5 Day Sweet Country Cider

[jnesselrode]

Well, add me to the list of gazillions who think this recipe sounds great. I really like the possibility of a quick turnaround, retention of a lot of the apple flavor, and a slightly sweet cider. I won't mind the cloudiness, all by itself, but...

As I read through the entire thread last night, I saw several instances of people being disappointed by a strong, yeasty flavor. I can see how variances in ciders, yeasts, nutrients, temperatures, (inaccurate) SG readings, procedures and probably a lot of other things, could make the outcome vary a lot -- but that issue seemed to be repeated quite a bit. From experience, I know that yeast populations boom in the first few days. In this recipe you come in at what seems to be about the peak time , and you bottle it before it has time to sediment out so you're capturing a lot of yeast in the process.

I saw several references to cold crashing, but didn't notice a detailed discussion of that process and the pros or cons. It seems to make sense to me, and the weather is cooperating right now, so I wonder about that as a safety measure to get a lot of the yeast to settle out before bottling. I realize that changes the dynamic of the carbonation, but I think that may be a good thing by possibly slowing things down a little. Given the wide variances in carbonation times, and the potential for losing some cider or worse, I'd like to explore that idea.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[max384]

Well, add me to the list of gazillions who think this recipe sounds great. I really like the possibility of a quick turnaround, retention of a lot of the apple flavor, and a slightly sweet cider. I won't mind the cloudiness, all by itself, but...

As I read through the entire thread last night, I saw several instances of people being disappointed by a strong, yeasty flavor. I can see how variances in ciders, yeasts, nutrients, temperatures, (inaccurate) SG readings, procedures and probably a lot of other things, could make the outcome vary a lot -- but that issue seemed to be repeated quite a bit. From experience, I know that yeast populations boom in the first few days. In this recipe you come in at what seems to be about the peak time , and you bottle it before it has time to sediment out so you're capturing a lot of yeast in the process.

I saw several references to cold crashing, but didn't notice a detailed discussion of that process and the pros or cons. It seems to make sense to me, and the weather is cooperating right now, so I wonder about that as a safety measure to get a lot of the yeast to settle out before bottling. I realize that changes the dynamic of the carbonation, but I think that may be a good thing by possibly slowing things down a little. Given the wide variances in carbonation times, and the potential for losing some cider or worse, I'd like to explore that idea.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I've done 15 gallons of this cider so far and haven't noticed a strong yeasty flavor. When I siphon, I leave probably a bit too much cider in the bottom, because I'm careful about not picking up a lot of lees. Maybe others aren't so careful with this step?

Cold crashing is pretty simple. Move your cider from room temp to refrigerator temp. The colder temperature will cause the yeast to go dormant (for the most part, there will still be a very small amount of yeast activity) and for the sediment (to include yeast) to drop to the bottom of the fermenter.

I've read that some people recommend to bottle the cider after cold crashing because the yeast will drop to the bottom and that there will be no further fermentation. That's crazy to me. I wouldn't trust that all the yeast has fallen out of suspension.

What I do is bottle after I get my desired alcohol/sweetness. Then I let it sit until my desired carbonation. Then I cold crash in bottles. I just keep them refrigerated until I drink them. They definitely clear up after being in the fridge for a few days. I've also tried pasteurizing before. It works great, but it's a pain in the ass to do.

 

[jnesselrode]

Thanks max384. That helps. I'm leaning toward a cold crash, then bottling, with a plastic indicator bottle, then a pasteurization. I know that's extra work, but I'm thinking I get a clearer end product, and a slowed down the carbonation. Some of the posts talking about a couple hours to a couple days to carb have me spooked. The slower carb is all theory at this point.

 

[BeantownBrawler]

Just finished batch number 2 of this recipe and it's even better than the last! Anyone getting creative with this? Adding favors or changing things up?

 

[zmanzorro]

Just finished batch number 2 of this recipe and it's even better than the last! Anyone getting creative with this? Adding favors or changing things up?

I'm about to try this recipe for the first time. Splitting the batch up and replacing the cinnamon sticks with blackberries, blood oranges, and pomegranate in different containers.

 

[danishd43]

I made a burnt honey batch that turned out really well. I boiled a few pounds of honey then added the juice and cinnamon before putting into primary. The honey flavor was pretty subtle but noticeable. You might try just back sweetening before bottling to keep more honey flavor.

 

[BeantownBrawler]

That sounds fantastic. Might be doing a cinnamon and ginger root version soon!

 

[zanmushi]

Finished first batch. Very tasty, will do again.
Decided to go with the dishwasher pasteurization route. Out of 36 bottles I had two explode in the dishwasher. Then placed all in fridge after they cooled to room temp — placed one in the basement, it's been there for a week and has not exploded, so it seems my washer got hot enough to stop fermentation.

Also, I had great carbonation using the soda bottle trick:
Buy two plastic 24oz bottles, leave one unopened and fill the other with cider. When they feel the same it's bottle time.

I'll be adding ginger next time.

Thanks to the OP for a great recipe!

 

[zmanzorro]

Mine turned out really well! I decided to ferment it completely dry, backsweeten it, and just serve it non-carbonated. It was a hit at my NYE party. I think the blackberry version turned out best of the flavored variations.

