Apple blackberry cider

I used Costco apple juice and trader joes blackberry crush. This came out so good next time I'll double the recipe for a 5 gal batch.

2 gal apple juice
.5 gal blackberry juice
1lb honey
Nottingham yeast

Ferment out then back sweeten to your liking.

If bottling and back sweetening, store cold or pasteurize after conditioning accordingly.

I poured everything in except the last 1/3 of the apple juice. Added the honey, and shook for a couple mins to mix. I've also heated part of the juice up to better mix with the honey with success too.. was just lazy this time.

I've rehydrated notty in the past, this time I just pitched dry. Took off within 6 hours. I fermented for 14 days down to 1.003, then racked to a keg with one can of frozen apple juice concentrate. Force carbed for a day hence the pic of cloudy cider. I'm sure it will clear nicely in a couple days.

Sounds yummy. So you added the blackberry from the start? Did it keep a lot of the berry flavor or ferment out?

Added it all at the beginning like making regular cider. The berry flavor is in the background.. I might try adding the blackberry after a week or so next time to see how that impacts the flavor. After a few days it also seemed like it could use more sweetening.

made a batch of this three weeks ago, used 4 gal apple juice and 1 gal blackberry crush, 1lb honey and ~1lb brown sugar.

Forgot to check OG but ended up with a very dry tart cider at 1.006. Backsweetened with 2 cans frozen apple juice concentrate, and carb'd in the keg.

Not quite commercial quality, but for what you put in timewise- a very good product that SWMBO will love (mine does) and is a nice changeup flavor wise to your standard beer on tap.

Thanks for this. Me and the wife read through a bunch of the recipes and she said that this looked like the one she would enjoy the most! It's my first attempt at brewing so I hope it turns out decent.

ix3u said:

Thanks for this. Me and the wife read through a bunch of the recipes and she said that this looked like the one she would enjoy the most! It's my first attempt at brewing so I hope it turns out decent.

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No prob. Hope you both enjoy it.

Great looking cider recipe. I'll be trying a small batch of this soon... A friend is looking at a BB cider for their wedding.

ODGlenchez said:

Great looking cider recipe. I'll be trying a small batch of this soon... A friend is looking at a BB cider for their wedding.

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Thanks, I'll probably experiment a little more with sweetening more next time I make it, which will be soon.

i have basically the same thing fermenting now. 3 gallons apple juice, 1/2 gallon of blackberry, 2lbs brown sugar, and notty yeast. i didn't think the airlock would ever stop bubbling....but i think i'll finally be able to bottle this weekend. i was hoping to find frozen blackberry juice concentrate, no luck yet so i may be using straight apple for backsweetening. i'll also give the stove-top pasteurizing a shot too....hopefully have sweet and carbed drinks.
my OG was 1.076, haven't checked since then, but i'll check at bottling time....hoping to be around 8-9% abv. i wish i'd have seen this recipe before i started, i left the "other fruit flavor" up to the wife....she wanted blackberry or black cherry, and blackberry juice was found first.

Spinout said:

i have basically the same thing fermenting now. 3 gallons apple juice, 1/2 gallon of blackberry, 2lbs brown sugar, and notty yeast. i didn't think the airlock would ever stop bubbling....but i think i'll finally be able to bottle this weekend. i was hoping to find frozen blackberry juice concentrate, no luck yet so i may be using straight apple for backsweetening. i'll also give the stove-top pasteurizing a shot too....hopefully have sweet and carbed drinks.
my OG was 1.076, haven't checked since then, but i'll check at bottling time....hoping to be around 8-9% abv. i wish i'd have seen this recipe before i started, i left the "other fruit flavor" up to the wife....she wanted blackberry or black cherry, and blackberry juice was found first.

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Sounds good, I'll be interested to hear how yours turns out, and how the pasteurizing goes.

well my first cider wasn't so good. tasted more like a cheap apple wine. drinkable, just not what i expected. ended up w/a FG of 1.002. back sweetened w/ straight apple concentrate, frozen (don't remember how many cans, 1 or 2). did the stovetop pasteurizing....i think it worked?? but all my bottling was done in plastic water/soda bottles or aluminum miller bottles since i knew bombs could be an issue. the plastic didn't take to the pasteurizing too well....didn't keep their shape. they got a little oblong and now won't stand up. oh well...i'm learning.

2nd batch (dumped right on the cake) was/is much better. 1.5gallons of straight apple juice and 1 can frozen apple concentrate. then bottled w/ 2 cans frozen and a cup of sugar. these carbed in 4 days, did the stovetop method again (more oblong plastics) and are now in storage....what's left anyway. much more like a hard cider (angry orchard).

anyway, moral is too much sugar made my first batch not so good. keep it close to your recipe and the results are very good. i'm going to be doing another 3gal batch for a 4th of july party.
thanks for the recipe!

I am very new to cider... only on second 1 gal batch and first is only 10 days old today. Couldn't wait to start again.
So I made up a recipe for the 2nd batch. Qt Blackberry Crush, Qt Pear juice, 2 Qt Apple juice, 1 Tbl regular sugar. Its bubbling like crazy. I don't have a meter yet so no SG readings. Cant wait to try it. I hope it turns out similar to Crispin Blackberry Pear. Based on those ingredients will it likely be tart? If so, any thoughts on best approach to back sweeten and carb would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I forgot to mention. I used 2g of Cider House Select Premium Yeast. I was going to add the honey but after reading other forums about honey it sounded complicated do i bailed.

Thanks for the recipe! A local cidery does a flavor they call Blackberry Boom: it's very sweet and HUGE on the berry flavor, it really tastes more like a Lindeman's lambic than a cider. I'm going to start with your recipe to try cloning it, but I'm betting I'll have to really lean on the blackberry additions, and maybe even do some at backsweetening, to make it there.

thanks again!

Definition of sadness: TJ's has discontinued the Blackberry Crush. Waaaaahhhh! Oh well, I have test batches of their cherry and blueberry going right now.

So how did it turn out? SWMBO in this house loves these types of juices as mixer for her vodka/rum so I figure I'll give several mixed fruit ciders a try