1st batch
3gal fresh pressed sweet cider
12oz molasses
12oz dark brown sugar
Lalvin EC-1118
OG 1.074, FG 0.998
2 weeks primary, 3 weeks secondary, bottle condition
lightly sweetened with 2Tbsp Xylitol and primed with 3/8cup corn sugar.
Nice amber color, tart finish with a bite. Residual flavor from the molasses and brown sugar.
I cant tell you how good it is with age because it disappeared to fast to tell. Rave reviews from all my friends. Not enough carbonation for me though.....
2nd batch
6gal fresh pressed sweet cider
5lb white sugar, 2lb light brown sugar, 4cup water
7tsp lemon juice (combine in pot with sugar and slowly raise temp to 280deg, then remove from heat and add 1 gal cider to dissolve) The idea here was to caramelize the sugar, next time I'll use a higher temperature.
7 tea bags (black tea) steeped in 2cups boiling water over night (tannins)
2tsp yeast nutrient
3tsp pectic enzyme
Lalvin 71B-1122
2 weeks primary, 4 weeks secondary, 3 weeks bottle conditioning.
OG 1.082, FG 0.996
Sweetened with 3Tbsp Xylitol and 2Tbsp Lactose per gallon
Primed with 3/4cup per 5 gal.
Finishes smooth with a good mouth feel, not too tart. Good carbonation.
This stuff is awesome ice cold. It goes down so smooth with the sweetness from the xylitol and lactose. Everyone who has tried this has been bugging me for a couple more bottles. It is too easy to drink a lot of this, it will sneak up behind you and knock you on your @ss.
3rd batch
same as batch 2 but I cooked the sugar up to 320 degrees F.
Deep amber caramel flavor after cooking the sugar. Cider tastes like a caramel apple before fermentation. Hoping for some residual sweetness from the caramelized sugar.
I also swapped the tea for 3tsp tannin powder.
OG 1.084
In week 2 of primary now