Honey Peach Cider

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KeyWestBrewing

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This is an incredibly easy, tasty, and cheap cider to make. Its become a big hit with everyone that's tried it at beer tasting events.

You get however many gallons of Publix brand Apple Cider you want to make, though this recipe is for 6 gallons. Add it to a sanitized carboy. I like to put 3 gallons in the freezer, one gallon in the fridge, and leave 2 gallons out. This way its already cold and I dont have to chill it before pitching. Once your close to 65f pitch your Notty and close it up. Thats it for a little over 2 weeks. Once its fermented and the yeast has settled out rack over to your bottling bucket. At this point you have a base for making almost any cider you can imagine. From experimenting I've found adding honey at bottling time really brings out the apple flavor. Ive also done variations using tart cherry juice, pear nectar, black cherry juice, guava nectar, and am currently working on a ginger version.

Once in the bottling bucket/keg, back sweeten with 1# of Orange Blossom honey and 1 bottle of Looza Organic Peach Nectar(34ozs). I heat the honey up in the microwave so its easier to get out of the bottle and mix into solution. This is just my preference of nectar to use but really you can just add to taste.

Once everything has been mixed in its ready to bottle up. At this point I open one up every other day to see when its carbed to where I like it. Usually it only takes 3-4 days. From there pasteurize all the bottles using the stove top method. Dont let the bottles get too carbed otherwise the pasteurizing process can be extremely dangerous. And you cant not pasteurize this recipe unless your kegging because all the sugar that was added at bottling will create bottle bombs. Now your ready to chill it and enjoy :tank:
 
Can you explain a little more about the bottling portion. So you're saying that essentially instead of priming sugar the honey and nectar is doing that job. Why is it necessary to pasteurize. Still learning but this sounds good, thanks!!

Ben
 
benbernstein said:
Can you explain a little more about the bottling portion. So you're saying that essentially instead of priming sugar the honey and nectar is doing that job. Why is it necessary to pasteurize. Still learning but this sounds good, thanks!!

Ben

Basically youve got it. The sugar from the honey and the nectar is actually way way more than you'd use to prime. So you have to pasteurize the bottles once they get carbed otherwise the yeast will keep going and create bottle bombs. If you add the honey and nectar while its still in the carboy it would all get fermented out and leave you a dry cider. By doing it the way Ive written you retain most of the sugar and flavor from the honey and nectar.
This recipe is rock solid, I actually just won my homebrew beer of the month comp with it 2 days ago. It's also very easy and takes minimal effort. I highly recommend giving it a go!!
 
I am really excited to try it. I'm going to give it a go as soon as my German Hef is out of my primary. Once it's in the secondary it will free up a carboy for me. Can you explain the pasteurizing process a little. If you don't want to elaborate that's cool I can look it up. Just wanted some first hand knowledge.

Ben
 
Actually, just found that one of the MODS posted an enitre tutorial on the subject. Thanks much, I'll be doing this soon.
 
benbernstein said:
Actually, just found that one of the MODS posted an enitre tutorial on the subject. Thanks much, I'll be doing this soon.

Yea the stove top pasteurization thread is where I learned how. It generally takes about 4 days until its ready to pasteurize. I forget how long the thread says to do it but I do.... X amount of bottles @ 150f for 10mins. Works like a charm.

Let me know when you get around to it, hope you enjoy!!
 
redrooster said:
how do you maintain your 65f fermentation temp in the keys

I use a swamp cooler and keep it in front of my wall unit. Maybe rotate a few ice packs the first couple days. Works like a charm and my house has no insulation.
 
My LHBC did a homebrew comp fundraiser for Wildlife Rescue this past Thursday and I made this Honey Peach and a Black Cherry with Brazilian Pepper Honey. In 2 hours, a case of each was gone served in 3-4oz pours. They placed 2nd and 3rd in votes, had I entered only one it may have taken the top spot. Regardless, this recipe has proven itself both in quality and how drinkable it is. Make it and see how many people ask "wow you made this?" and "where can I buy this?"
 
Just got the cider and notty in the carboy. I was thinking about what you were saying about trying to add different flavors as opposed to the peach. My wife really really likes the berry burst cider at BJ's. Any idea what I could add to try and mimic that.

