2nd cider batch; yeast question and flavor help/suggestion?

First two batches of cider came out surprisingly well (one made with champagne yeast, 2nd with plane bread yeast) So was gearing up for another two batches. My goal was to eventually try for a caramel apple cider but hadn't had much luck locating something reliable for a 1gal batch(figured best to try before going 3-5gal), Anyone have or know of any good caramal goodness recipes?

As far as yeast goes. I'd heard a lot of good things from people on here using Nottingham ale yeast so decided to give it a go this time around. Having never used it my only concern would be any issues with blowback or headspace I should worry about? Someone had suggested a few threads ago using a plastic bucket double the batch size you plan on for primary then moving over to glass carboy the size of your planned batch for secondary. I've got 6 1gal glass jugs still sitting here so I'd assume it shouldn't be an issue, just wasn't sure if I should be concerned with spacing. Also would adding the full package be safe or a 3rd?

Thanks for the help and any suggestions are welcome. While I'm at it anyone add pumpkin spice to their cider? Curious the outcome in flavor.

I am really curious about the pumpkin spice in the apple cider. I would love to hear if anyone has come up with a amazing idea also. Good luxk on the caramel apple cider recipe. I have read some amazing ones in the recipe section. Good luck!

Hoping what I'm going for will work in the end. Melted down some brown sugar and cider to get some caramelization going(did this with my Bochet not long ago) and planned before bottling on adding some sugar free caramel syrup, should give a nice back taste of caramel, shall see. Can't recall where here I saw it mentioned but I believe with the pumpkin spice it was something added when moved to secondary, and then once more to taste before bottling. Very interested to here someones idea and trials with it.

I've not used pumpkin pie spice but I have used cider mulling spices with good results. I put the spices in a home made tea bag and let soak in the cider for a few days until it reached a spice level I was happy with. If you just pour the spice in it may be too much spice and you have no way to remove it.

Another interesting cider flavor........Remember Atomic Fireballs from your childhood? Add 10 / gallon in the secondary and just let dissolve. This is very popular with my friends. (that's not necessarily a good thing)

roadymi said:

I've not used pumpkin pie spice but I have used cider mulling spices with good results. I put the spices in a home made tea bag and let soak in the cider for a few days until it reached a spice level I was happy with. If you just pour the spice in it may be too much spice and you have no way to remove it.

Another interesting cider flavor........Remember Atomic Fireballs from your childhood? Add 10 / gallon in the secondary and just let dissolve. This is very popular with my friends. (that's not necessarily a good thing)

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I've considered spicing cider with cinnamon, atomic fireballs sound like an excellent idea! And if you wanna teach your friends a lesson, my buddy has some "special" atomic fireballs. They're different.t because they're chewy candy with ghost chilli powder on them. Idk where he got them or what exactly they're called, but if you want a good laugh you could try adding those haha.

Just moved both over to secondary, both came out to 1.000 on the nose. Topped off with a bit more juice and figured I'd let sit for 6-8 weeks maybe. That sound alright? I didn't want to bottle yet, just let it sit a bit. Will add caramel syrup(no sugar) to one before bottling, and pumpkin spice to the other before bottling see what happens.

Also I had a question about priming sugar. I believe what happened last time we attempted was their wasn't enough carbonation in the bottles. After two weeks I popped one open and it had nice carbonation, put it in the fridge and drank it that night, got a small head of foam then vanished, tasted a little flat. 2 of her bottles we popped and they turned into slow moving foam trails out the bottle and the rest had nothing. The ratio we used when we primed was 1/8th cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup water, melted the sugar down and added first to the second carboy. Was that enough for a 1gal or should I try more this time around to avoid possibly repeating the same?

sounds like if some were flat and some foamed over that it wasn't mixed thoroughly. Cider won't maintain a head like beer. 1/2 cup or so of priming sugar per 5 gallons typical for priming.

Just an update, shall be bottling this cider in two days. Sitting and forgetting about it did it good and looks/smells great. Really like the hints Nottingham adds to the brew. My only concern now I guess with bottling would be the best way to ensure carbing and avoiding the uneven mixing that happened last time around. What would work best for a 2gal batch? I'd thought to try using a 2gal bucket, begin the siphon and midway through add the priming solution (boiled water and prime sugar cooled down to room temp). maybe give a few slow stirs after and hope for the best? This time around will be using corn sugar vs the brown though I'm not sure what if any difference it may make over all. Thanks again for all the help.

How did the batch with the sugar-free caramel syrup turn out? I'm considering doing something similar.

This batch turned out amazing! The Nottingham was a great choice for this and did give a positive note to the cider. Nice body and the caramel was just enough that you could smell hints of it from the glass and were left with a nice after taste. not too sweet and not that dry in the end. The only downside was making 2gal lol. Was definitely a favorite with friends and family which is saying a lot given the first attempt didn't go over too well but had a few take bottles with them. Trying to set a few aside to let age a bit and see how the flavor is after that.

Was fairly unsure about using the syrup at first but will definitely try it again. I wasn't sure how best to measure it so took a sample of about 1cup and added a tablespoon, sampled and once I found the balance that worked just did the math and added to the brew before priming sugar, gave it a good couple of swirls to mix the caramel syrup then added priming. Real nice carbonation and made even better for the holidays given we got a foot of snow which allowed me to cold crash a few out doors for people coming over that night.

Hope that helps, will definitely do this again and in my 5gal now that I found a recipe that suits me just right. If I had to compare the taste to something I'd say it's very near a caramel apple from the fairgrounds.

Thanks for the response, I also excited to try this. It sounds like exactly the result I'm looking for.