Priming Question

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IwanaBrich

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I'm making my first batch of Hard Cider and I have a question about bottling it.

To make the cider, I used 5 gallons of Apple juice from Costco to which I added 4 lbs of corn sugar and Montrachet yeast. No one locally had any cider yeast and I was afraid to use nautual yeast from an apple skin. I'm using my 5 gallon, glass carboy with an airlock as the fermenter. It's been bubbling away for just over a week now and its starting to slow down, so I know I'm going to have to bottle it soon.

Originally I was planning to bottle it similar to the way I have done for beer and used priming sugar, but I was wondering if I could use a small amount of apple cider in its place. I'm thinking that adding apple juice into the hard cider will add back in some apple flavor. Is there is enough sugar in the added apple cider to charge the bottles? Has anyone tried this? If so, does anyone know how much apple? Is it a waste of time?

Your help is apprciated!

Bob
 
Use 12-13 oz of Tree Top apple juice concentrate. Do not and any water. There is enough sugar in the concentrate to carb 5 gallons. You have at least 2 months before you are ready to bottle. The longer you wait the better. Give it 4 weeks after it hits below 1.000 SG to clear. Then rack and let it sit another 4 weeks. Then rack to a bucket and bottle it. Then let it sit a few months to condition and age.
 
I hadn't thought about adding apple concentrate, sounds like a good idea. Have you ever done this? If so, how was the taste?

So you really think it will take at least 2 more months to clarify? I thought it would go quicker. I haven't brewed any beer in a least 5 years and I've really wanted to get back into it. So I figured I start with some Hard Cider because I thought it was quicker...oh well.

I appreciate your help....thanks
 
Hard Cider and meads actually take longer than normal beers. The time line is more like an Imperial high gravity beer.
If you do not add any sugar, and use a nutral beer yeast you can make a hard cider that is drinkable in two months, but is really great in eight months.
Hey, rack to secondary, and brew up a Hefe that will be ready to drink in a few weeks and forget about the cider for three months. Now your back to brewing with your pipeline on operation.
Welcome back.
 
With 4lbs of dextrose, you have one hard hitting cider/almost wine. You are going to want to wait at least 3 months, because it will have a lot of alcohol bite to it for a while.
 
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