Everyday Simplest Dry Cider

[phug]

I submitted this to the GTABrews Spring Showdown as a C1A New World Cider. It won Gold for the Standard Cider Category and took BOS Gold for Cider. I'm still waiting for the scoresheets though.

 

[phug]

Just got the scoresheets back. Got an average of 39.5 not sure where I can make any improvements but I'm going to reach out to the judges to see if they can offer anything above and beyond what was on the scoresheets.

 

[z-bob]

I just sampled some cider that I started a few months ago with straight bottled apple juice (Mott's?) and Côte des Blancs yeast. I might have added a little yeast nutrient but I don't think so (I don't remember.) I bottled it a week ago, and primed with sugar cubes.

It was kind of cloudy when I bottle it, but it's clear now. The sediment hasn't compacted yet but I assume it will. The last pour from the bottle was cloudy again with yeast, but it didn't taste yeasty. I probably should have racked it once, but I bottled right from the primary.

This is by far the best cider that I've made. Côte des Blancs is a little slow to ferment, and it ferments dry but not totally dry. So the end result is not sweet but it still tastes and smells like apple.

 

[phug]

I have another batch on the go right now, I intentionally used 4 different brands of apple juice in it. I really liked it going in to the fermenter, and fermentation took off in less than 12 hours rehydrated yeast. and just found out the big fall comp will be taking ciders this year for the first time, so I'll be ready to submit this batch and see how it does.

 

[z-bob]

I bought 6 gallons of apple juice from Aldi. Going to try K1-1116 yeast this time. I might do this one w/o any yeast nutrient or other additives.

My previous batch didn't last very long.

 

[phug]

I took this recipe to a local homebrew club meeting, and responses were universally positive. (and not because only nice things were being said about my beverages, I brought a beer that was tried by several of the same people who tried the cider, one of whom said it was phenolic and it might have been due to ferm lag in the beer, and another who said the beer was unpleasant, and was desperately scanning for somewhere to dump it. so I'm willing to accept that if it's bad they would say so honestly) both of those people also tried the cider, and were very pleased with it. I also had 2 people independently say it was commercial quality (and not as a digg about the sickeningly sweet stuff sold commercially) The evening was good for my cider, not so much for my beer. (interestingly of the people trying the beer, 3 out of probably 10 noticed phenolicness, and the others were happy with it)

 

[BILTIT]

Going to put together this recipe on the weekend!

 

[phug]

Going to put together this recipe on the weekend!

Let us know how it turns out

 

[BILTIT]

Will do!

 

[phug]

I'll hopefully be getting back some scores by end of month and I'll post the results here

 

[treacheroustexan]

I'l be throwing this together tomorrow when I can get yeast from the LHBS. Just a 2.5 gallon batch though. Still need to add the can of juice riigt before kegging?

 

[phug]

I'l be throwing this together tomorrow when I can get yeast from the LHBS. Just a 2.5 gallon batch though. Still need to add the can of juice riigt before kegging?

Interesting thought, I've never kegged this since I don't have any force carb gear.

You won't NEED to add the aj concentrate, since you'll probably throw it in the kegerator to carbonate. But if you do, you'll get to keep some sweetness and extra apple flavour. So I say do it, and toss in the whole can even though it's a 2.5 gallon batch. I'm guessing it'll be in the 1.006 1.008 range after that. Just remember to keep it cold or it will ferment that out. Heck, it's ec-1118 so it'll keep chewing away regardless, just much more slowly, you may lose some of that seeetness over time, but you'll still have a nice product in the end regardless of how long it takes you to drink it. Just don't bottle off that keg without stabilizing or pasteurizing.

 

[treacheroustexan]

Interesting thought, I've never kegged this since I don't have any force carb gear.

You won't NEED to add the aj concentrate, since you'll probably throw it in the kegerator to carbonate. But if you do, you'll get to keep some sweetness and extra apple flavour. So I say do it, and toss in the whole can even though it's a 2.5 gallon batch. I'm guessing it'll be in the 1.006 1.008 range after that. Just remember to keep it cold or it will ferment that out. Heck, it's ec-1118 so it'll keep chewing away regardless, just much more slowly, you may lose some of that seeetness over time, but you'll still have a nice product in the end regardless of how long it takes you to drink it. Just don't bottle off that keg without stabilizing or pasteurizing.

Thanks for your input!!! Much appreciated. Do you think this juice will work okay?

View attachment 1475428886046.jpg

 

[z-bob]

Thanks for your input!!! Much appreciated. Do you think this juice will work okay?

I have six gallons of that very juice (and 12 oz of sugar, and just a little yeast nutrient) in the secondary, just about ready to bottle. It fermented just fine.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I have six gallons of that very juice (and 12 oz of sugar, and just a little yeast nutrient) in the secondary, just about ready to bottle. It fermented just fine.

