Crapple Cider

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Gangles

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This is a cranberry apple cider. It has a nice sweet but tart taste to it. Best served chilled, in a wine glass.

Great autumn drink. Accompanied best by cheese, wool sweaters and a brew-pup on your lap.

Batch - 1 gal (3.75 L) Growler

Bill of Goods: CAN$ 7.50 (Approximate)
2 L Apple Juice
- I use 2 apple juice cans - 1.2 L each.
1.5 L 100% Cranberry Juice - not from concentrate
1 Frozen Can of Apple Juice Concentrate
3/4 cup of dextrose
1 Potassium sorbate tablet
Package of Champaign yeast

Directions:
Drop the sugar in the growler first through a dry funnel, then put 1 can of apple juice and all of the Cranberry juice in. Shake it until the sugar is dissolved.

Pitch the yeast in dry or with a starter. I prefer to do a 1-2 hour starter but that's up to you.

Wash the rest of the yeast down the funnel and fix your airlock.

The dextrose and champaign yeast are an explosive mix so be sure you either fix a blow off tube or give it a towel cape.

Leave this for 4 to 6 weeks until it is crystal clear. Then drop in the Potassium Sorbate and give it another week.

At this point you can either bottle it, or rack to secondary. I accidentally forgot about my first batch and left it in the primary for 3 months. I didn't have any off flavors, but I wish I had transferred to a secondary.

The day before you bottle, mix in the frozen log of apple juice and let is sit over night. I have a Mr. Beer container that I like to use for back sweetening, but I'll leave the technique up t o you.

Let them settle in the bottles for a week, or as long as you can wait, and enjoy!

Mine usually come out at around 7% to 8%. It is meant to be a light table wine supplement or a refresher. If higher percentages are you thing, just add more dextrose.

Variations:
I am making a test batch where I back sweeten with cranberry to get a bit more cranberry flavor. The real problem comes with finding the right apple to cranberry mix. A splash off either way and you will only taste one or the other.
 
"Crapple, made from the best $h!t on earth." :D Sorry, couldn't resist. I'll be trying a variation of this recipe (minus the sorbate) next week. Regards, GF.
 
Love the Tag-Line!

Just out of curiosity, why no sorbate? Are you planing on carbing in the bottle?
 
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