5 Day Sweet Country Cider

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I'm brewing this up in the next couple days with 1 1/2 lb honey instead of the brown sugar. I think I may want to cold crash it for the purpose of getting rid of excess yeast, but it may very well be around freezing temperature when I do. A few questions if anyone feels like giving their input.. What temperature is too cold to cold crash? How long should this be done around 32 degrees or so? Also, how will this affect my carb time in the bottle before I pasteurize? Thanks.

Edit: Also forgot to ask, how imperative is it that I ferment this at the bottom of the range for the US-05 I'm using?
 
Just got this going today. OG was 1.058? Little disappointed about that. I just plan on letting it ferment to 1.02 so I can at least get my 5% abv. US-05 got going on this in 5 hours.. maybe because it's 76 degrees in here. Not exactly ideal but hopefully the taste won't suffer too much. I also notice there is a fair amount of stuff in the bottom of the fermenter while there wasn't really anything settled out in the jugs.
 
Just got this going today. OG was 1.058? Little disappointed about that. I just plan on letting it ferment to 1.02 so I can at least get my 5% abv. US-05 got going on this in 5 hours.. maybe because it's 76 degrees in here. Not exactly ideal but hopefully the taste won't suffer too much. I also notice there is a fair amount of stuff in the bottom of the fermenter while there wasn't really anything settled out in the jugs.

I had to fight to get mine to 1.06 or so. I'm doing the same, getting it to 5% and going with it.
 
Cold crashing in winter? I'm located in frozen north. So in winter it can be 20 below or colder. Could I rack to a secondary & cold crash for 4-5 hours outside & then bottle pasteurize?

As mentioned, keep an eye on it. If it does freeze pretty solid, you can drain off the nonfrozen portion and claim you intentionally made apple jack :D
 
I plan on making a 1-2 gallon batch of this tomorrow afternoon, fermenting in a growler and then transferring to some swing-top juice bottles I picked up at World Market. Would anything detrimental happen if'n I pitch the whole yeast packet into a smaller batch like that?
 
I plan on making a 1-2 gallon batch of this tomorrow afternoon, fermenting in a growler and then transferring to some swing-top juice bottles I picked up at World Market. Would anything detrimental happen if'n I pitch the whole yeast packet into a smaller batch like that?

That would be considered overpitching, and will probably just mean you'll have more yeast in your finished product than you probably want. Stick those bottles in the fridge for a few days though and pour gently and I imagine it will be just fine in the glass.

Also, I just finished this recipe (1 1/2 lb honey instead of brown sugar, + yeast nutrients) and figured I'd let people know how it turned out. I did 4 gallons with a packet of rehydrated US-05, fermented at 60. OG was roughly 1.06 and I pulled the plug and bottled after 4 days when it was at about 1.02 (5% abv). Not really sure why but I actually added a half cup of table sugar as well at bottling time, not that any priming was necessary. As I was bottling I ended up with a half a bottle at the end, plus I broke the top off one when capping, so I drank about 1 1/2 of these right then and there. Tasted great and actually had a little carbonation already at that point. Got a nice buzz from them as well :drunk: Much more so than you would expect given the ABV.

I bottled at about 4 PM in 75 F temps, let sit and cracked one open roughly 6 hours later, and had the bottle fizz up a lot and nearly overflow but not quite. The cider itself didn't seem super carbonated but was adequately carbed, so I'm not sure what the mechanics of this was. Either way I went ahead and pasteurized of course. Pasteurization on the stove-top following the sticky was a breeze. Afterwards there is what appears to be dead yeast floating at the top of the bottle. Today that has settled to the bottom and the cider has begun to clear further. Definitely recommend and had fun with this recipe. Find some quality cider to start with though. With such an incomplete fermentation this is obviously going to be most important for determining the final qualities of the cider. Cheers! :tank:
 
Down to 1.01 today, was hoping to catch it at about 1.02 but things got a little hectic round here. Adding Gelatin as soon as this is typed and going to cold crash.

Tastes pretty good. A little warmer than I was hoping for. After clearing a little with the gelatin I will bottle and pasteurize.:rockin:

Edit: and big time cinnamon aftertaste. Not expected, but I like it! Hope the boss will as well.
 
Bottled, this morning. Drinking my second bottle now. Don't think I caught it in time, was at 1.002 or so (almost 1.000). Hoping it still might carb, but it's a still cider right now. Very drinkable and by my math at 62* it comes in at about 7.7%.

Back to a beer next, a session beer I'm thinking.

Thanks for the recipe!
 
Im having an issue. I hope that someone can help.

I made a two gallon batch of this adding about 3 lbs of brown sugar and 4 lemons.

I heated about .5 gal of the cider near boiling and dissolved the brown sugar. Added to carboy with the other 1.5 gal of cider. OG 1.102

This morning, no air lock activity. Gravity was 1.105(aprox). Got home from work and its the same story.

