Caramel Apple Hard Cider

Fired this up last night.

Used

"Simply Apple" juice - 19.25L (Pasturized, unfiltered)
2lbs dextrose
Nottingham

Hydrometer is MIA, so OG is unknown.

After... 20ish hours, I look like the 2nd pic on post #3.

I'm glad this is supposed to taste good right away and get better with age - Otherwise, I would've started it too late for summer.

Look forward to sampling the finished product - thanks in advance for posting your recipe upstateMike

CKL958 said:

After... 20ish hours, I look like the 2nd pic on post #3.

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Yeah, I've used the Nottingham in other ciders, and it is definitely a low krausen yeast.

CKL958 said:

I'm glad this is supposed to taste good right away and get better with age

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If you can, try to put a case aside and let it age a month. It gets way better.

UpstateMike said:

Yeah, I've used the Nottingham in other ciders, and it is definitely a low krausen yeast.


If you can, try to put a case aside and let it age a month. It gets way better.

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I like cider, but I'm more a beer drinker. That said, this recipe may change that - we'll see.

I don't think holding it a month or two should be a problem. If I like it, there may be another batch in the works sooner then later though.


I don't mind sweet ciders, but I prefer dry. Went with your recipe as closely as I could in (no signs of "treetop" in Canada). The references to "apple pie" make me think this is sweeter, so, I may modify the recipe to be a little dryer next time.

Used the Notty - that's what your original post called for. When I try stuff for the first time, I try to stick to the recipe. Next time there will be experimentation.

southlake333 said:

Darn you UpstateMike! Now that I've read this thread, I have to go make a batch. Problem is, I already have 6 gallons of cider, 6 gallons of Welch's Grape wine, 6 gallons of quad berry skeeter pee and 5 gallons of skeeter pee fermenting. That fills all my carboys so I guess this will just have to go in a bucket.

Yes yes, I have issues.

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Well, I went ahead and got a batch of this started. Got the yeast pitched last night and its bubbling nicely now. So that's 5 different big batches in the pipeline...oh and I've got 4 more 1 gallon batches of other concentrate goodness going too. Dangit, with all the awesome recipes on here I just can't stop...lol!!

Unfortunately the temp here in TX is working against me so I've got the primary bucket sitting in a tub o water with an ice pack. It'll be a bit of a pain but hopefully I can keep the temperature low enough to avoid an off flavor from the Notty.

I do have one question. What has the largest impact on the flavor in this recipe? Is it the yeast or the caramel syrup at the end?

I'd say combination of the syrup and the frozen concentrate for backsweetening.

mine hit 1.011 in 8 days, still tastes pretty sweet so going to let it go for a few more days before moving on to part 2, don't want it to be overly sweet when finished. fermentation was very active after 24hours and still getting solid bubbling in the airlock every 20-30 seconds.

Made a small batch of this in my 1 gallon demijohn to see what it was like before upscaling........AMAZING!!! just my style of cider! Was aiming for a sweeter, low alcohol (approx. 4-5%) carbed cider. OG was 1.05, hit 1.016 after 9 days, so racked into secondary. Made some of the syrup as per recipe, stirred in, added half a cup of dextrose (which in hindsight I shouldn't have done) and bottled. Tasted so good after adding the syrup that I decided to do the same for my larger batch which was brewing simultaneously!
Only problem was that the original cider carbed WAY quicker than expected. After 3 days it was overcarbed, and I couldn't pasteurize, but thats ok because I only got 6 bottles of it, so just cold crashed and leaving in fridge to chill out

Thanks for the amazing recipe!

Stared up a 2-gallon batch a couple days ago with Notty yeast. Had the rhino farts last night so I hit it with a little bit of yeast nutrient and everything was fine in the morning!

You're gonnna have to elaborate on the Rhino fart comment...I haven't heard of this before. What are those and what impact does the nutrient have on it?

Just had to comment that I made a batch of this cider a couple months ago and it is amazing. I followed the recipe exactly, and one friend said it was the best cider she has ever had. Thanks for the great recipe!

Rhino farts have a sulphur type smell. They are typically caused by yeasts stressed from lack of nutrients.

pwortiz said:

You're gonnna have to elaborate on the Rhino fart comment...I haven't heard of this before. What are those and what impact does the nutrient have on it?

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Search it. When yeast get stressed, the off gas they release smells of sulfur. Commonly referred to as rhino farts around here. Yeast nutrient tends to balance the food supply for the yeasties.

Damn. Beat me to it. What he/she said.