 

[jco0n]

Hi all, total n00b here...

So I am afraid that my 5 day cider will ferment way to dry. My OG was 1.050 after following the directions exactly. I assume this is due to my store bought cider being much less sweet then OP's. I was using the tapatalk app and OP' OG is no where to be found on the first page...so being a n00b I just went with it... @ the desired 5-6% I will need to get my FG down to 1.000ish and that will be very dry. I was hoping this would something that the SWMBO could enjoy but not im a bit worried.

Also, its been about 2.5 days in the primary and the gravity is only 1.30. I blame this on the entire first day being in the basement where it was colder and fermentation started very slow and now is about a day behind. I will let this go an extra day(3.5 total) hoping to get the FG down to 1.000.

Will this be to dry? If so, should I back sweeten like ZMANZORRO above? If so what are my options?

ZMANZORRO,

What did you use to backsweeten? Any reason that you did not also carb? I would like this to be carbed... Goal here is for SWMBO to enjoy...

Thanks for any input.

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

Hi all, total n00b here...

So I am afraid that my 5 day cider will ferment way to dry. My OG was 1.050 after following the directions exactly. I assume this is due to my store bought cider being much less sweet then OP's. I was using the tapatalk app and OP' OG is no where to be found on the first page...so being a n00b I just went with it... @ the desired 5-6% I will need to get my FG down to 1.000ish and that will be very dry. I was hoping this would something that the SWMBO could enjoy but not im a bit worried.

Also, its been about 2.5 days in the primary and the gravity is only 1.30. I blame this on the entire first day being in the basement where it was colder and fermentation started very slow and now is about a day behind. I will let this go an extra day(3.5 total) hoping to get the FG down to 1.000.

Will this be to dry? If so, should I back sweeten like ZMANZORRO above? If so what are my options?

ZMANZORRO,

What did you use to backsweeten? Any reason that you did not also carb? I would like this to be carbed... Goal here is for SWMBO to enjoy...

Thanks for any input.

I havnt made this recipe, but I have made the Caramel Apple Hard Cider recipe on here several times and FWIW, I backsweeten a 5 gallon batch with 5 cans frozen apple juice concentrate as well as add some spices and bottle it following the recommendations on that recipe. Monitor it for a few days, sampling a bottle every 12 hours by the time 48 hours has past since bottling. When the carb is right, I lut it in the fridge to make the yeast go dormant and its great!!

 

[zmanzorro]

To back sweeten it, I just added more brown sugar dissolved in hot water. I also used some potassium sorbate to kill of the yeast before sweetening. I didn't carbonate it because I was a little wary of having bottle bombs in case I didn't kill all of the yeast. I might wait to get force carbonation equipment before carbonating it later.

Since it was uncarbonated, I was able to serve some of it hot, which was pretty cool.

 

[jco0n]

Thanks so much for the responses johnpcook and zmanzorro! Considering both techniques. Cider still fermenting, reading this morning was 1.010 @ about 5.5 days. Gonna let it go till tomorrow afternoon then bottle.

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[jco0n]

So I decided to let this cider ferment completely dry... still bubbling away(1 bub every 5-6 seconds) day 11 @ 65-68f. I want to wait till it clears, then back sweeten and bottle.

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[jco0n]

Backsweetend with 2 cans AJFC, and 3/4 lb dark Brown sugar. Waited a day and half for carb and then dishwasher pasteurized... stuff tastes great!!!

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[malachiuri]

My wife and I spent 6 weeks in Brittany France and fell in love with the Breton Doux cidre. A traditional way of drinking it is with a small shot of Creme de Cassis in the glass before pouring in the cidre.

Would it be possible to back sweeten this recipe with Creme de Cassis? If my math is correct, it would mean adding 26.5oz of the liquor per 5 gallon batch. (its 15%avb if thta matters at all)

Thanks all.

 

[jco0n]

Took 10 bottles to SB party and it was an absolute hit! Gone in minutes! Will try again with 100% apple juice and either make sure the OG is high enough this time, or backsweeten the same way above.

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[malachiuri]

My first batch was made with Costco apple juice as only variant to OP recipe. The OG was 1.06ish and I bottled at 1.03ish. Let it bottle carb for a few hours and then pasteurized using stovetop method.

I used the plastic bottle method to judge bottle carb and probably should have let it go a bit further. Ah well.

We ended up with 2 cases of a damn fine cider. Im terrifically happy with the first results. As an experimental answer to my own post a few days ago, I added Creme de Cassis (.5oz) per 24 oz bottle and capped. Not sure how it is yet, we will let that sit for a week and try.

Thanks again to the OP, as someone who fell in love with Breton style Doux cidre, its a hell of a thing to be able to make it ourselves.

M

 

[kingfuhippy]

I just had my first cold bottle of this. I used 4 gallons Costco apple cider with 2lb of brown sugar and a cinnamon stick. I pitched into a hefeweizen cake left over from a previous brew. Bottles at 1.03.

