5 Day Sweet Country Cider

Apple_Jacker said:

Most ciders I've made have been still, even the ones that were similar to this recipe.

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How to I make it still? Just let everything ferment out?

You can always add campben tablets and add them to your cider. Let it ferment to desired gravity and then crush the tablets and add them. Or you could let it ferment out conpletly and it could be vey dry.

merkadoe said:

I'm really new to this so bare with me please. Is there any way I could make this a still cider? I will be bottling into mason jars (all I have on hand) and I know they aren't meant for holding pressure. Could I just wait for fermentation to fully finish or would that affect the final taste?

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Yes, you would just need to either stabilize or pasteurize immediately after bottling. I'm sure people have been using mason jars for this for a very long time. Fermenting it out all the way will drastically change this recipe and you'll likely be stuck waiting for the cider to age for the flavor to come out.

Just made a batch of this yesterday. I used 4.5ish gallons Honeycrisp apple cider with 30oz of Muscovado sugar. I'm hoping the muscovado sugar adds a nice hint of molasses. My cider had a SG of 1.050...the SG of the cider and sugar was 1.066. Started bubbling along nicely in under 12hrs. I'll be sure to report back with the results.

Okay, I read all 21 pages on this thread. Saw several questions on kegging this recipe but no answers. Has anyone kegged this without pasturizing?

I'm thinking of brewing it following the recipe, racking and kegging it at desired gravity, allowing it to 'bottle condition' in keg for a few hours until decently carbed, throwing the keg into ice to stop the yeasties quickly, then moving it to the keggerator fridge after thoroughly chilled in the ice. It seems like this should stop the yeast. Am I missing something? Is the concern over kegging without pasturizing that the yeast will add off flavors over time with type of approach?

I'm a beer brewer used to kegging and force carbing. I don't really want to go back to the bottling hassels.

I did a small batch of lemon lime soda once where I stopped the carbing by just refridgerating the bottles. Seems like this should work to me for kegging this cyder....shouldn't it?

It might stop the yeast....or it might just slow them down.

vitalbrew said:

Has anyone kegged this without pasturizing?

I did a small batch of lemon lime soda once where I stopped the carbing by just refridgerating the bottles. Seems like this should work to me for kegging this cyder....shouldn't it?

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I kegged without K meta and sorbate. It overcarbonated big time. I tried to relieve some pressure and ended up getting 2 gallons of foam all over the place.

I think the reason the soda worked was because the bottles were smaller and were able to be chilled faster. I think it took too long for my keg to chill down to yeast dormancy temperatures.

Next time I may cold crash first, then keg and force carb. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Clifton, that sounds awful! Thank you for responding.

Hmmmm, I wonder if I just throw it literally on ice as soon as I keg it then transfer to the keggerator if that'll stop the yeast or not. If it does, and it doesn't condition, I can just force carb it like you said. IDK, kinda risky still I suppose.

Cold won't necessarily kill yeast, but it might. I had a bottle of cider I made 2 years ago and never left the back of my friends fridge. She discovered she still had it and she gave it to me to test it out. When I made it 2 years ago, they were undercarbed but I threw them in the fridge anyway and drank them as-is within a month or 2. This one that stayed refrigeratedfor 2 years still had fermentation going and was very much over carbed. I had to open it slowly to let the excess CO2 out, or I would have probably lost most of the cider in an impressive fountain of foam. Don't trust that cold temps will kill yeast or make them go dormant. Just food for thought.

AJ - good info. I appreciate it. Not sure what I'm gonna do at this point. LHBS recommends cold crashing and sorbate. I may give it a shot and just do my darndest to drink it up fast. :cross:

Zippox said:

I think putting them in the fridge for one to two days is the most common. I asked the bottling after pulling it out of the fridge question and I was told that it's fine to pull it out of the fridge and bottle it with the priming sugar. Once the bottle temps get to room temp, the yeast is happy and can start carbonating the bottles.

For testing carbonation, fill the first and last of the batch in two 16 oz bottles like you were describing, and when they are hard like when you first bought it then stove pasteurize all the bottles.

And yes, they need to be left out at room temp to carb up. The time this takes is between three and 24ish hours. So you need to have a free weekend when you get to the carbonating and pasteurizing because it's a guessing game for how long they will take to be ready.