Perfect! I was at aldi doing some shopping a bit ago and figured I would give it a shot since it was cheap. I probably wont add any additional sugar. Thanks everyone for your help!

 

[BILTIT]

Mixed up a couple different recipes, see how they turn out and what I like best.

(Cannot add a picture for some reason).

 

[phug]

Thanks for your input!!! Much appreciated. Do you think this juice will work okay?

Should be just fine. I don't see any preservatives on that list

 

[hio3791]

About a month ago, I made a 1 gal batch. Store bought apple juice and half a packet of S04.

Then waited and waited. Nothing. It never fermented.

Last week, I picked up a gallon of locally harvested (pasteurized) cider. This time, I hit it with yeast nutrient, O2 and same yeast. It's fermenting, albeit slowly.

It's a bit frustrating since hard cider seems foolproof, compared to making beer. I'll take a reading some time this week to make sure the gravity of dropping.

 

[z-bob]

I did not like the batch I made with S04 yeast. It was too sweet and didn't carbonate.

 

[phug]

About a month ago, I made a 1 gal batch. Store bought apple juice and half a packet of S04.

Then waited and waited. Nothing. It never fermented.

Last week, I picked up a gallon of locally harvested (pasteurized) cider. This time, I hit it with yeast nutrient, O2 and same yeast. It's fermenting, albeit slowly.

It's a bit frustrating since hard cider seems foolproof, compared to making beer. I'll take a reading some time this week to make sure the gravity of dropping.

Try ec118? That stuff will ferment rocks

 

[phug]

well, didn't win anything with it this time around, but it came in at 33.67 points. second place in the category was a 36 pointer.

 

[BILTIT]

Great job!

 

[philldo]

I know this is thread is old, I'm a long time lurker, but I had to sign up just to comment on this thread.

I read every page of this, full of great info and had several chuckles along the way, especially from @TheCADJockey and @kgressler stressing over their first batches - just as I'm doing! And of course @phug for his wealth of knowledge too


I'm following a similar simple recipe - 3 gal sunrype apple juice and mangrove jack M02 yeast.

I was told from my local brew shop that cider doesn't need as long to ferment/condition, although reading from here it doesn't seem to be the case - some of you had fermented for months!

@phug, you say to ferment until its clear, what happens if its 1.000 FG (w 1.050 OG) and still cloudy, should I transfer to a secondary or will that never happen as long as I ferment long enough?

 

[phug]

I know this is thread is old, I'm a long time lurker, but I had to sign up just to comment on this thread.

I read every page of this, full of great info and had several chuckles along the way, especially from @TheCADJockey and @kgressler stressing over their first batches - just as I'm doing! And of course @phug for his wealth of knowledge too


I'm following a similar simple recipe - 3 gal sunrype apple juice and mangrove jack M02 yeast.

I was told from my local brew shop that cider doesn't need as long to ferment/condition, although reading from here it doesn't seem to be the case - some of you had fermented for months!

@phug, you say to ferment until its clear, what happens if its 1.000 FG (w 1.050 OG) and still cloudy, should I transfer to a secondary or will that never happen as long as I ferment long enough?

I wouldn't bother to transfer to secondary.
I don't know how flocculant mangrove jacks is. But you can either bottle now, or be lazy like me and leave it in primary until it's clear

 

[carolinabeerguy]

I just made a 5 gallon batch that I plan on kegging after 30 days. I force carb all my beers and plan to do the same with this. Do I need to add any sugar to the fermentor or just go with the base recipe and skip the priming sugar? Any recommendations are appreciated.

 

[MarkKF]

I force carb. too. No priming sugar. But I wait 3-6 months in a secondary. Cider improves with time IMO.

 

[carolinabeerguy]

I force carb. too. No priming sugar. But I wait 3-6 months in a secondary. Cider improves with time IMO.

Damn. Guess I need to go out and purchase some patience. I never transfer to secondary with my beers. Will this be okay if I transfer to serving keg after 30 days?

 

[MarkKF]

There are plenty of people who don't age or transfer to a clean vessel and are happy with the results. I do and I'm happy with mine that's why I continue to do so.

 

[phug]

Damn. Guess I need to go out and purchase some patience. I never transfer to secondary with my beers. Will this be okay if I transfer to serving keg after 30 days?

Should be fine, but you may find it's a bit tart right at 30 days, but otherwise I think it'll be fine

 

[Techy]

@phug I know this thread is a little old but I am interested in trying a small batch of this cider. Was curious if it was possible to just do a gallon of juice, add 1/5 or so of the EC-1118 yeast, allow it to ferment in primary for 4 weeks and then transfer to a secondary container and put it in the fridge and drink as is? Do I need to add any ajc to it after the 4 weeks of primary before I start drinking it or would it be ok not to prime it and not put in bottles (if I just wanted to keep in a 1 gallon container)?

