Caramel Apple Hard Cider

[justineaton]

Sounds good, I have 10 gallons I am getting ready to bottle that I just planned on doing a couple different frozen juice concentrated to flavor currently but since the Carmel syrup is added at the end I think I will try this with some of it. Thanks for the recipe

 

[n8tivebrew]

Hello all, Experienced drinker but novice brewer here, giving cider a try for my 1st brew. So far I have 4 gallons of Langers Cider going with 2lb of light brown sugar with Red Star champaign yellow pack yeast, about a week in. Brew seems fine, air lock is going bout every 30 sec ( during the fist week the air lock was going every 5 to 10 sec) no off smells just that of old fruit.

Was still debating to use the 2 part of USM caramel recipe for at least half the batch. Has anyone used the 32 oz Reeds swing tops? I have some on order from Amazon. Any suggestions for pasteurizing these big guys? I was planning on trying to use my XL Butterball electric turkey fryer.

 

[pwortiz]

Bottom rack of the dishwasher on Sanitize cycle might be your best bet for for those bigguns. They're not too tall for that are they?...or is the issue they might be too wide for the spokey things?

 

[n8tivebrew]

Bottom rack of the dishwasher on Sanitize cycle might be your best bet for for those bigguns. They're not too tall for that are they?...or is the issue they might be too wide for the spokey things?

Thanks for the quick reply, I seen the posts on the dishwasher and also am considering it. My dish washer does not have a sanitize setting it has "hot start, hot dry, heavy cycle" it is a GE brand. I was thinking maybe two cycles of those setting?

 

[pwortiz]

I know someone did a test of the temp somehow - maybe one of those stove temp sensors with digital readout and that thin wire/probe....maybe you can verify how long the "hot" lasts and then verify that's enough time at that level to kill anything off. Perhaps there's somethin' out there regarding your model on the Google (is it even called the "net" anymore?) that talks about the particular cycles and times. Sorry I don't have more to offer on that one.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I might be missing something but can't you still use the stovetop method?
If it's a thicker bottle wouldn't it still work if you keep it in there a bit longer? I'm not sure I would trust a dishwasher to do a better job than a stovetop.

 

[hallerobin]

I'm curious about the reason for the dextrose in UpstateMike's recipe. Is it just to up the alcohol content? Has anyone made the recipe without the dextrose? If so, how'd it turn out?

 

[n8tivebrew]

I might be missing something but can't you still use the stovetop method?
If it's a thicker bottle wouldn't it still work if you keep it in there a bit longer? I'm not sure I would trust a dishwasher to do a better job than a stovetop.

That may be the way I go, I don't currently have a thermometer. Just trying to use what I got. Figured since the fryer has temperature control I could set it to 190 n put the bottles in, I just wonder if I should keep them in there for 10 min or longer. If I recall the 10 min was for 12 oz bottles.

 

[harry_the_face]

I like the idea of using a coffee pot to make the cinnamon extract. An espresso machine would do it even better because of the higher temp and pressure. To bad i just gave ours to the thrift store.

 

[thompson1175]

This was my first official brew last fall and it has been awesome! We have been nursing through them and they continue to get better with age. I bottled almost exactly a year ago and this summer we were saying that we wasted most of them drinking them too early and the kicker is that they were good then! I had to up my brewing schedule this fall to allow for some aging of this precious fluid. Anybody else hide it away and feel the same?

 

[Apple_Jacker]

On pg. 42 USM "rewrote" the recipe and changed the AJC amount to 3 cans due to the overwhelming sweetness of 5 cans...

Bumping the fact that the recipe is on page 42

 

[Apple_Jacker]

I have made some changes to the recipe. Changes are in RED.

Caramel Apple Hard Cider

Ingredients, Part 1:
7 x 96 ounce bottles (5.25 gallons) Wegmans 100% Apple Juice, pasteurized, only vitamin C added
2 lbs. Dextrose
Nottingham Yeast
6 tsp Yeast Nutrient (or follow the directions on your bottle of yeast nutrient for a 6 gallon batch). This will help eliminate the "Rhino Fart" phase of fermentation.

Ingredients, Part 2
5 campden tablets (Optional, see notes)
3 – 12 oz. cans of Frozen Concentrated Apple Juice, thawed to room temperature (Reduced from 5 cans, this will make it less sweet, and make it not carb up so fast. Feel free to adjust the amount of FCAJ to your taste.)
Caramel Syrup (See recipe below)

Recipe for Caramel Syrup: (Make about 24 hours before bottling)
2 cups of water
2 cups of light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon, OR 1/2 tsp liquid cinnamon extract
Combine in a saucepan and bring to a low boil. At boil, reduce heat to Low and simmer for about 5 minutes. (EDIT: Removed "Reduce by half". This may have been making the syrup too thick to properly mix) Let cool & bottle for future use.

Part 1:
Opened 1 bottle of apple juice, got a gravity reading of 1.050. Temp is 64 degrees.

