I recently made this as an experiment, just threw in what I thought sounded tastey, and decided that this would be my first recipe worth sharing. Turned out delicious at an early age! It's simple, easy, cheap and drinks very well.
For a 1 gallon batch, you'll need the following:
(1) Packet of Lalvin 1116 yeast
(1) Gallon of Treetop apple juice or other brand with no preservatives, 100% juice.
(1 1/2) Cusp of white sugar
(4) Cinnimon Sticks. Mine were 3-4" long
(2) Cloves
(1) Tablespoon of pumpkin spice
(1) Healthy pinch of ground nutmeg
Directions:
Start by re-hydrating your yeast in some warm water. You don't HAVE to, but I like to as a good practice. Pour 1/2 of the gallon of apple juice into your carboy/primary. Add your sugar, TWO of the cinnimon sticks and all of your spices. Shake like hell until the sugar is at least mostly dissolved. This dissolves the sugar AND aerates your must. Add almost almost all of the rest of your apple juice, leaving a few inches of headspace from the top of your carboy. Shake again to further mix and aerate. By now your yeast will be pretty much rehydrated and you can pitch your yeast into your primary. Fit on your airlock.
Leave it to ferment out completely in a dark place for 2 months. I fermented at room temperature of about 70 degrees F. After 2 months, your wine will be pretty clear at this point. Rack into your secondary carboy and top up with apple juice, taking up the rest of the headspace and toss in the other 2 cinnimon sticks.
Another small ferment will begin due to the newly added fermentable sugars. Let it set in the secondary for 2-3 months. Your wine will become crystal clear and ready to bottle at that time. You can bottle sooner if you'd like but I prefer to bulk age for at least a little while if I can, making sure my wine is as clear as it can get.
You'll be suprised at how drinkable this is when it's time to bottle. The result is a nice apple wine with light spiced notes. Simple, cheap and quick to make!
My primary:
After racking into my secondary after about 2 months:
For a 1 gallon batch, you'll need the following:
(1) Packet of Lalvin 1116 yeast
(1) Gallon of Treetop apple juice or other brand with no preservatives, 100% juice.
(1 1/2) Cusp of white sugar
(4) Cinnimon Sticks. Mine were 3-4" long
(2) Cloves
(1) Tablespoon of pumpkin spice
(1) Healthy pinch of ground nutmeg
Directions:
Start by re-hydrating your yeast in some warm water. You don't HAVE to, but I like to as a good practice. Pour 1/2 of the gallon of apple juice into your carboy/primary. Add your sugar, TWO of the cinnimon sticks and all of your spices. Shake like hell until the sugar is at least mostly dissolved. This dissolves the sugar AND aerates your must. Add almost almost all of the rest of your apple juice, leaving a few inches of headspace from the top of your carboy. Shake again to further mix and aerate. By now your yeast will be pretty much rehydrated and you can pitch your yeast into your primary. Fit on your airlock.
Leave it to ferment out completely in a dark place for 2 months. I fermented at room temperature of about 70 degrees F. After 2 months, your wine will be pretty clear at this point. Rack into your secondary carboy and top up with apple juice, taking up the rest of the headspace and toss in the other 2 cinnimon sticks.
Another small ferment will begin due to the newly added fermentable sugars. Let it set in the secondary for 2-3 months. Your wine will become crystal clear and ready to bottle at that time. You can bottle sooner if you'd like but I prefer to bulk age for at least a little while if I can, making sure my wine is as clear as it can get.
You'll be suprised at how drinkable this is when it's time to bottle. The result is a nice apple wine with light spiced notes. Simple, cheap and quick to make!
My primary:
After racking into my secondary after about 2 months:
