ajk170
Well-Known Member
Hi All,
I'm pretty new to the homebrew experiance- I've made a Honey Blonde and Miabock over the past two months and now what to make a better cider than what I can buy. What I want to end up with is something that is carbonated, has a kick, is wet, and semi-sweet. But I do not have the patience to wait till next year for my first batch to condition. I'll do that when I get a reciepe/process down that I really like.
What I made last night I hope will get me something that fits the immediate bill. Here's what I used- take a look and see what everybody thinks
- 2 gal White Top pasturized cider (Wallmart) (pasturized)
- 1/2 gal Oceanspray Cranberry Juice (pasturized)
- 1# Domino Brown sugar (dissolved into ~ 1.5 quart Mountain top Spring water) - I cooled this down to ~80 degrees before adding to cider/cranberry/water mix)
- 1 quart additional Mountain Top Spring Water
- ~10 grams Coopers Ale dehydrated yeast (no specific mention on package of what type) that I reconsitutued prior to pitching.
As of this morning I had bubbles, so that was exciting! I tried to be thorough on the sanatize like I do for the beer, but I'm never sure if it's good enough. I use Star San on everything - maybe even longer than I should!
To help get me to what I want in a cider, I am thinking of putting 1 can apple juice concintrate and 1-2 cinnimon sticks and some corriander in on the secondary and let it sit in the secondary for a few weeks. Lastly, I am thinking that I could use plain DME to bottle rather than dextrose. Or could I use the DME in the secondary?
After reading more in these threads, I am also thinking that I may have to use some Splenda in the secondary to ensure a little sweetness and I am not sure what the DME will do to the flavor.
The last thing that I want is a wine cooler or diet soda! That's what's got me worried about the DME or Splenda.
Thanks for any input!
I'm pretty new to the homebrew experiance- I've made a Honey Blonde and Miabock over the past two months and now what to make a better cider than what I can buy. What I want to end up with is something that is carbonated, has a kick, is wet, and semi-sweet. But I do not have the patience to wait till next year for my first batch to condition. I'll do that when I get a reciepe/process down that I really like.
What I made last night I hope will get me something that fits the immediate bill. Here's what I used- take a look and see what everybody thinks
- 2 gal White Top pasturized cider (Wallmart) (pasturized)
- 1/2 gal Oceanspray Cranberry Juice (pasturized)
- 1# Domino Brown sugar (dissolved into ~ 1.5 quart Mountain top Spring water) - I cooled this down to ~80 degrees before adding to cider/cranberry/water mix)
- 1 quart additional Mountain Top Spring Water
- ~10 grams Coopers Ale dehydrated yeast (no specific mention on package of what type) that I reconsitutued prior to pitching.
As of this morning I had bubbles, so that was exciting! I tried to be thorough on the sanatize like I do for the beer, but I'm never sure if it's good enough. I use Star San on everything - maybe even longer than I should!
To help get me to what I want in a cider, I am thinking of putting 1 can apple juice concintrate and 1-2 cinnimon sticks and some corriander in on the secondary and let it sit in the secondary for a few weeks. Lastly, I am thinking that I could use plain DME to bottle rather than dextrose. Or could I use the DME in the secondary?
After reading more in these threads, I am also thinking that I may have to use some Splenda in the secondary to ensure a little sweetness and I am not sure what the DME will do to the flavor.
The last thing that I want is a wine cooler or diet soda! That's what's got me worried about the DME or Splenda.
Thanks for any input!