Im not sure if I pitched the yeast too soon and the 'must' (don't think this is a wort) was too hot and killed the yeast? I also made a yeast starter and added the yeast nutrient in with the starter.

Can anyone shine some light on this. I made a gallon batch about a month ago and it was fantastic. Heavy fermentation within 24 hours. Hope i didn't mess it up. This was for thanksgiving, and time is getting short.

Also - I added 2 tsp of cinnamon extract. Don't know if this may related to the issue.
 
Just added about a gram of champagne yeast. Hopefully i didn't jump the gun. The more I brew, the more I realize the importance of patience. A word that starts with 'F' comes to mind. lol
 
What are the chances of the bottles 'spoding in the dishwasher after they have carbed up? I make small batches of cider (1 gallon Carlo Rossi growlers) and then I bottle into 1 liter swing tops. I have heard swing tops are usually stronger bottles, but I have still only ever let them just bottle condition to dryness. I would love to try a sweeter cider variety.
 
Any luck with the champagne yeast?

Negative :(. I think that i have narrowed down the cause(s). Please let me know what you folks think:

To many lemons - I used a total of 4 for this two gallon batch. Maybe this made it to acidic for the yeast

Adding the cinnamon extract. Ive seen some recipes use this but its always after fermentation.

I believe that both cinnamon and lemon are antiseptics. Anyways, looks like ill be drinking the hard stuff this thanksgiving. Let me know what you guys think messed this one up. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
 
I had just finished a batch of EdWort's Apelfwein and dumped this on top of the yeast left in the carboy after bottling. Other than using Cooper's Ale Yeast, everything else is identical and the cider turned out fantastic!

I am typing this as a batch of bottles are downstairs pasteurizing, after only 12 hours! I am thankful I decided to crack one open this evening. Perhaps it is because I already had a full-sized yeast colony from the apelfwein that it carbonated so fast.

Thank you for the recipe, my wife and I are excited that we can get our cider fix in less than a week now!
 
Has anybody followed this recipe completely and actually hit the quoted OG? I've done this twice now, the second time with 3 lb of honey in 5 gallons and couldn't get nearly 1.07. Do brown sugar and honey contribute that differently to gravity?
 
"Honey is difficult to prime with because there is no standard for concentration. The gravity of honey is different jar to jar"
 
Just started my batch!

Can I bottle this into 1Gal apple juice containers (because they are screw top) and skip the pasturizing for the bottles? I won't have it sitting around long enough so i figure i will just pour from the AJ bottles.
 
That's a fair assumption. As far as not pasteurizing, I would advise against it, as it will go dry within another week or so and would need to be backsweetened or aged.
 
Hmm....guess i'm going to need bottles, caps, and a capper then :(

As for my assumption, I was dead on. Fermentation began within three hours, but nothing through the airlock. 24 hours in there was a bubble every 2-3 minutes. As of 6PM yesterday (Wed) it was pushing a bubble out every 30 seconds or so, and it's foaming like crazy.

So no worries on that, the cider will work just fine.
 
I am planning on taking a swing at this recipe this weekend. I have one question, I am using a 6.5 g carboy as my primary and wonndered how much head space I will need for all the lively yeast activity. To be more specific if I were to make this a 6 gallon batch would the .5 gallon head space be enough? or if I make the 4 gallon batch is 2.5 g too much head space, does it matter?

Thanks for the replies.
 
With its spending only a few days in primary, i don't think too much space should be a problem half a gallon should be enough space for krausen in my experience with this recipe, but even if you get spillover it isnt the end of the world of course
 
I made a 5 gallon batch in a 5 gallon better bottle. It has maybe 4 inches tops of space and its jamming big time with 0 issues

Sent from my Galaxy S 4G using Home Brew Talk for Android
 
Well I started this one last night with the addition of .5 lb brown and 1 lb white sugar. Started with a gravity of 1.078, going to try and get it to 40 or so and crash it. Then bottle and pasteurize just in time for the weekend. Yay and thanks for fast cider recipe!
 
I've let the bottles sit for a couple weeks, and am really impressed with it now. 4 bottles in this afternoon and I'm happy as a clam. Plotting my next crack at it.
 
Going to try this out tonight. I'm trying to follow the original recipe as much as possible, only difference is once I get the gravity where I want it i'm going to cold crash and keg. Anyone have success doing this?
 
Cold crashing won't kill fermentation. Once it gets back to room temp, fermentation will continue. Chemicals may be able to get the job done after a cold crash and rack, but I'm pretty sure heat is the only way to kill this type of fermentation.
 
I've let the bottles sit for a couple weeks, and am really impressed with it now. 4 bottles in this afternoon and I'm happy as a clam. Plotting my next crack at it.

