Now that freeze concentrating/distilling is officially legal...
I've been thinking about making some applejack for a while, and I'm wondering how sweet of a cider is good for freeze concentrating. I've made dry apfelwein a few times but that's my entire experience with ciders. I'm considering two different routes and I'd definitely appreciate some input.
Option 1
make a standard apfelwein, about 10oz of honey per 1 gallon of apple juice, yielding something like 6-8% ABV (just a guess) and use that
OR
Option 2
since we're talking hooch here anyway, what if I did a bunch more honey to knock sugar content high enough that the yeast die before they can get to all of it... this obviously depends on the yeast, but I'm a big fan of S-04 for ciders, and that's supposed to crap out at 8.5%. What if I shoot for say 10%, and that way have some unfermented sugar going into the applejack? Good idea? Bad idea?
I'm mainly concerned with ending up with a disgusting over-sweet liquor, and of course I'd also prefer to have the end result not taste like rocket fuel, so I'm wondering if option 2 is a good route to take. If so, what do you guys think would be a good level to overshoot the yeast's alcohol tolerance by? Should I just freeze concentrate a dry apfelwein instead?
I've been thinking about making some applejack for a while, and I'm wondering how sweet of a cider is good for freeze concentrating. I've made dry apfelwein a few times but that's my entire experience with ciders. I'm considering two different routes and I'd definitely appreciate some input.
Option 1
make a standard apfelwein, about 10oz of honey per 1 gallon of apple juice, yielding something like 6-8% ABV (just a guess) and use that
OR
Option 2
since we're talking hooch here anyway, what if I did a bunch more honey to knock sugar content high enough that the yeast die before they can get to all of it... this obviously depends on the yeast, but I'm a big fan of S-04 for ciders, and that's supposed to crap out at 8.5%. What if I shoot for say 10%, and that way have some unfermented sugar going into the applejack? Good idea? Bad idea?
I'm mainly concerned with ending up with a disgusting over-sweet liquor, and of course I'd also prefer to have the end result not taste like rocket fuel, so I'm wondering if option 2 is a good route to take. If so, what do you guys think would be a good level to overshoot the yeast's alcohol tolerance by? Should I just freeze concentrate a dry apfelwein instead?