In a 6 gallon carboy, pour in bottles 1 and 2 of apple juice.

Open bottles 3 and 4 of apple juice. Pour half of each bottle into carboy. Add 1 pound dextrose per bottle to the remaining amount of apple juice in bottles 3 and 4. Shake bottles to mix sugar and apple juice. Pour bottles 3 and 4 into carboy.

Pour bottles 5, and 6 of apple juice into carboy. Take another sample for OG, got a reading of 1.064. Open Nottingham yeast, pour into carboy. Agitate carboy to mix in yeast. Pour bottle 7 of apple juice into carboy.

Part 2 (In about 14 days):
Check for target FG of 1.010 to 1.015

Rack cider into another carboy. This is optional, but it may help in clearing.

OPTION: If you want a still cider, add 5 crushed Campden tablets to the cider at this time. If you want a carbonated cider, do not add Campden tablets.

Make the Caramel Syrup and wait 24 hours before proceeding.

After 24 hours, siphon cider into your bottling bucket. Add the Caramel Syrup and the 3 cans of apple juice concentrate while siphoning to aid in mixing. Bottle the cider and enjoy.

If you are carbing in the bottle, be aware that this will carb up fast (4 - 5 days) due to all the sugar. When it is time to bottle the batch, I highly recommend that you fill and cap a plastic pop bottle (NOT a water bottle) first, and use that as a guide to tell you when it will be time to Stovetop Pasteurize the batch.

Bumping the recipe. I need to try this one this year.

 

[chadkarol]

Bumping the recipe. I need to try this one this year.

Make sure to read all the posts. I didn't and ended up making this exactly like the original recipe and it's waaaayyyyyy too sweet. I'm having to pitch more yeast and hopefully that helps. Otherwise I'll be dumping my batch. Totally not drinkable as it is now.

 

[dhammers91]

Make sure to read all the posts. I didn't and ended up making this exactly like the original recipe and it's waaaayyyyyy too sweet. I'm having to pitch more yeast and hopefully that helps. Otherwise I'll be dumping my batch. Totally not drinkable as it is now.

Have u re pitched yet? Any fermentation taking place?

 

[chadkarol]

Have u re pitched yet? Any fermentation taking place?

I repitched a few days ago in the keg, and fermentation does seem to be taking place. I'm going to try it in a couple of days to see if the sweetness has subsided a bit. Fingers crossed.

 

[dhammers91]

I repitched a few days ago in the keg, and fermentation does seem to be taking place. I'm going to try it in a couple of days to see if the sweetness has subsided a bit. Fingers crossed.

So after it gets to the final sweetness that you are looking for what is your plan? Add 5 more campdem tablets, leave it exposed to air for it to evaporate off for 24 hrs. Transfer to another keg, carb and serve?

 

[oregonbrew541]

Just finished this batch in keg drinking now i like it but it needed more time. I did have problem with clarification. Next time I'm using bentonite if i do it again. I do prefer the apfelwein recipe though

 

[chadkarol]

So after it gets to the final sweetness that you are looking for what is your plan? Add 5 more campdem tablets, leave it exposed to air for it to evaporate off for 24 hrs. Transfer to another keg, carb and serve?

Yes, I think that is my plan.

 

[ArthurDigbySellers]

I scaled the recipe down to 2.5 gallons. I'm probably going to go with 1.5 cans of FAJC but should I cut the caramel syrup down as well?

 

[puterman41]

When I mixed the apple juice and dextrose I accidentally added 2 cans of FCAJ to the mix instead of adding just before bottling, I didn't realize it until I finished adding the second can. How much will this change the end result and should I add the 2 cans again just before bottling

Thanks

 

[Pomylka22]

Just finished putting together a batch of this....og in the 1.070ish area....looking forward to a bottle or 3 of these in front of the fireplace around Christmas time

 

[ArthurDigbySellers]

When I mixed the apple juice and dextrose I accidentally added 2 cans of FCAJ to the mix instead of adding just before bottling, I didn't realize it until I finished adding the second can. How much will this change the end result and should I add the 2 cans again just before bottling

Thanks

All you've done at this point is bumped up the ABV of your cider by adding more sugar. Depending on the yeast you are using, it is most likely going to ferment out dry so you will need to add FCAJ again to sweeten it before bottling.

No harm done. You just made it a little stronger than you intended!

 

[wdenton]

Whoo I made it to the last page... What great reading.
It only took me 3 days at work

I have one small quesiton.
I was going to do this with fresh pressed cider (since my trees finally have a boat load of apples)
I know I need to campden to kill the wild yeast in the beginning and I was going to make it still, so could I use some more fresh pressed cider to sweeten instead of AJC?
Will it dilute the ABV that much if say I use 1 gallon to back sweeten?
Also I would probably have to add potassium sorbate before bottling correct?

