Caramel Apple Hard Cider

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First 5 gallon batch of cider!

I had a quick taste after racking to secondary and mixing and it tasted pretty good, obviously immature and yeasty. Definitely more apple flavor compared to before the concentrate and the cinnamon seemed just right. I went with four cans of concentrate. The only backsweetening I had done to this point was once I poured it into my serving glass lol.

Overall I learned most of the basic cider making skills while adding enough tools and ingredients to keep the cider rolling :) I'm hoping to get 4 or 5 carboys going so I can start bulk aging to really get a taste for what this is all about.

The wife had a sweet "Apple Pie" cider last fall that she really liked and I'm hoping this will be pretty close. I'll let it age as long as I can, but I don't think its going to last long. I'll try to hold out a couple weeks after kegging. Already have a second one going and probably a third this weekend!

BTW the Danstar Premier Cuvee started chugging very soon and VERY fast. I think this fermentation should zero out faster than the 71B-1122 and the EC-1118, it will be awhile before I know on the flavor and aroma. Nottingham is PRICEY from online vendors!
:mug:
 
Has anyone ever used the caramel flavoring syrup that you get for coffee to add caramel flavor? The reason I ask is because I made this and I definitely got a strong cinnamon flavor (yum!) but hardly any caramel flavor.
 
The caramel might not be a good idea. It might have fats or oils in it. Ive made three batches an always felt the caramel flavor wa light. Plan on doubling the brown sugar or using dark brown sugar doubled next time
 
Carmel syrup might work I would say give it a try. I tried imitation carmel extract and it was OK but I could tell that it was imitation.
The best is to add some Carmel black velvet whiskey at the time of drinking. Great flavor and an extra kick.

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Thanks, guys. Don't get me wrong... this cider tastes great, but I just don't taste any caramel flavor, and this is supposed to becaramel apple cider with a hint of cinnamon. :)
 
If you buy caramel sauce there's the possibility of it containing preservatives, which is a problem if you want to carb your cider.

With beer it's generally frowned upon to use fat (which you would if it's real caramel sauce), but isn't that just to help a beer with head retention? If that's the case I'd give it a try, since you won't have any head on a cider anyway.
Just a thought.
 
Cheesy_Goodness said:
If you buy caramel sauce there's the possibility of it containing preservatives, which is a problem if you want to carb your cider.

With beer it's generally frowned upon to use fat (which you would if it's real caramel sauce), but isn't that just to help a beer with head retention? If that's the case I'd give it a try, since you won't have any head on a cider anyway.
Just a thought.
Click to expand...

No worries... this is not caramel SAUCE like you buy for ice cream... this is a caramel syrup that goes into your coffee to add caramel flavor. They even have some that's sugar free. :) I may try this next time... :)
 
Seems like the syrup flavoring would work, especially for kegging. I've just ordered a wide selection of syrups and concentrates to start playing with more flavoring and sweetening options. There seems to be a lot of options out there for people that prefer kegging over bottling.
 
BeastYeast said:
Seems like the syrup flavoring would work, especially for kegging. I've just ordered a wide selection of syrups and concentrates to start playing with more flavoring and sweetening options. There seems to be a lot of options out there for people that prefer kegging over bottling.
Click to expand...

This is a good site for syrups...
http://shop.torani.com/Syrups/c/Torani@Syrups
 
So, I took a keg of this to a Science Fiction convention this weekend. It was gone in less than 24 hours, and it wasn't even available to the general public, just the half dozen or so folks on the computer gaming staff. I got rave reviews from just about everyone. The only person who tasted it and wasn't thrilled said it was too dry for her (apparently she likes her cider VERY sweet! :D) Definitely going to have to make some more of this! :D
 
Just started another 5 gallons of this using 4 gallons of Kroger brand pasteurized apple juice and one gallon of another brand of apple juice... I had an open package of corn sugar that was just over 1.3 pounds and another bag of corn sugar at 1 pound. Added 'em both to the juice and started my Nottingham yeast as per the instructions on the yeast. I decided to use my 6 Gallon Better Bottle and use an airlock since the last time it didn't ferment vigorously. I noticed after I'd already put my cider must in the fermentation chamber with the airlock that I had forgotten to put the hydrometer sample back in. I had filled the airlock with a mixture of normally diluted sanitizer and water (i.e. super-diluted sanitizer -- about 1/2 strength) and some of that got sucked into the must as I was replacing the bung. I'm assuming at half strength it probably didn't hurt anything, right? Should I consider running out and buying another package of Notty and pitching it?
 
