Adding Cinnamon to a Cider

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cyfan964

cyfan964

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Has anyone ever tried adding cinnamon to a cider to make a sort of "apple pie" liquor taste only in cider form?

Would I boil the apple juice with cinnamon and then chill it before adding yeast... or possibly just adding cinnamon sticks to the primary?

This would be my first Cider/Apfelwein... is the only difference between the two the dryness/sweetness? I'm thinking of using a hefe yeast. Would this make it a cider and the champagne/wine yeasts are more of an apfelwein?

How many pounds of dextrose should I use.... I was thinking like 1.5.
 
I haven't used cinnamon but I've used spices before.

Please don't boil your apple juice... It might take out some flavours and will cause some haze in your final product. If you are really worried about it being sanitized (store bought juice is usually already sanitized), throw a couple of Campden tablets in there and let it rest for 24 hours or so.

Easiest way to accomplish adding cinnamon flavour is just to add some of it to a secondary and leave it until you reach your desired cinnamon flavour taste. I usually throw my spices into one of those small mesh, grain bags and let it sit in there. Less mess and easy to take out in case you want to continue bulk aging. I would use full sticks here not powdered cinnamon.

The difference between cider and apfelwein is dryness but this stems from the different yeasts used. Apfelwein uses wine yeast such as Montrachet or Champagne yeast. So using hefeweizen yeast would make it more of a cider.

I don't typically add sugar to my cider so I cannot really comment on that. I've read about people adding brown sugar and what not. But the dextrose added in EdWort's Apfelwein is to boost the ABV - not to add any kind of sweetness since the yeast eats it all away.
 
look around plenty of recipes use cinnamon in them. i think i will go quite well.

the differences between cider an wine are minimal. most quote the level in alcohol as the Determining factor.

I say experiment and see what u like. no riles are written in stone and have fun trying ur ideas.

And please by no means am i an expert , just someone who lives in the moment
 
cyfan964:

I actually just made an Apfelwein with cinnamon. I tossed two sticks of cinnamon into the primary right before I pitched the yeast. I used Montrachet and am about 2 1/2 weeks into the fermentation; going to wait until a total of 5 weeks in the primary, then bottle with 3/4 cup of dextrose to prime it.

As far as sanitizing, I just followed Ed's recipe as my template (so I didn't sanitize the juice or the dextrose). BUT, I did sanitize the cinnamon sticks before tossing them in. I brought about a cup of water to a boil, then tossed both sticks in for about 15 seconds, took it off the heat, and drained out the water. I figured that would kill anything on them, and not take too much of the flavor away with it.

I'll let you know how it comes out. Keep me posted on yours too; I want to experiment with a hefe yeast next time around.
 
I used 2 sticks of cinnamon in a 5 gallon apple cider, it was way too cinnamon y.

Apple juice fermented by itself just doesn't have the body or texture to support a spice like cinnamon in my opinion. I think you could get the apple pie liquor taste tho from some of the flavor extracts they sell at home brew shops, if not then apple flavoring with some cinnamon sticks works too.

You might consider mashing 2lbs of oats and 5lbs of marris otter in a gallon or two of water and adding that with the apple juice and cinnamon sticks. That would really help with the body and mouth feel to support a spice that kicks like cinnamon does.
 
You can use a nylon bag with a small stick in the secondary after it's done fermenting. Taste periodically to make sure it's not becomming overdone. Depending on the apple varieties used it could taste better with more or less (I find cinnamon tastes better when the cider isn't too sharp). You can also try adding some oak to ground the flavor a bit.
 
Brandon O said:
Apple juice fermented by itself just doesn't have the body or texture to support a spice like cinnamon in my opinion.
Click to expand...

It depends on the juice. I noticed an incredible difference in the flavour, body, acidity, astringency and everything else between the homemade cider from my hometown, and pretty much any commercial cider I've tried. People here will often pitch on the very same day as picking and pressing the apples, and we have an enormous variety to choose from.

I may be wrong, but when I hear comments like that, I tend to think that people just aren't making cider with the right apples, as it seems most people are working with storebought juice, and getting the right blend of the right varieties can make a night and day difference between batches.

As for the cinnamon, I can say that half a (5-inch?)stick made into a tea with other spices in a batch of mead was evident. I wouldn't use more than one.
 
Wow, I've been worried this whole time that 2 sticks (half sticks) weren't going to be enough, and that I may need to put a little bit of ground cinnamon in with the priming sugar at bottling. Sounds like that won't be necessary at all anymore.

I used 100% store-bought apple juice; it contained ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C), but according to EdWort's guidelines for apfelweins, this preservative won't affect fermentation.
 
I made a batch with a gallon of Musselman's juice, a pound of brown sugar, and a stick of cinnamon in primary, and really didn't get any cinnamon taste to speak of. I mulled a couple of mugs' worth for Thanksgiving and ended up adding more cinnamon to get some flavor going. I think there's probably several factors that affect it--type of juice, freshness of the cinnamon, acidity, ABV, adding in primary vs. secondary, etc.
 
I cheated I started with a really high quality spiced apple cider from a local organic orchard. If you want perfectly clear not the way to go. If you don't mind a bit of haze and some spice over tones it worked well.
 
Saw this last week but didn't have any comments.