Mine is still going. Will probably let it ride in the primary for another week (2.5 total) then bottle it.
 
dayflyer55 said:
Cold crashing won't kill fermentation. Once it gets back to room temp, fermentation will continue. Chemicals may be able to get the job done after a cold crash and rack, but I'm pretty sure heat is the only way to kill this type of fermentation.

Once I rack it into my keg, it will never get back up above 40 degrees. it shouldnt ferment anymore should it?
 
Well I only let mine get to about 44 or so. At that point I was a little pressed for time and I knew I wouldn't be given any quarter by this stuff. Bottled at 44 with full fermentation going and was petrified for the next three hours. I am not sure who posted the hint but definitely put you first bottle in a plastic soda bottle so you can have easily available pressure knowledge or an idea of how high the pressure is getting; this is key and is genius. Also be aware your time frame, you have to bottle and pasteurize same day in most cases so be prepared for a 4 to 5 hour adventure. While stove top pasteurizing is easy it is also time consuming.

Lots of people say overnight or 5 to 6 hours but mine were begging to explode at 2 hrs. This is due to stopping early with 2 packets of yeast and room temp but still it was unexpectedly fast. Holding a bottle up I could notice steady co2 bubbles.

I know it was early and I could have waited for a lower FG but this brings me to a very important point. To all you noobs and beginners; plan this out so you have 1 or 2 days on a weekend to catch it at the right point and bottle. That means start on a tuesday or a Wednesday to be sure you have two available days to "catch" this brew at the correct gravity. Otherwise you will have an upset cider or wife or both.

All in all great recipe and great results. I now see my errors and will be prepared when I next make cider.
 
1) Pour 3 1/2 gallons of juice into fermenter
2) Heat remaining half gallon with cinnamon sticks and brown sugar until sugar dissolves properly. Let cool to room temp.
3)Combine mixtures and mix vigorously to oxidize.

4)Hydrate and Pitch yeast.

This may be a very n00b question, but I'm assuming you discard the cinnamon sticks prior to combining the mixtures and you don't ferment in the primary with them?

Also, since this gets pasteurized, I know it won't age like an Apfelwein, but how long could you store it bottled without any negative effect to the taste/carb?

I'm planning on making this for my works annual gathering in February and want to make sure I make it far enough in advance that if I screw up I have time for a redo.
 
I've done this recipe 6 times now each 5 gallon batches and every batch has come out excellent! My only complaint is that each batch comes out differently. Its been very hard to get a consistent taste.
 
This may be a very n00b question, but I'm assuming you discard the cinnamon sticks prior to combining the mixtures and you don't ferment in the primary with them?

Also, since this gets pasteurized, I know it won't age like an Apfelwein, but how long could you store it bottled without any negative effect to the taste/carb?

I'm planning on making this for my works annual gathering in February and want to make sure I make it far enough in advance that if I screw up I have time for a redo.

You can keep the sticks in or take them out, has little difference between the two.

I've done this recipe 6 times now each 5 gallon batches and every batch has come out excellent! My only complaint is that each batch comes out differently. Its been very hard to get a consistent taste.

Same juice and everything? Every time I do it, it is the same
 
If I was going to scale the batch down to 2 or 3 gallons, I'm assuming you'd want to scale the yeast pitch accordingly correct?

Once bottled and pasteurized how long could this keep in the fridge? If it's only 1-2 months I'm not sure I could drink up a full 4 gallon batch in that time.
 
If I was going to scale the batch down to 2 or 3 gallons, I'm assuming you'd want to scale the yeast pitch accordingly correct?

Once bottled and pasteurized how long could this keep in the fridge? If it's only 1-2 months I'm not sure I could drink up a full 4 gallon batch in that time.

There's absolutely no harm in using the full amount of yeast for a smaller batch.
 
This will be my first brewing/fermenting run...started it last night. I bought Central Market Organic Apple Juice from the HEB added brown sugar and the Nottingham yeast. I am using cheese cloth to cover the gallon jug, folded it into quarters and tied it on with chef's twine. This apple juice is very rustic looking, not clear, and with the floaties on the bottom. I didn't get an air lock 'cause the brew store near us was closed. Shoulda bought one when I got the yeast.

This morning it is fizzing really well. I plan on cold crashing it Saturday morning and drinking some when it's cold. This is fun!
 
Does this ferment with low Krausen? I did a 2gal batch in a 3 gal carboy expecting a lot of Krausen and pitched an entire pack of Nottingham. 24hrs later and it's fermenting, I can see tons of bubbles in the cider and in the airlock but there's almost no Krausen.

This normal?
 
I just tried a scaled down 1 gal batch just to try it out. I added some sweet orange Peel and used a French Saison yeast because I had some leftover from another test batch. It turned out great, I mean it it's delicious! Thanks for the recipe, it tastes just like cider.
Thanks Again,
Joe
 
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