MattTimBell
Well-Known Member
Hi all,
I'm a homebrewer, having never dabbled in cider. I've recently become fascinated with freeze concentration, and am thinking about trying my hand at making some applejack. I'm a bit confused on some details though, and thought I'd ask the experts.
First, the recipes I've read say that either cider or apfelwein can be used as a base. The apfelwein recipes seem stronger and more interesting to me, but they also sound like they ordinarily need to age months before they can be drunk on their own. If I were to use an apfelwein recipe, would I need to let it age before freeze concentrating it, or could I concentrate and then age, tasting periodically to occupy the learning process, of course
Second, I've read some recipes for caramel apfelwein that sound really interesting. I've used both caramel and caramelized wort in my brewing before and have loved both. The thought of using that instead of the brown sugar / molasses charactersting of some of the recipes I've read seems really interesting. But, is it *actually* interesting, or is it a bad idea for something to be turned into applejack?
Finally, I'm thinking of aging on oak cubes. Any experience with this for cider / jack?
Thanks!
I'm a homebrewer, having never dabbled in cider. I've recently become fascinated with freeze concentration, and am thinking about trying my hand at making some applejack. I'm a bit confused on some details though, and thought I'd ask the experts.
First, the recipes I've read say that either cider or apfelwein can be used as a base. The apfelwein recipes seem stronger and more interesting to me, but they also sound like they ordinarily need to age months before they can be drunk on their own. If I were to use an apfelwein recipe, would I need to let it age before freeze concentrating it, or could I concentrate and then age, tasting periodically to occupy the learning process, of course
Second, I've read some recipes for caramel apfelwein that sound really interesting. I've used both caramel and caramelized wort in my brewing before and have loved both. The thought of using that instead of the brown sugar / molasses charactersting of some of the recipes I've read seems really interesting. But, is it *actually* interesting, or is it a bad idea for something to be turned into applejack?
Finally, I'm thinking of aging on oak cubes. Any experience with this for cider / jack?
Thanks!