You'll be fine. This was one of my biggest worries when I started brewing a couple years ago - always having stuff sucked in when I moved carboys. It's the reason I moved to all vodka in my airlocks too, actually cause I just didn't want to mess with it all the time.

That tiny amount isn't going to hurt anything. You'll actually find quite a bit of conversation on the topic on the forums, too, so you can put your mind at ease :D
 
pwortiz said:
You'll be fine. This was one of my biggest worries when I started brewing a couple years ago - always having stuff sucked in when I moved carboys. It's the reason I moved to all vodka in my airlocks too, actually cause I just didn't want to mess with it all the time.

That tiny amount isn't going to hurt anything. You'll actually find quite a bit of conversation on the topic on the forums, too, so you can put your mind at ease :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I thought. :) I was being paranoid about sanitation last night... sanitized my BB (still had a lot of foam, so I rinsed it, even though StarSan is a no-rinse sanitizer,) sanitized my giant "no-splash" funnel, etc. :) Decided to use a super-dilute StarSan solution in the airlock.... first time I've used an airlock in awhile, so I wasn't sure... decided to be paranoid and dilute the already dilute StarSan, "just in case" :)
Mainly just wanting a confirmation of "it's going to be fine... it'll be cider before you know it!" :D
 
Star-san:
Works great, keep a 5 gallon bucket around at all times, heck I sanitize half my kitchen stuff now.
But I cant stand the foam! I know, dont fear the foam. But like many other things that I dont fear, I dont like. I have found that if I keep it cold, easy to do in the winter, and transfer via siphon, like beer going into the bottling bucket, I have almost no foam. So Im happy. Used to use vodka in my airlocks, dont anymore. Star-san. Only use S type airlocks though
 
johnpcook1 said:
Star-san:
Works great, keep a 5 gallon bucket around at all times, heck I sanitize half my kitchen stuff now.
But I cant stand the foam! I know, dont fear the foam. But like many other things that I dont fear, I dont like. I have found that if I keep it cold, easy to do in the winter, and transfer via siphon, like beer going into the bottling bucket, I have almost no foam. So Im happy. Used to use vodka in my airlocks, dont anymore. Star-san. Only use S type airlocks though
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm using a 3-piece airlock. :) I'm sure it'll probably be fine. :) I'll check on it tonight when I get home and see if it looks like it's fermenting. If not I'll run up and get another packet of Notty and re-pitch. :)
 
johnpcook1 said:
Star-san:
Works great, keep a 5 gallon bucket around at all times, heck I sanitize half my kitchen stuff now.
But I cant stand the foam! I know, dont fear the foam. But like many other things that I dont fear, I dont like. I have found that if I keep it cold, easy to do in the winter, and transfer via siphon, like beer going into the bottling bucket, I have almost no foam. So Im happy. Used to use vodka in my airlocks, dont anymore. Star-san. Only use S type airlocks though
Click to expand...

:off:Bit of a side track but I'm with you on the foam. Have you found a way to reduce it for bottling?
 
I bought like 2 of those 3 piece airlocks cause the LHBS shop was outta stypes but then I learned I cant use em for the temp decrease to lager my beers, so only stypes now. The Notty will do the job, but u wont see krausen like you are used to. Its ok to add yeast energizer or about 50 raisins and more O2 within the first 24 hours. And keep the temp low, 65 and below for the first week. Enjoy!!
Newsman said:
Yeah, I'm using a 3-piece airlock. :) I'm sure it'll probably be fine. :) I'll check on it tonight when I get home and see if it looks like it's fermenting. If not I'll run up and get another packet of Notty and re-pitch. :)
Click to expand...
 
johnpcook1 said:
I bought like 2 of those 3 piece airlocks cause the LHBS shop was outta stypes but then I learned I cant use em for the temp decrease to lager my beers, so only stypes now. The Notty will do the job, but u wont see krausen like you are used to. Its ok to add yeast energizer or about 50 raisins and more O2 within the first 24 hours. And keep the temp low, 65 and below for the first week. Enjoy!!
Click to expand...