Ben
 
benbernstein said:
Just got the cider and notty in the carboy. I was thinking about what you were saying about trying to add different flavors as opposed to the peach. My wife really really likes the berry burst cider at BJ's. Any idea what I could add to try and mimic that.

Ben

I've never had it but probably some combination of blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry. If you can find juice/nectar for those you can try coming up with a blend you think tastes good. Then use that blend to back sweeten with. That's my best guess.
 
KeyWest,

I'm two weeks into fermentation and I'm still pretty cloudy. I see a lot of guys talking about pectin and leaving cider for 3 to 4 months. I know you said a little over two weeks, just trying to clarify what I should be doing.
 
benbernstein said:
KeyWest,

I'm two weeks into fermentation and I'm still pretty cloudy. I see a lot of guys talking about pectin and leaving cider for 3 to 4 months. I know you said a little over two weeks, just trying to clarify what I should be doing.

Once the yeast has settled out give it a few days before you bottle/keg. The clarity is a little foggy when its finished.
 
Cider tastes great!!! I have a lot of floaties going on however, I'm thinking that's a combination of the stuff that was already in the cider and the yeast. The color and taste is great though. Pasteurizing today.

Ben
 
That's what I was worried about. I didn't disturb the yeast cake at all while racking...hoping I don't have an infection...
 
I doubt you have an infection, as long as you sanitized everything before you used it you should be fine. Its harder to infect a batch of beer/cider than most people make it out to be. You probably just got some of the lees in there when you racked it over. Its no biggie and should still taste completely fine. Theres also a chance it will just settle to the bottom of the bottle after a few days in the fridge. Now that your ciders carbed drink it up as it doesnt really need any further aging. Because the turnaround is so quick I drink and make a lot of this stuff. To the point where I always have a batch in the carboy.
At the point your at I usually use the yeast cake and pour another 6gal on top with some yeast nutrient and get goin on the next batch. Generally after 2 batches I wash the yeast before using it to make more cider. This way you can try and get rid of all the lees. Hope you enjoy the cider enough to make more!!
 
Hey all,

So I created this batch yesterday night using 5 gallons of (pasteurized) apple cider from a local orchard. 24 hours later, it's still not bubbling. There are a few bubbles an hour, but beyond that... nothing.

I wonder if the issue is with the cider or the yeast?

WHY CIDER? - it was fresh from the orchard and didn't have any added sugar. Should I add any sugar to get the fermentation going? Upon tasting the cider, it's super sweet so I imagined I wouldn't have to.

WHY YEAST? - Before pitching the yeast, I nuked a glass of water for 10 seconds in the microwave. I then mixed the yeast in and tossed it in my carboy with the cider. Do you think the water could've been too hot for the yeast? Additionally, the Carboy was full of juice that was heating up to room temperature from having been in the fridge. Was the cider too cold for the yeast?

Am I just panicking? Should I wait another couple of days? How fast did your fermentation process start?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I look forward to trying it soon.
 
1013615 said:
Hey all,

So I created this batch yesterday night using 5 gallons of (pasteurized) apple cider from a local orchard. 24 hours later, it's still not bubbling. There are a few bubbles an hour, but beyond that... nothing.

I wonder if the issue is with the cider or the yeast?

WHY CIDER? - it was fresh from the orchard and didn't have any added sugar. Should I add any sugar to get the fermentation going? Upon tasting the cider, it's super sweet so I imagined I wouldn't have to.

WHY YEAST? - Before pitching the yeast, I nuked a glass of water for 10 seconds in the microwave. I then mixed the yeast in and tossed it in my carboy with the cider. Do you think the water could've been too hot for the yeast? Additionally, the Carboy was full of juice that was heating up to room temperature from having been in the fridge. Was the cider too cold for the yeast?

Am I just panicking? Should I wait another couple of days? How fast did your fermentation process start?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I look forward to trying it soon.

It sounds like you may have killed most or all of the yeast when you mixed in the water. The gravity of the cider I use is exactly 1.050 so there's plenty sugar for the yeast to enjoy. You could take a gravity reading of the stuff you have if you have more to know your exact numbers. I'd grab another pack of yeast if it hasn't picked up by tomorrow.
 
Hi, I apologize for so many questions. I had one more: Does it matter that it's Orange Blossom Honey? Does the flavor of the orange really come through? Can it be any organic honey?
 