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Thanks for the information on this process. I made some great cider and then cold crashed it at about 1.00 two days ago. I added some honey to make it a bit sweeter, and planned to keep it in the fridge until it was consumed.

The only problem is that I made it a bit too sweet. So I'm going to bring it back to room temp. and let the yeast start up a bit until it dries out a bit. Once it does, I'll follow your instructions.

Has anyone added frozen fruit to the primary in this recipe. I realize fruit isn't usually added to the primary because of flavor loss, but since there isn't a secondary here I figure there isn't another option. Also is 4-5 days enough time for the fruit to impart any flavor? I am thinking frozen blackberries and blueberries.

Ugh... just add started going on a batch for this weekend and pulled some 1056 yeast from the fridge that I harvested this last weekend. I added some of the cider to the yeast in the jar to wake them while I cooked down the sugar into the cider. They mixed nicely but when I was done I looked over at the yeast and it was flat-packed to the bottom of the jar and completely separated from the juice. This is 1056, it doesn't flocculate that fast ever!! Looks like this cider had some sorbate or something in it that killed the yeast that wasn't on the label. Back to the store I go.

I bottled mine this weekend. Put it together Wednesday night. OG was 1.060 and it was down to 1.010 on Saturday morning and still fermenting like crazy. After I bottled it up I stuck one in the fridge and drank it a few hours later. I can only describe it as watery. Not dry or sour. Just watery. I used whole foods brand unfiltered apple juice. what flavor there is tastes great. Just kind of disappointed. Maybe I will try another juice brand next time.

Okay so I'm a total newb at this how do you Hydrate and Pitch yeast do we need to boil it then add it?

newbrewcandl said:

Okay so I'm a total newb at this how do you Hydrate and Pitch yeast do we need to boil it then add it?

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No, never boil yeast. If you're doing a standard packet of dry yeast boil about 4oz of water (actually about 5-6 oz to boil down to 4oz) and let cool covered until it gets to about 85-90 degrees. Make sure you use tap or spring water and never distilled or osmosis water.

Once you hit that temp on the boiled sterile water pour the dry packet of yeast on top of the water and don't stir. Just let it sit on top of the water for about 15 minutes. After that, stir it gently with a sterilized spoon (I use plastic chop stick!) and let it sit for another 5 minutes.

Now, as long as it's roughly the same temp as your cider or wort (room temp) you can toss it in on top of your cider or wort in the fermenting bucket and stir.

Or, since dry yeast doesn't need to be re-hydrated you could also just sprinkle it on top of your cider (or wort) close the lid ad your air lock and wait. I like to hydrate to speed up the initial process but to each his own. If it ferments in the end, who cares.

I started a batch this past Sunday; wanted it to be done in time for Thanksgiving dinner. I followed the recipe closely only omitting the cinnamon and adding one more gallon of apple cider and sugar to compensate.

I have made this batch before, using the same or similar brands of cider only different yeast (last time used Red Star Champagne yeast) and it came out dryer then I wanted.

Here's the problem. It is not fermenting, I do not see any activity in the airlock (do see some surface activity) and the hydrometer actually reads higher (1.068 when pitched) 1.072 two days later. I have re-pitched thinking that I may have made a mistake in the hydrating process, check the expiration dates of the yeast and still no real activity. I checked the labels of the cider to make sure there was no sorbate. What else can I check or do? Or is it the drain for this batch?

Are you sure no other preservatives were added? Potassium sorbate isn't the only preservative added sometimes. You can also try using a different strain of yeast tho not sure why your current yeast wouldnt work.

I used Red Star Champagne yeast and you could hear it bubbling after a couple of hours (I made one gallon with a quarter pound light brown sugar). My uneducated guess is that your cider has something that kills yeast? Or maybe it isn't warm enough? I think mine fermented for 5 days at ~70°

I re-pitched with Red Star Champagne yeast and looking at the labels again, nothing in the form of a preservative is listed so I am thinking that there is something in the apple cider that they didn't list. Which really sucks I was looking forward to having this with Thanksgiving dinner. Oh well I will start another batch over the holiday weekend and wont have to share .

OutlawJosey said:

I re-pitched with Red Star Champagne yeast and looking at the labels again, nothing in the form of a preservative is listed so I am thinking that there is something in the apple cider that they didn't list. Which really sucks I was looking forward to having this with Thanksgiving dinner. Oh well I will start another batch over the holiday weekend and wont have to share .