Yeah. I used up the yeast NUTRIENT I had. May just go ahead and run up to the LHBS about 30 minutes away and get a couple packs of Notty and some nutrient/energizer (this is the second batch I've made of this, so I understand about little to no krausen.) I do need to pick up a bottle of O2, though... Already planning to ferment around that temp. :)
 
Well, I added a couple more teaspoons of yeast nutrient last night, also picked up another oxygen bottle and oxygenated the heck out of the must and tossed in another (dry, not rehydrated) pack of yeast and this morning the airlock was happily burping every few seconds. :) The juice is now nice and cloudy. :)
 
So Wednesday night, I added a bunch more yeast nutrient, oxygenated the heck out of this and then added a second pack of Notty. As of last night and this morning it was burping the airlock like a heartbeat (a burp every couple seconds) and you can actually see the circulation of the liquid as the CO2 off-gasses... almost looks like it's simmering. Decided to drop the temp in my fermentation chamber to 60* from 65* since it's being so active. I am using a chest freezer as my ferm chamber and have slightly propped open the lid using the "crystal" of a regulator dial to allow the CO2 to escape. I probably ought to have a plant in that room to "eat" the CO2 with as much as I'm probably producing. :)
 
Wheeeeeewwww....okay...just finished reading every single post here. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. It seems many folks are finding that when there test (plastic soda) bottles are ready....they pop a top of their cider only to find it gushing. I know that at room temp carbonation will be much more fluent. My thoughts on this are....by pasteurizing at this point you will stop the carbonation...and then if you refrigerate....your carb levels may be just perfect when drinking cold...can anyone elaborate on this?

2. I think the two pot method might help prevent some of these bottle bombs that folks are seeing. By that I mean...have an intial pot that you bring the bottles up to your hottest tap temp...say 120 degrees. Allow them to sit there for 10 minutes before moving to your 190 degree pot. Has anyone tried this method...and if so...did you still see the bottle bombs and fizzers?

3. I am currently brewing an adaptation of this recipe right now...only I am using the White Labs English Cider yeast..........does anyone know if this yeast has the same kill temperature as the Nott?

Thanks in advance..
 
SeeAliceBrewery said:
Wheeeeeewwww....okay...just finished reading every single post here. Here are some of my thoughts.


3. I am currently brewing an adaptation of this recipe right now...only I am using the White Labs English Cider yeast..........does anyone know if this yeast has the same kill temperature as the Nott?

Thanks in advance..
Click to expand...

Can't comment on the first two, but the "kill temp" is universal for just about everything.
 
So this has been one my first home brewing experiments, but I am happy to report having made a 2 gallon variation of this recipe, and my very picky (as far as booze goes) wife loved it. She went so far as to describe it as "apple champagne". It's been bottled and we are very happy. Thank you all for the info to make it happen!
 
I just kegged this recipe last night and had a taste of the still... Very delicious! I went with the recommended cinnamon syrup and 4 cans of apple juice concentrate. I used potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate to suspend fermentation when racking and left in secondary for around two months before kegging. She was crystal clear with a nice "caramel" color to it.

I had another batch in primary and just shifted to secondary. I'm using this basic cider recipe and experimenting with other flavoring types in secondary. The new secondary batch is strawberry flavored with 1L of Ribena strawberry concentrate and 3 cups of stovetop pasteurized strawberry juice. She's going to be lovely!

Started another primary batch last night which will be Mike's recipe again, but with about 1oz of dried citra hops in primary, just to experiment. This will be the first batch I used Dextrose rather than white table sugar. I went with Premier Cuvee' yeast because it just seems to rip right through primary in my basement at about 58-60 degrees right now in the midst of a midwest winter. I think I will add some cinnamon sticks as well next time. Most of the cinnamon falls into the remaining cake in secondary, which is good, but I'm wondering if some sticks won't help to boost the cinnamon flavor even a bit more without adding sweetness. 3-4 cans of AJC should be enough for most people I think, but a quick taste will suit you to your liking :)

The cinnamon is subtle yet highly noticeable regarding the aroma. Being my first large batch of cider, I was very pleased at how smooth the cider is after 5-6 weeks in primary and 8 or so weeks in secondary. Its carbing now and I will be drinking some sparkling Mike's in just a few days. I had about a growler and a half left which I threw in the fridge for some still sippinz.