I guess since I have so many apples I wanted to keep this all on the farm instead of buying AJC
Or would I be better to try and make a concentrate our of my fresh cider (if this is possible)

 

[dhammers91]

Speaking from my brain... Not complete experience. Adding plain pressed cider would dilute it quite a bit due to the high percentage of water. What I did to use fresh pressed cider as a sweetener, was I put a gallon of cider in a gallon plastic jug. I froze it. Once solid I then let is slowly thaw while upside and the sugars and flavorings thaw out before the water so it essentially becomes concentrated farm pressed cider. I would use that to back sweeten.

 

[puterman41]

thanks for your reply...I'm using Nottingham yeast. I put this together on this past Sunday, the yeasties are still going strong. I have followed the revised list on page 42.

:smack:

 

[pwortiz]

speaking from my brain... Not complete experience. Adding plain pressed cider would dilute it quite a bit due to the high percentage of water. What i did to use fresh pressed cider as a sweetener, was i put a gallon of cider in a gallon plastic jug. I froze it. Once solid i then let is slowly thaw while upside and the sugars and flavorings thaw out before the water so it essentially becomes concentrated farm pressed cider. I would use that to back sweeten.

dude, that is awesome!

 

[Apple_Jacker]

You can also simmer it down... an apple cider reduction, of you will. I just started a cider last week doing exactly that.

 

[dhammers91]

You can also simmer it down... an apple cider reduction, of you will. I just started a cider last week doing exactly that.

You can do that, but it will alter the taste... Cooked cider tastes much different than fresh non cooked cider. Freezing it prevents the change of taste. When I did the freezing method, I took a gravity reading before freezing and it was 1.040... After I froze and let it thaw, I took another reading and it ha a gravity of 1.085... Significant concentration if u ask me... Simmering is an option though, but with a taste change and the release of pectin which will not allow that portion of the juice/cider to clear...

 

[wdenton]

That is awesome. I wanna try and make the concentrate this weekend if I have time.
Out of a gallon hom much concentrate did you end up with.
I am thinking this may be a way also (off topic) for me to store cider in the freezer instead of in gallon jugs.

 

[dhammers91]

That is awesome. I wanna try and make the concentrate this weekend if I have time. Out of a gallon hom much concentrate did you end up with. I am thinking this may be a way also (off topic) for me to store cider in the freezer instead of in gallon jugs.

I stopped a little shying getting it all bc I didn't want the majority of the water to start melting, but with that said, I got about 4 cups I think... I didn't measure it out so I don't know for sure...

 

[PasbitinusBluinusRibbinus]

Is there any reason for letting the caramel syrup sit for 24hrs or thaw the AJ? It doesn't seem obvious why you couldn't just throw it all in there without those steps.

 

[CBelli]

I just kegged this last night and I'm generally happy with the results...
couple of things.... I too, like my cider on the dry side, so I used the caramel sauce and only 1 can FAJC.

My thinking is the cider has a semi-sweet apple juice taste that reminds me of the watered down apple juice I used to give my daughter when she was a baby... if I use 2 more cans of FAJC that would make it more "juicy" and less "cidery".

So next time I was thinking on not using any FAJC but doubling the brown sugar to 4 cups?
I agree that this needs back sweetening but I'm not sold on the idea it should be FAJC.
Everyone, please chime in with your thoughts on this idea

 

[pwortiz]

Is there any reason for letting the caramel syrup sit for 24hrs or thaw the AJ? It doesn't seem obvious why you couldn't just throw it all in there without those steps.

Nah, that was discussed somewhere in the earlier pages, too. I generally have the FAJC thawed but in the fridge. Then I use it to cool down the carmel syrup so I can bottle same day/pretty soon after it's all done made up and mixed together.

 

[PasbitinusBluinusRibbinus]

I did the same. Thanks.

 

[dhammers91]

Is there any reason for letting the caramel syrup sit for 24hrs or thaw the AJ? It doesn't seem obvious why you couldn't just throw it all in there without those steps.

I think USM says that bc in the directions he has you make the caramel at the same time that you add the 5 campdem tablets. So when he says wait 24 hrs, I think he is referring to the 24 hr wait period needed to let the tablet evaporate out.., but I could b wrong...

 

[UpstateMike]

Is there any reason for letting the caramel syrup sit for 24hrs or thaw the AJ? It doesn't seem obvious why you couldn't just throw it all in there without those steps.

Two words: Room Temperature.

I like to bottle condition. Therefore I don't want to shock the yeasties with a sudden hot or cold temp and inhibit their ability to carb up in the bottle.

 

[dhammers91]

Two words: Room Temperature. I like to bottle condition. Therefore I don't want to shock the yeasties with a sudden hot or cold temp and inhibit their ability to carb up in the bottle.

Dang...

 

[pwortiz]

Dang...

I liked your scientific application/explanation though.

 

[dhammers91]

I liked your scientific application/explanation though.

I try... Lol

 

[rdneckbrew]

If no one has tried it....a shot of fireball whiskey in this is fantastic!