I have a batch going with cinnamon in it now, here's the breakdown. Fermentation temps were about 60-70

~6 gallons fresh pressed unpast. cider from local farm
2 lbs dark brown sugar
4 sticks cinnamon.. ~4-5 inches long
Wyeast 7184

11/20 primary, OG 1.062
11/24 1.050
11/27 1.030
11/28 1.020 Reracked to better bottle then into the fridge, 4 new cinnamon sticks
12/2 rerack again, still in the fridge. 1.016, 4 new cinnamon sticks
12/8 rerack again, 1.016, did not replace cinnamon sticks

At 11/28 the cinnamon flavor was not too evident. At 12/2, barely could taste it. At 12/8, can definitely taste it now, but it is extremely mellow and really takes a back seat to the apple flavor. I think it tastes great, I am not adding cinnamon any more as I like the level it is at now.
 
Usually with spices and fruits, I add them after primary fermentation has slowed. Usually after 2 weeks or a little more. The C02 generated by primary fermentation strips away a lot of the flavours and taste.
My general rule of thumb is to add them after two weeks in primary, and let them sit for a week to two, and then rack to secondary. In primary 1 stick would be good, If I'm adding the spices in secondary, 1 stick would be plenty if not too much.
But to each their own, I don't like the spices to be too strong.
 
wooooow, just kicked a 5 gallon primary with 40lbs milled apples (20 honey crisp, 20 granny smith). apparently granny smith was not a good choice as the sour flavors will be really prevalent. i cooked 14 cinnamon sticks and 30 cloves in a gallon of water for an hour or so and put it in after the pectic enzyme worked for almost a day. i am going to put brown sugar in it, but i'm not sure how much to put.

Kauai Kahuna, is what you are saying that the cinnamon and clove spices won't be as overpowering as the other replies on this thread indicate?
 
I'm late to the party here, but in my last batch, I tried bottling a 750 mL swingtop with an inch long cinnamon stick in it, and it tasted great after a few weeks, and another with a cinnamon stick, a star anise, and a few cloves, and it has a very 'herb liqueur' type flavour, I'm letting it age a little more, but it kinda of tastes like a tart version of Benedictine. I was just screwing around, and wanted to try late whole spice additions directly to the bottle, and the cinnamon worked pretty well (but I'd want to consume it fast, or it may become overpowering or woody).
 
jordnthoms said:
wooooow, just kicked a 5 gallon primary with 40lbs milled apples (20 honey crisp, 20 granny smith). apparently granny smith was not a good choice as the sour flavors will be really prevalent. i cooked 14 cinnamon sticks and 30 cloves in a gallon of water for an hour or so and put it in after the pectic enzyme worked for almost a day. i am going to put brown sugar in it, but i'm not sure how much to put.

Kauai Kahuna, is what you are saying that the cinnamon and clove spices won't be as overpowering as the other replies on this thread indicate?
Click to expand...

Depending on your taste it can change, but I made a batch with granny smith comprising 1/4 of the blend and using 3/4 sweet apples. It ended up not being too sour at that ratio.
 
I actually like the good amount of tartness from grannies and braeburns. They're widely used out here by home cider brewers because they have a sort of almost 'stereotypical' apple flavour. Braeburns are much sweeter though.

The trick with the granny smith I find is getting lots of them, storing them somewhere cool and using them into the winter, once they start to get waxy. The amount of sugar in them increases and the acidity drops a bit. They are better eating this way too.
 
cyfan964 said:
Has anyone ever tried adding cinnamon to a cider to make a sort of "apple pie" liquor taste only in cider form?

Would I boil the apple juice with cinnamon and then chill it before adding yeast... or possibly just adding cinnamon sticks to the primary?

This would be my first Cider/Apfelwein... is the only difference between the two the dryness/sweetness? I'm thinking of using a hefe yeast. Would this make it a cider and the champagne/wine yeasts are more of an apfelwein?

How many pounds of dextrose should I use.... I was thinking like 1.5.
Click to expand...
 
So glad to see this post. We are making our 2nd cider, after 2 weeks...no alcohol. We were hoping it wasn't the cinnamon sticks. It fermented in our inside brewing closet next to our stout (turned out fine). Not sure what happened.
 
I did a one gallon batch that I added a cup of brown sugar and 6 cinnamon sticks toon primary. I just pulled it out of primary and gave it a taste on its way into secondary. I thought it tasted great. Not overbearing at all. We will see how it does after some aging, but I am liking it so far.
 
I have used 1 tablespoon of cinnamon in 6 gallons of cider for years but beware the longer you let it rest the flavor becomes very strong. I let a batch sit for a year before finishing it and the cinnamon was too strong.

My recommendation is add a little let it rest a minimum of a week and taste it. Give it time to do its magic and blend with the cider. This year I am adding pear to my cider and will only add a teaspoon of cinnamon.
 
I can't speak to the final result because my first batch (1 gallon) is in progress, but I was worried just tossing a cinnamon stick into the primary might make it bitter, so here's what I did. I took out about 1/2 cup of juice, put in one stick and some other spices, warmed it in the microwave (not hot or boiling, just warm) and let it cool down before I strained the spices out and poured the resultant infusion in. Will report back when I taste test. :)
 
I've done cinnamon sticks in cider before. I have warmed half my cider with the cinnamon to kind of mull it then took the sticks out for fermentation.
This year I let the sticks go in the fermenter and it still came out decent. I also added some whole cloves to off-set the straight-up cinnamon flavor.
Gives a nice warming effect.
 

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