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I used a half-gallon of Mott's pressed apple juice (same thing as cider) and it fermented well. I'm pretty sure you can find that anywhere. Had a slightly sour flavor but that was present in the cider to begin with. I might use it again and simply add more brown sugar.

Soilworker said:

Are you sure no other preservatives were added? Potassium sorbate isn't the only preservative added sometimes. You can also try using a different strain of yeast tho not sure why your current yeast wouldnt work.

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dudius said:

I used a half-gallon of Mott's pressed apple juice (same thing as cider) and it fermented well. I'm pretty sure you can find that anywhere. Had a slightly sour flavor but that was present in the cider to begin with. I might use it again and simply add more brown sugar.

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I have a Whole Foods and Akins here, I just didn't make it there to get cider this time. I went to WalMart instead and used Musselmen's, it is cheap and convenient. I will be out this weekend so picking up organic cider (only apples) will be easy, its just not cheap. I think this same brand from Whole Foods, sells at places like Publix for less than 5.00 a gallon, here its almost twice that.

Update. After reading two very informative thread here on HBT, I found a way to brew around or circumvent sorbate. It took some experimenting, but you basically overload the sorbate with yeast nutrient, more yeast and sugar.

So here is what I tried...

In a 1 qt jar I took two cups of cider from the fermenter added to that 1 oz of yeast nutrient, 1 cup of simple syrup (1 cup water and 2 cups cane sugar brought to a boil them cooled to room temp) and 2 pack of red star bread yeast (it was an experiment I wasn't about to waste expensive brewing yeast ) and let it set for about 4 hours, once the yeast was hyperactive I pitched it into the cider. At first there was only small signs of activity, small bubbles breaking the surface. I checked about every 2 hours for the first 12 hours. At the 24 hours mark, however, there is significant activity and it's even audible from the airlock (YEAH!!!). So its been 7 days since I started this batch, I've added about 1 lb more of sugar than the recipe called for, 2 oz of yeast nutrient and 4 times the yeast. My only concerns now are the residual yeasty flavor from so much yeast and potential H2S smell (but I found a handy thread on that too so I think I may have a solution for it), wish my luck. I will check the gravity here in a hour or so once I get the turkey in the oven.

Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!

Josey Wales,
What threads did you read? I'm interested. Also, keep us updated on your cider.

OutlawJosey said:

I have a Whole Foods and Akins here, I just didn't make it there to get cider this time. I went to WalMart instead and used Musselmen's, it is cheap and convenient. I will be out this weekend so picking up organic cider (only apples) will be easy, its just not cheap. I think this same brand from Whole Foods, sells at places like Publix for less than 5.00 a gallon, here its almost twice that.

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I ran across musselmen's cider this week during my shopping trips. It does have sorbate in it.

Clifton said:

Josey Wales,
What threads did you read? I'm interested. Also, keep us updated on your cider.

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These...

Overcoming Potassium Sorbate in Zeigler's cider
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/overcoming-potassium-sorbate-zeiglers-apple-cider-38783/

Everything you know about potassium sorbate is wrong
http://www.fermentarium.com/homebre...ng-you-know-about-potassium-sorbate-is-wrong/

Update...

11/23 OG dropped to 1.025 in a hurry, missed my window of 1.040/1.035 before I knew what had happened. So I back sweetened with one gallon of cider and cold crashed in gallon jugs. Had my first glass today, its semi still which I am ok with, it has a mild cinnamon flavor and a very prominent apple flavor with a light finish. No H2S smell and no yeasty flavor. So all in all I am happy with the out come considering the fiasco that started this adventure. I have more cider from the last trip to the store so I will have another batch going in about two weeks. I have some gift baskets to put together.

dayflyer55 said:

I ran across musselmen's cider this week during my shopping trips. It does have sorbate in it.

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What I had listed ascorbic acid (Vit C) which isn't supposed to be a preservative. Anywhooo I think I can figure a way around the sorbate in the future. I think I may stick to letting the yeast work a little longer before I pitch it regardless...just have to remember to watch it closely.

I am going to do this next week.

One question, if I buy apples and I do the press, do I need to pasteurize it? or just peeling the apples and washing them is enough?

