it was respectable.

As above, mace, nutmeg and cinnamon are all good flavors, brown sugar or maple syrup works as well, though you're better off with a bit of true vanilla extract as it won't ferment. if you do use vanilla extract use the real stuff and only a tablespoon or less for a 5g batch.

There are Instant Mulling Spices available this time of year that work great and take the guesswork out of the recipe. Just dissolve the directed amount into your cider before pitching the yeast.

Be careful not to get the kind that is mostly sugar, as those get pretty expensive ($5-6 / gallon!) and also it messes with your gravity.

Walking_Target said:

As above, mace, nutmeg and cinnamon are all good flavors, brown sugar or maple syrup works as well, though you're better off with a bit of true vanilla extract as it won't ferment. if you do use vanilla extract use the real stuff and only a tablespoon or less for a 5g batch.

Click to expand...

And thread RESURRECTED!

Anyone know if you can use the imitation vanilla instead of real? that real stuff be pricey.

Imitation Vanilla is ok, but not great. Also, you have to use more of it because it's not as strong, so that doesn't help the price comparison. A 2fl bottle of Pure Vanilla Extract is about $3.50 at Walmart, and that's enough for 20gal (use 1T per 5gal.)

Also, I would just like to say that my post last year about Instant Mulling Spices was a terrible idea and no one should ever make that mistake again. That cider had so many competing flavors that it is only just now drinkable after 10 months in the bottle.

sounds good to me

Fletch78 said:

Never use clove. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Click to expand...

+1 on never using cloves.... vey overpowering IMHO

Constant Comment tea.

For a gallon of cider approx ... Two bags in 3/4 cup of boiling water. Turn off heat & cover pot. Pull out teabags after 5 minutes. Let cool. Add cooled tea to cider, to taste. Note that this will darken the cider a bit.

You can also add uncooked teabags to the secondary. Depending on taste, 4 or 5 teabags directly per gallon. Keep in the cider for two or three weeks.
Soak the teabags in a just enough solution of metabisulfite to saturate them first for 15 min before adding to the secondary.

You may need to modify and add more or less depending on your result and tastes.

Constant Comment... Isn't that orange flavor? I wouldn't put orange with apples, that's too wierd.

I was thinking abbot this the other day and think a pine or spruce would be good for a fall flavor..

DMartin said:

Constant Comment... Isn't that orange flavor? I wouldn't put orange with apples, that's too wierd.

Click to expand...

Yup, orange and other spices.

Actually it works really well.

Besides the orange and spice and the general tea flavor, using tea adds a bit more tannin too.

Sometimes traditional German "Heisse Ebbelwei" (hot apple wine) and "Gluhwein" also uses orange rind. (tho gluhwein is more commonly red wine).

Absolutely awesome served hot in cold weather around the holidays.

Caraway seed. I use it in graff a LOT. It's not as strong as anise, but it does add just a hint of anise-like (closest descriptor) flavour that blends with the apple wonderfully. I've used it in primary & secondary, sometimes both and even put a few into the bottles. IMHO, caraway seed & apple go together like bread & butter.

Molasses is another flavour that I consider a "fall flavour," so is maple. Adding a bit of fresh or candied ginger could be interesting. Lemon and/or orange zest (and often juice too) are almost always added to Swedish Glogg spices; and I've always thought raisins & dates were "fall" flavours. Anise might work, if you like it, a lot don't.

That's my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

I'm going to go with, ginger, nutmeg, alspice, clove (just one clove maybe 2, no worries clove haters), I'll investigate this caraway seed thing, and get a bit of molassas flavor from the dark brown sugar I'm going to use.

You said you do a lot of graff? That's where you add DME to the brew right? Do you think this could benifit from some? If so what kind?

I just did a batch with vanilla and extra brown sugar and it was delish. Kind of like a drinkable pie.

RE: cloves: you could try flavoring with oil of clove or some other clove extract at bottling time. Being as oil of clove is potent enough to act as a topical analgesic and you only use 3 drops of it to vaporize-scent an entire room, I would use it sparingly indeed. DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS. Here is a form where some nice hippies are discussing how to cook candy with it: http://herbs.maxforum.org/2010/09/06/cooking-with-clove-oil/

brazedowl said:

I'm going to go with, ginger, nutmeg, alspice, clove (just one clove maybe 2, no worries clove haters), I'll investigate this caraway seed thing, and get a bit of molassas flavor from the dark brown sugar I'm going to use.

You said you do a lot of graff? That's where you add DME to the brew right? Do you think this could benifit from some? If so what kind?

Click to expand...

Here's Brandon O's basic graff recipe:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/

I've been experimenting with it for a while now. I've used pale, amber & dark LME, 2 row, 6 row, honey malt, crystal 60, crystal 80 & crystal 120, Munich, caramunich, brown malt, biscuit, victory, acidulated malt, flaked barley, flaked oats, raisins, caraway seed, lemon zest, molasses, etc...
Not all in the same batch of course.

I like to increase the malt profile & ABV by increasing the LME/DME/Grains, I also like to add frozen apple juice concentrate (FAJC) to increase the apple flavour, acid content & ABV. Obviously some batches were better than others, but in all honesty, I've NEVER had a batch of graff that wasn't absolutely delicious.

Now as to your spices, use whole, cracked or sliced spices & put them in a hop sack. You can weigh it down with a couple of sanitized marbles if you want. Using powdered spices usually ends up making a big mess & oftentimes will ruin a batch over time. Short of filtration, you cannot remove those powdered spices, so the continue to add more & more flavour over time, until there is no more flavour left. By that time, the flavour profile is too strong. With the hop sack method, you can remove those spices when the flavour profile is just right.

Hope this info helps. Regards, GF.

Two thoughts on spices:

1. Heehee... hop sack.

2. Ground spices will usually become either dissolved or trapped in the yeast cake, so you wont have visible particles to deal with. They tend to dominate the flavor at a young age, but after 8-10 months they begin to balance out. I like to brew in the late fall with fresh cider from my local orchards and store it until the next September when the weather starts to cool.