 

[phug]

@phug I know this thread is a little old but I am interested in trying a small batch of this cider. Was curious if it was possible to just do a gallon of juice, add 1/5 or so of the EC-1118 yeast, allow it to ferment in primary for 4 weeks and then transfer to a secondary container and put it in the fridge and drink as is? Do I need to add any ajc to it after the 4 weeks of primary before I start drinking it or would it be ok not to prime it and not put in bottles (if I just wanted to keep in a 1 gallon container)?

One Gallon of juice and 1/5 packet of yeast. Go for it, it’ll be fine. As for transferring if you wait until it drops clear that would be the best time to do that. If you’re just going to serve from the one gallon jug in the fridge i wouldn’t prune with AJC as your gallon jug probably isn’t rated for pressure and may explode.

 

[Techy]

As for transferring if you wait until it drops clear that would be the best time to do that. If you’re just going to serve from the one gallon jug in the fridge i wouldn’t prune with AJC as your gallon jug probably isn’t rated for pressure and may explode.

So your saying to keep it in primary until it clears which will probably be longer than 4 weeks?

And yes I was just going to serve from one gallon jug AFTER transferring to secondary container just to get the wine off of the bottom sediment, etc. Do you think it will still taste ok without adding the AJC?

 

[z-bob]

So your saying to keep it in primary until it clears which will probably be longer than 4 weeks?

And yes I was just going to serve from one gallon jug AFTER transferring to secondary container just to get the wine off of the bottom sediment, etc. Do you think it will still taste ok without adding the AJC?

Yes, but you will probably need to add a *little* sugar or Sucralose to get it to taste right. You can add that at serving time, or (assuming sugar or AJC) add it to the jug and keep it refrigerated with the lid slightly loose.

 

[Techy]

Yes, but you will probably need to add a *little* sugar or Sucralose to get it to taste right. You can add that at serving time, or (assuming sugar or AJC) add it to the jug and keep it refrigerated with the lid slightly loose.

Thanks for the reply as well @z-bob I appreciate it. I was thinking I could either possibly "back sweeten" a little with a sugar alcohol like xylitol or I guess I could try to add some liquid from ajc (just not too much because I don't want the container to explode in the fridge). Of course keeping the lid slightly loose would allow for the gases to escape I assume. I guess the other thing to concern yourself with in regards to adding a little ajc at the end would be that the yeast will come back from their sleep and start eating that sugar and it will get too "boozy"?

Not sure....thoughts?

 

[z-bob]

The yeast will wake up and start eating the sugar unless you add some sorbate preservative. But they will wake up slowly and eat slowly because of the cold. You'll drink it all before they get very far.

 

[phug]

and don't worry about flavour differences from not adding AJC at the end, the AJC is really only there as a source of priming sugar for carbonation. As for 4 weeks or until clear. I'm sure you'll be fine to transfer it at 4 weeks, but if it's still hazy as all get out, then you might want to give it more time. Although cold temps help to speed up that clearing process. 4 weeks isn't exact, could be more, could be less. YMMV

 

[Techy]

The yeast will wake up and start eating the sugar unless you add some sorbate preservative. But they will wake up slowly and eat slowly because of the cold. You'll drink it all before they get very far.

and don't worry about flavour differences from not adding AJC at the end, the AJC is really only there as a source of priming sugar for carbonation. As for 4 weeks or until clear. I'm sure you'll be fine to transfer it at 4 weeks, but if it's still hazy as all get out, then you might want to give it more time. Although cold temps help to speed up that clearing process. 4 weeks isn't exact, could be more, could be less. YMMV

Thanks all for your assistance and guidance....I picked up a one gallon container of AJ today at the store so looking forward to getting started on it tonight

 

[Techy]

@phug @z-bob

I started my batch last night and checked on it this am and I dont see any bubbling in the airlock? I see foam at the top and stuff floating around but no bubbling. I thought the ec-1118 was a fast starter?

Should I be concerned?

 

[z-bob]

I don't use ec-1118; I know it's aggressive but dunno how fast it starts. Give the jug a little shake and see what happens. (careful; I tried degassing a carboy of cider a couple of days ago and it volcanoed) Your stopper could also be leaking just a little, or the cider is fermenting along just fine but is not saturated with CO2 yet so there are no bubbles.

Don't worry about it yet.

 

[phug]

@phug @z-bob

I started my batch last night and checked on it this am and I dont see any bubbling in the airlock? I see foam at the top and stuff floating around but no bubbling. I thought the ec-1118 was a fast starter?

Should I be concerned?

If you see foam your fermentation is fine you just have a leaky stopper or airlock that won’t bubble until you adjust and reseal it