Been 8 days since I started this and the SG is down to 1.011 so its time to rack to secondary and get to bottlin. But, I am also just finishing up a separate batch of cider using Champagne yeast and a wine like recipe that I let go completely dry. Comparing the two, this one seems sweet already (before adding the caramel mix or concentrate). I could see adding the caramel to get the apple pie flavor but I'm a bit worried about how sweet it'll end up being with the 5 cans of concentrate. What is everyone else finding?

I fermented to 1.05, stabilized added syrup (didn't really measure but I ended up with a qt), Added 3 cans concentrate and I find it plenty sweet. I forget what the FG was.
Everybody has a different palate, I would suggest adding a can at a time til it suits yours.

While mine ended up a bit sweeter than I prefer, the flavor is amazing.

Edit: Fermented to 1.005

roadymi said:

I fermented to 1.05, stabilized added syrup (didn't really measure but I ended up with a qt), Added 3 cans concentrate and I find it plenty sweet. I forget what the FG was.
Everybody has a different palate, I would suggest adding a can at a time til it suits yours.

While mine ended up a bit sweeter than I prefer, the flavor is amazing.

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Ok thanks for the info. I was thinking of doing exactly what you just described so now at least I have confirmation!

southlake333 said:

Been 8 days since I started this and the SG is down to 1.011 so its time to rack to secondary and get to bottlin. But, I am also just finishing up a separate batch of cider using Champagne yeast and a wine like recipe that I let go completely dry. Comparing the two, this one seems sweet already (before adding the caramel mix or concentrate). I could see adding the caramel to get the apple pie flavor but I'm a bit worried about how sweet it'll end up being with the 5 cans of concentrate. What is everyone else finding?

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Well, I bottled today 9 days after pitching the yeast. Last night the SG was at 1.010 so I racked, added kmeta and sorbate and let sit for 24 hours. Tonight the SG was the same so I sweetened and bottled. For anyone interested, Notty yeast forms a thick cake over the bottom of the entire bucket/carboy. It has a very different texture from wine yeast and based on the fact that racking, kmeta and sorbate appear to have completely stopped the yeast immediately, this is a great yeast for a short ferment cider.

I ended up adding the caramel mix as well as 3 cans of apple juice concentrate which was the perfect sweetness. Sweet (no alcohol taste) but not overpowering. I totally forgot to get an SG reading after sweetening. :cross:

It does in fact taste like liquid apple pie. I'm going to have to make more of this around the holidays. I'll be very curious to see how this ages since it tastes so good now.

On a side note, the caramel mix ends up floating around a bit in the mix. I bottled one clear wine bottle and the floaters even give it the look of apple pie filling!

Did anyone else have this turn out super thick. Almost like a syrup.

Only the syrup itself...I learned that next time I'll have to keep stirring when bottling so I can make sure it's more evenly distributed. But it sounds like you had a way different experience. How much of the carmel syrup and concentrated juice cans did you use?

Followed the recipe exactly. I think it was the concentrate that made it thick. I just bottled yesterday so hopefully it will mellow with some age.

The concentrate would have some effect on thickening but it shouldn't have been enough to make it syrup-like, I'd say. I'm curious to hear about it when you crack open a bottle!

I have a batch of this going. I let it ferment dry with EC-1118. I plan on kegging this and wanted to sweeten it with concentrate. My question is, how much concentrate should I use?

Wow. Just went downstairs to the "Fermentation Cave". Still some decent airlock activity. (Pitched June 14). Getting a bubble every 4-5 seconds still. Not in a rush for this. Figure I'll get to the point of the 24 hour rack over and bottling mid to late July. Surprised it is still showing so much activity though

tommybjr said:

I have a batch of this going. I let it ferment dry with EC-1118. I plan on kegging this and wanted to sweeten it with concentrate. My question is, how much concentrate should I use?

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Start with 3 cans, then sweeten to taste from there. My SG before starting to sweeten was 1.010 and 3 cans made it just right.

I hate when life gets in the way of brewing. I started this 4 1/2 weeks ago. OG was 1.064. On Thursday I pulled it out of my ferm chamber. SG was 1.008. When carrying it to the kitchen to bottle the yeast got re-suspended, so I decided to leave it sit over night. Forgot that I had to go out of town on Friday morning. Just got home to a house with a room temp of 88* f. SG is now 1.002. I didn't think Notty would ferment that low. I just made the syrup and will be bottling it in a couple hours. Hopefully there is enough life left in the yeast to carbonate it.

You're gonna be fine! 88 deg is damn high but maybe it'll turn out like one of those other experiments with unintended benefits....here's hopin' for ya!

