Looking at wanting to make a had cider soon

well i just tried some woodchuck amber cider and really liked it ... now i been reading that when u make cider the yeast will eat all the sugar and leave the cider tasting very dry.. now would it be a good idear to say make a batch of cider of 3 gallons and when its done fermenting add two gallons of fresh cider to add the apple flavor back to the batch?


also what woudl be a good way to make something like woodchuck amber cider but with a little more apple flavor and a heavier body? but i do like how the woodchuck amber has a champagne like body? now what kind of yeast woudl be good for that to use?

Hi, Baddagger.

Take a look at www.makinghardcider.com - she gives a great introduction to cider making and uses a method where you let the cider ferment to dry but then backsweeten with a non-fermentable sugar. Then prime with real sugar and bottle carbonate.

Also, at the top of the cider subforum are some sticky threads. I use a simple stove-top pastuerizing method to get semi-dry/semi-sweet bottle conditioned sparkling cider, as explained in one of the sticky threads.

There are a number of ways to make ciders with residual sweetness.

Mine's very easy, and here it is:

5 gallons of store bought apple juice, WITHOUT preservatives
1.25 lbs (1 1/4) of light brown sugar
1 packet of Nottingham yeast, NOT rehydrated.

I put it all together in a 6-gallon fermenter (make sure the brown sugar gets all diluted), sprinkle the yeast on top, and give it a good shake. Ferment 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks+ in secondary, keg, force carbonate, and let cold crash for a few weeks.

Even my beer-hating girlfriend loves that cider!

M_C

Misplaced_Canuck said:

There are a number of ways to make ciders with residual sweetness.

Mine's very easy, and here it is:

5 gallons of store bought apple juice, WITHOUT preservatives
1.25 lbs (1 1/4) of light brown sugar
1 packet of Nottingham yeast, NOT rehydrated.

I put it all together in a 6-gallon fermenter (make sure the brown sugar gets all diluted), sprinkle the yeast on top, and give it a good shake. Ferment 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks+ in secondary, keg, force carbonate, and let cold crash for a few weeks.

Even my beer-hating girlfriend loves that cider!

M_C

Click to expand...

If you cold crash it at the right point, it will stop the yeast before they are done eating all the apple sugars.

The real conundrum arises if you are not force carbing.

Pappers_ said:

If you cold crash it at the right point, it will stop the yeast before they are done eating all the apple sugars.

The real conundrum arises if you are not force carbing.

Click to expand...

That's correct. My hard cider has done quite well finishing up with 1.002 to 1.004 residual sugars when I've done the recipe above, and fermented to completion.

My best guess is that the brown sugar and the yeast without rehydration fail to completely ferment the juice.

I would place that recipe somewhere between a Strongbow and definitely below a woodchuck as far as sweetness is concerned.

M_C

I have a few batches with which I plan to do what you originally proposed. Essentially I am just fermenting it dry (even though I added some sugar at the beginning to boost ABV), racking to secondary and aging like 5-6 months, then adding some more juice to it to get some sweetness back. From what I understand, this is basically what companies like woodchuck do anyway.

I used Nottingham yeast, though I prefer wine yeasts and am using some in more recent batches. Nottingham is okay though in some other batches I have found it gives a farty smell to my brews if I don't let it age, dry, for months.

If you're kegging, then just kill it with k sorbate and campden while its still sweet - some people don't believe in this but if fermentation does reoccur, your keg should let out pressure anyway. I reakon its worth a try. Just be sure to use k-sorbate while the yeast is still active.

Bottling? Backsweeten, allow to carbonate in the bottle and then pasteurize. Works a treat.