1013615 said:
Hi, I apologize for so many questions. I had one more: Does it matter that it's Orange Blossom Honey? Does the flavor of the orange really come through? Can it be any organic honey?

The kind of honey you use is a big part of the flavor. You can experiment with all kinds of stuff just try to make sure its good quality. I'm lucky enough to have a good local source for honey so I use that. The cheapy stuff at the grocery store doesn't taste very good.
 
I'm at 2 and a half weeks and am about to begin the bottling process. I hope this short amount of time in primary doesn't affect the taste. Everything I read online about cider says to have it in primary to 4-12 weeks!
 
1013615 said:
I'm at 2 and a half weeks and am about to begin the bottling process. I hope this short amount of time in primary doesn't affect the taste. Everything I read online about cider says to have it in primary to 4-12 weeks!

I wouldn't move to bottle until fermentation has completely stopped and the yeast has settled. It usually takes 3-4 weeks.
 
Ah thank you so much. I was just going off of your original instructions of a little bit over 2 weeks before bottling.

Thank you as always.
 
1013615 said:
Ah thank you so much. I was just going off of your original instructions of a little bit over 2 weeks before bottling.

Thank you as always.

No problem. Just gotta work on the yeasts schedule. Sometimes it finishes up a little quicker than others.
 
I picked up the Looza peach the other day and am starting this recipe Friday. Going to use some of the 60lb tub of Dutch Gold Orange Blossom Honey I have on hand. Hopefully I don't screw it up by changing anything like my berry cider :(
 
kstone803 said:
I picked up the Looza peach the other day and am starting this recipe Friday. Going to use some of the 60lb tub of Dutch Gold Orange Blossom Honey I have on hand. Hopefully I don't screw it up by changing anything like my berry cider :(

I've made a ton of variations of this recipe with different honeys and juices for back sweetening and as long as you use good quality stuff it should be fine.
 
This is one of the best ciders I've made yet! Waiting on it to bottle carb so I can pasteurize and then bottle condition, but I already love it just trying a sip from the bottling bucket. I let the brew go a little over 2 weeks because I'm more partial for dry ciders, but otherwise I stayed true to the recipe.
 
jessiczar said:
This is one of the best ciders I've made yet! Waiting on it to bottle carb so I can pasteurize and then bottle condition, but I already love it just trying a sip from the bottling bucket. I let the brew go a little over 2 weeks because I'm more partial for dry ciders, but otherwise I stayed true to the recipe.

I'm happy to hear your feedback. Once you've pasteurized the batch its ready to drink. I never condition mine any further. I also let it ferment totally dry before back sweetening, tastes better that way IMO. Enjoy the cider!
 
what about backsweetening with maple syrup? how do you think that might work? It seems like maple syrup never really comes through like people want.
 
WisDevilDog said:
what about backsweetening with maple syrup? how do you think that might work? It seems like maple syrup never really comes through like people want.

Having used maple syrup many times in brews I can say from experience when it ferments out it doesn't leave any maple character. Now in this case it may work since you'd pasteurize the batch before all the maple syrup gets fermented out.
Another option would be to boil about a tsp of fenugreek seeds in some apple juice then use that to backsweeten. Something along these lines is what I think Woodchuck does for one of their seasonal releases(can't remember which).
 
Finally got around to starting this last night.

5 gallons AJ
1 lb white granulated sugar (dissolved in 2 1/2 gallons of AJ)
3/4 gallon water
Nottingham

I'm going to let it go for 15-20 days and then rack and backsweeten with honey and peach nectar. Looking forward to this one!
 
kstone803 said:
Didn't buy enough AJ :D That's also why I added sugar, try to keep the SG around where it would have been with just AJ.

That makes total sense now lol. At first I was thinking why would you add water and table sugar to end up with a lower OG than just using juice. Had me lost haha.
 
That makes total sense now lol. At first I was thinking why would you add water and table sugar to end up with a lower OG than just using juice. Had me lost haha.

Yea it was an oh **** spur of the moment solution. So far it is bubbling away nicely. This is my first brew with Notty and I have heard good things so I have high hopes.
 
kstone803 said:
Yea it was an oh **** spur of the moment solution. So far it is bubbling away nicely. This is my first brew with Notty and I have heard good things so I have high hopes.

I think it should be fine. I had never used Notty either until I started making cider, I'm a US05 guy myself. But of all the yeasts I've used for cider the best results have been with Notty.
 
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