Actually I think the yeast will be fine. As long it was in the range for most of the fermentation it should be ok, I do that with my beers, ferment them at their temp then raise the temp to finish it.

I posted this somewhere else on this site, not sure which forum is the best place for the question, so i am copying it here too....

Campden tablet question... I purchased 5 gallons of unpasteurized and preservative free cider from the local orchard. Last night i crushed and added 5 campden tablets to it to ward off the wild yeast/bacteria. Tonight i will pitch the yeast and get this recipe going. My question is, is it okay to add more campden tablets again at the end of this process if I follow the recipes suggestions prior to bottling? Not sure if the grand total at the end of 10 having been added to the 5 gallons does anything bad/harmful to it or not.......

gratefuldavis said:

I posted this somewhere else on this site, not sure which forum is the best place for the question, so i am copying it here too....

Campden tablet question... I purchased 5 gallons of unpasteurized and preservative free cider from the local orchard. Last night i crushed and added 5 campden tablets to it to ward off the wild yeast/bacteria. Tonight i will pitch the yeast and get this recipe going. My question is, is it okay to add more campden tablets again at the end of this process if I follow the recipes suggestions prior to bottling? Not sure if the grand total at the end of 10 having been added to the 5 gallons does anything bad/harmful to it or not.......

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Yes, that's fine. I do that with every batch. 1 per gallon at the beginning to kill wild stuff, then 1 per gallon at the end to preserve in the bottles.

Hey Mike would it hurt for me to use this instead? It might be a while til I can make a weggmans trip. Just wandering if there were any real differences in the juices you use.

Acme brand
Here it is:
http://www.wildharvestorganic.com/servlets/productDetails?categoryId=8&productId=69

I'm having the same issue as hwils. My gravity is already down to 1.006 after only one week. Should I be concerned or do anything special? Possibly increase/dilute some of the concentrate before bottling?

Pitched about a month ago. Finally took a gravity reading on this. I'm at 1.000 even. Likely going to bottle in the next week or so - want to carb, so just need to ensure that the time is available to pasturize. Very dry, but nice flavour despite not being back sweetened (the contents of the wine thief went in a glass for sampling).

nsmills83 said:

I'm having the same issue as hwils. My gravity is already down to 1.006 after only one week. Should I be concerned or do anything special? Possibly increase/dilute some of the concentrate before bottling?

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Don't worry about it. I followed the recipe for bottling and it came out perfect. Maybe a little a little dryer but it still has a nice sweetness. Carbed up nice in one week.

Anyone have problems with making their syrup too viscous? What I mean by that is I have what look like strands of syrup/cinnamon at the bottom of each bottle and some bottles have strands floating at the top. Cold crashing helps sink the floating strands but I'm curious for next time if I let the syrup cook too long and now it isn't dissolving properly into each bottle.

tacticalhooligan said:

Anyone have problems with making their syrup too viscous? What I mean by that is I have what look like strands of syrup/cinnamon at the bottom of each bottle and some bottles have strands floating at the top. Cold crashing helps sink the floating strands but I'm curious for next time if I let the syrup cook too long and now it isn't dissolving properly into each bottle.

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My syrup was like that after cooking. I got it warm and then mixed it into about a gallon of the cider with my degassing wand. I then added in the rest of the cider and stirred well. It never separated again on me.

That degassing wand sounds very interesting...i had lots of issues with the separation because I didn't even stir while adding the syrup and ended up with most at the bottom of the bottling bucket and then in 5 or 6 bottles. I've never used one of these so I'll look into it!

Mine is similiar to this.......there are many versions available. http://www.thebrewshop.com/contents/en-uk/d26.html

Sugar.....even caramelized is very water soluable, should dissolve with some agitation.

hwilshusen said:

Don't worry about it. I followed the recipe for bottling and it came out perfect. Maybe a little a little dryer but it still has a nice sweetness. Carbed up nice in one week.

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Thanks!

I got around to bottling today. Final gravity was .998, with my original gravity was 1.068.

I'm assuming abv calculation is same as beer? that gives me 9.3% before adding concentrate.

Does that seem correct or even possible, or is something wrong with my calculation?

Taste is already good! Can't wait til it conditions.

nsmills83 said:

Final gravity was .998, with my original gravity was 1.068.

I'm assuming abv calculation is same as beer? that gives me 9.3% before adding concentrate.

Does that seem correct or even possible, or is something wrong with my calculation?

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Depending on the formula used, I get 9.2% - 9.5%, so yeah, 9.3% is ballpark.

This is an awesome recipie. I will be trying for sure!