Fantastic. Tastes of mango and pineapple. Only lightly carbed (initially over carbed, I had to uncap and recap before bottle pasteurizing). I am surprised to have cider this good this quickly. And I want to experiment with other yeasts, see how saison yeast works for this.





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[punkrawkgeek]

Put on my first batch of this... just a one gallon. Grated a little bit of ginger and threw it in as well. Within about an hour or two, I had activity in the airlock. Looking forward to this one. OG of about 1.075 Thanks!

 

[punkrawkgeek]

I must had a fast fermentation... 4 days later and it's at 1.010... Wow. Tastes pretty nice.

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[bberg]

I brewed a 5 gallon batch on Tuesday night and hit an og of 1.063.

Unfortunately, i had to leave town and won't be back until the 3rd. That'll be about 7 days since it started fermenting.... What do you guys suggest I do?

 

[jco0n]

I brewed a 5 gallon batch on Tuesday night and hit an og of 1.063.

Unfortunately, i had to leave town and won't be back until the 3rd. That'll be about 7 days since it started fermenting.... What do you guys suggest I do?

Taste test, if good bottle, pasteurize... if dry, ferment completely dry, backsweeten, bottle, pasteurize...

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[danishd43]

If you have someone put it in a cold place. That will make the yeast go dormant and should pause the fermentation until you get back to test it.


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[bberg]

Sorry for the delay.. More bad news for RL.

I put the fermenter in the garage last night. Was just over 7 days... Took an fg today and got ~1.01. Tastes pretty good to me (flavor and sweetness), but I will see what my roommates think before I make any decisions.


Thanks for all of the help gents.

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[bberg]

Okay - I placed my primary in the garage 2 days ago. The temperature of the garage is anywhere form ~46 to 54 deg. F.

Will that be cold enough to keep the cider from fermenting? I took a spec. gravity last night and will check again in a day or two.. but i wanted to see if you guys had any tips.

The reason why i'm not keeping in in the house (~64 - 66) is to limit the fermentation/cold shock is so i can keg/bottle when I have the time and supplies.

 

[danishd43]

It wont stop it but it will drastically slow it down. I don't know how much and I'm curious to hear your feedback on the rate of fermentation since you put it out there. Keeping it cold is a stop gap but not a long term solution so get it bottled as soon as you can. What's your ABV right now?

 

[bberg]

hmm - maybe ill try to gather some bottles/another keg. Only issue is my kegerator is set up for one corny and one commercial and currently is full

i only have 300oz of bottles and can't drink atm (concussion).... i don't want to buy bottles at my LHBS. Shucks.

and if I recall correctly, ~6-7% ABV.

 

[ong]

Just made this again for the first time since I started kegging -- much easier without the nerve wracking stovetop pasteurization step! And, after 50 batches, it's the first thing I've ever brewed that my girlfriend actually wants to drink!


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[ong]

Oh, but one note -- this time I used a packet of Mangrove Jack cider yeast, and fermented around 59-60 degrees in the basement for 8-9 days. The wine yeasts always gave me a lot of sulfur, and this stuff is much cleaner. Some nice fruity esters, but none of that "green," sulfur aroma. Also I threw in a scant cup of very strong black tea for tannins (was using a very sweet unfiltered honeycrisp cider). Very tasty, if still pretty rustic and simple.


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[jcroucher]

Having a hard time finding cider this time of year. The only cider I can find at Walmart has Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C) in it. Is this safe to use for this one, or should I shy away?

 

[Sudsyone]

Doing a test batch with one cinnamon stick and about a 1/4 lb brown sugar with store bought pasteurized apple cider. What is the typical OG for this recipe. Shook my one gallon vigorously and ended up with 1.060. If I only let it ferment down to 1.040, my calculated abv will only be 2.6%. Are others getting close to 1.080??


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[ong]

Think my last one was around 1.090 or so?

 

[jbrown76]

I just closed up a batch. I used, 100% juice, two vanilla beans, and a pound and a half of brown sugar... I'll keep you posted.

 

[jbrown76]

Also the gravity is 1.070.

 

[masonsjax]

Ascorbic acid is fine.

 

[Sudsyone]

Well, my 5 day cider is going to be more like 10 day. I have never used an S shaped airlock before with a cap bung for a one gallon. Just ckd gravity after 5 days and only read 1.050 when starting was 1.060! I never had any bubbles out of the airlock but only the alcohol slowly moving towards top then back down. I then noticed the tube was barely stuck in the bung and almost fell out while removing. Think my 1 year old got to it. Repitched yeast and snugged up airlock this time and right away, airlock bubbling like crazy! So since my airlock wasn't tight, could this be the reasoning for the stuck fermentation?

Could this also be the case that it's a slow starter since I didn't prep a starter yeast, but did use a teaspoon of nutrient...

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[Sudsyone]

^^^^^^^^ nevermind guys, just ckd the cider I used and said it contained potassium sorbate. I'm gonna let it go for another week to see what it does, you never know....


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[bberg]

^^^^^^^^ nevermind guys, just ckd the cider I used and said it contained potassium sorbate. I'm gonna let it go for another week to see what it does, you never know....


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woops! What brand/kind did you use?

 

[Sudsyone]

I'll ck when I get home, got it from a grocery store


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