Just started a 5.5 gallon batch in a 6.5 gallon bottling bucket.

Used 3 gallons cider (very thick cloudy cider at that) and 2.5 gallons store bought apple juice.

I added equal parts white sugar and brown sugar (ran out of brown sugar).

OG (as of 10 minutes ago when I pitched) is 1.08
Goal is going to be about 1.025 I think, I want it sweet, and that will pack a decent punch at 7% after a bit of carb if I hit that target.


Question, I am thinking about using the bottling bucket spigot to fill 1 gallon glass jars and cold crash at about 1.025 or 1.03, then siphon it back to the bottling bucket after 24-48 hours to try and clear it up a bit and get the much (the cider I used is thick and cloudy) off the bottom. Is this worth it, should I do it, and if so how should I go about it?

planning to carb carefully (and lightly) and stovetop pasturize afterwards, then let sit at least 2-3 weeks before cracking them open

I understand that you would like to clear up the cider, but that seems like a lot of work to clear it up. That's too bad you didn't have a different bucket to ferment in and then transfer into the bottling bucket.

I'd bet that if you threw your bottling bucket in the fridge that you could settle it enough so that bottling from that spigot wouldn't disturb the yeast, but I would ask if I am right on that. If you can't throw it in the fridge you could also try using Super-Kleer which is the quickes way that I know of to clear cider. I guess Irish moss too could work but I haven't tried either of these options.

Super-Kleer http://www.midwestsupplies.com/super-kleer-kc-finings.html

Not sure how well you're gonna clear that cider out, but report back if you use finings like gelatin and how it worked or didn't.

I just tossed a couple bottles of my last cider batch in with the rest of the beer batch for my brew partner when we split up our last bottled beer and forgot to tell him. He grabbed one of the ciders (unlabeled) and texted me last night saying he got a beer that was all yeast (it was really the cloudy cider!). Then I told him it was cider and he texted me back extolling it to be the best cider he'd tasted. The cloudiness, IMHO, adds to the mouthfeel that sets this cider apart from the crystal clear dry versions.

Matterpro said:

Not sure how well you're gonna clear that cider out, but report back if you use finings like gelatin and how it worked or didn't.

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I've done a few batches and they always seem to clear pretty well after a few days in the fridge.

Okay so another quick question, we have the campdon tablets but were wounding if we need them or not the cider we bot is pasuturised already but it is not uv pasturised also how long should we wait before pintching the yeist

my issue isnt really how clear or cloudy it is. Its how much yeast I am going to suck through the spigot when bottling the first 5 bottles if I dont siphon it out, clean the bottling bucket, and siphon it back.

Well guys, OG was 1.08, 3 days in im at 1.06, seems to be going a bit slower then most others in this thread but not sure if the 5 gallon batch will just take a bit longer than the 1 gallon batches...

No reason to be concerned I guess, still getting good airlock activity, its just not wild

newbrewcandl said:

Okay so another quick question, we have the campdon tablets but were wounding if we need them or not the cider we bot is pasuturised already but it is not uv pasturised also how long should we wait before pintching the yeist

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Why would there be waiting time for pitching the yeast. Do it right after you add all the other ingredients.

You're going to put the campden tablets in the carboy when the taste is to your liking. It will kill the yeast and thus stop the sugar level from dropping.

Trying this recipe tomorrow but want to use honey. Is there a conversion for brown sugar to honey?

MeinBrew said:

Trying this recipe tomorrow but want to use honey. Is there a conversion for brown sugar to honey?

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I personally would try an equal conversion at minimum, but I love my honey.

Made this last night and its already taking off. I did have a question about sanitizing though. Since this is going to be pasteurized after I bottle, how extensive do my cleaning and sanitization methods need to be?

Mine really slowed down in the last 48 hours. I was really hoping to get to about 1.025 before bottling but today is my last day off for quite a few days so I had to go ahead and bottle at 1.036, OG was 1.08 so an ABV of about 5.7%, was really hoping for more like 6.5-7% but I willshoot for that next time.

Just got it bottled, wish me luck with a few hours of carbonation and then the dreaded 190 degree pasturizing...hoping for no bottle bombs.


55 bottles, in neat rows 5.5 gallon batch. If this stuff pasturizes fine and tastes good in a week I will start another 5.5 gallon batch in a week and plan on giving it a few more days...