Wassail Cider

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mgayer

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2 gallon apple juice
1 lbs Honey (use 1/2 lb in 2 additions)
2 sticks cinnamon
2 cloves
1 slice fresh ginger root (thin)
zest of 1 orange (either dried or fresh)
1/2 tsp Pectic enzyme
1/2 tsp yeast nutrients
Ale yeast

Take 1 gallon of Apple juice (Cider if it is clear) and 1 lbs of Honey mix by shaking until the honey dissolves. Put in primary with 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 cloves, ginger, orange zest, Yeast Nutrients and Pectic enzyme. Check the gravity before adding the yeast! Make a yeast starter (1 cup of must to 1 cup of water) and give it about 20 to 30 minutes to get very foamy. Stir the starter at about 15 minutes to get it all suspended good.

Pitch the yeast and attach an airlock. Leave this alone for 6 weeks. Don't touch and don't rack. At 6 weeks rack it and taste. It should have a bit of residual sweetness and be clearing. Check the gravity and stabilize. Add 1 gallon of apple juice. Actually if this gallon has preservitives it won't hurt as you are trying to keep it stable and not referment. Add Honey to taste and let this age, I would let it sit for at least 1 more month and rack before bottling. The last addition of honey may not be necessary as the gallon of juice will sweeten a lot.

The traditional way of heating was to stick a red hot poker in the cup. A good way to get the taste this gives is to heat the pan hot enough that the cider will boil and sizzle as soon as it touches the pot then pour it off into the cups or Stien. Add apple or orange slices as garnish.
 
Thanks for the recipe. I've been trying to figure out how to do one of these since Saturday. I decided that I wanted to do one for a Christmas party this year.

Any guesses has to how long it will keep? I'm trying to figure out how early/late I can brew it and have it ready.
 
As long as it is bottled and stabilized it should keep for months. I you don't add the the last gallon of cider it would keep as wine would and then open a bottle and add a bottles worth of apple juice. If you start this by September it should be finished and ready for December festivities! My christmas cider don't last through the New Year with this small of a batch.
 
Would using non-clear cider work too? I'm looking into pressing my own apples this fall but want to make sure it would turn out ok.

Also, since you noted it's a small batch, would doubling everything (including the yeast? Not including it?) and shoving in a 5 gallon carbon produce the same results?
 
Sigafoos said:
Would using non-clear cider work too? I'm looking into pressing my own apples this fall but want to make sure it would turn out ok.

Also, since you noted it's a small batch, would doubling everything (including the yeast? Not including it?) and shoving in a 5 gallon carbon produce the same results?

I would not increase the Yeast amount. Most of the ale or lager yeast can handle up to 5 gallon. I think I would try the Nottingham Yeast and using the Nutrient like half at the begining and half 1 week later.
 
Would campden tabs be suitable to kill off the rest of the yeast before adding the juice and honey/bottling? I have had this in the primary for about eight weeks now and was thinking about finally getting ready to put it into a few wine bottles on Thursday. I have a boil pot big enough to pasteurize if that is a good route to go.
 

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