Brew on!
 
So yesterday I kegged up my cider I made following this recipe. Since I want to taste the cinnamon, I doubled the cinnamon extract to a full teaspoon, used DARK brown sugar and simmered it for 10 minutes then put it in the fridge for about 24 hours. When I poured it into my 6 gallon better bottle it was very thick, almost like maple syrup (well, it WAS cold, so that probably contributed to the thickness somewhat.) It seemed to mix pretty well, although I did take my long-handled spoon that I use when boiling my wort, sanitized the heck out of it with Star San and used the handle to make sure it was well mixed before I kegged. Ended up with probably just shy of 6 gallons. I filled my keg past the normal "fill" mark to the point where I almost dipped the lid in the cider when I put it in. Plus I have a gallon cider jug that's about 3/4 of the way full of hard caramel cider. Hopefully going to taste some of that tonight. :) I also want to bottle some of this as I want to hand it out to some model friends who I"ll be working with Saturday afternoon. :)
 
I'm about to make a 6-gallon batch of this and keg 5-gallons of it (with K-sorbate and Campden) for a brew fest coming up in May.

Has anyone who kegs gotten it nailed down as far as how many cans of AJ concentrate to add and the balance of ingredients in the caramel/cinnamon syrup recipe? I'd like to get it on the sweet side, but not overpoweringly so, if ya know what I mean. I plan to serve it still.

Thanks! :mug:
 
I only did two containers of juice and i personally thought it was still too much.. I would say for a still cider less may be better but thats my opinion!


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So I plan to bottle and pasteurize this like the original recipe. How sweet is it after it's fully carbed? Should I use the 5 cans of concentrate or cut it down? I'm afraid this will come out incredibly sweet.


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Cut it. I did 2 on my last one and it's just at that level of "any more would be too much". But, it's all about taste, too. So what YOUR tastes are really end up dictating. I like it at 2 better than 3 and way better than 5 :D
 
pwortiz said:
Cut it. I did 2 on my last one and it's just at that level of "any more would be too much". But, it's all about taste, too. So what YOUR tastes are really end up dictating. I like it at 2 better than 3 and way better than 5 :D
Click to expand...


Did you do the full brown sugar syrup still? And how long did you let it carb before you pasteurized?


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oregonbrew541 said:
I only did two containers of juice and i personally thought it was still too much.. I would say for a still cider less may be better but thats my opinion!


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Click to expand...

Thanks.

I've got a Graff in the keezer right now that I back-sweetened with one container of AJ conc and spiced with vodka that had cinnamon and allspice berries soaking in it two days. One can in the Graff makes it balanced rather than sweet, but I'm thinking that this all-AJ + sugar cider may need more sweetening since it doesn't have the steeping grains and DME (which cause the Graff to finish at 1.010).

Anyone else?
 
This was my first cider, and it turned out great! I made my own cinnamon extract, and followed the updated recipe... Mine took 8 days to fully carb up, in a room that was 64°F.. Stove top pasteurization worked without any problems. Thanks @UpstateMike
 
It's on page 42...


UpstateMike said:
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.
Click to expand...

BigFloyd said:
I haven't had time yet to read the entire thread. On which page is the updated recipe?
Click to expand...
 
Just found that post myself, was gonna repost it, but I see that I've been beat to the punch.
 
Just a note -- I doubled the cinnamon extract to a full teaspoon because I wanted more cinnamon flavor. I think that was too much. I think next time I'll do 3/4 of a teaspoon.
 
I just bottled my hard cider last night. I added the Campden tablets like it said over 24 hours prior to bottling. I put a bottle in the fridge and tried it and it seemed a little carbonated. I'm going to keep an eye on them the next few days but what could have I done wrong?


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