Experimenting with cider

[njohnsoncs]

I've brewed up a batch of Cider House Select Apple Cider and want to try adding cinnamon to some of it. I took a gravity reading yesterday and it read 1.004 so it appears to be done fermenting but I still need to add sweetener and let it condition for probably another 1-2 weeks before I bottle.

I'm wondering whether I can rack ~2 gallons of it to a secondary, add some cinnamon (sticks?) and let that condition for a while before bottling. Would this give it a nice cinnamon flavor? Or should I add it when bottling? How much cinnamon should I use?

Does anyone know where I can buy 2 gallon carboys? I don't think 1 gallon is enough and 3 gallons is too much to experiment with.

Thanks!
Nick

 

[bernardsmith]

Not at all sure that two gallon carboys are manufactured. A Mr Beer barrel is designed for fermenting 2 gallons and most LHBS will stock 2 gallon buckets but glass carboys seem not to be made at that size... A simple solution, of course, is to use two 1 gallon carboys...
As to how much cinnamon to use, I might use a stick and check the flavor every few days. You can always add more flavor but removing flavor is a real problem..

 

[njohnsoncs]

Yeah, I searched around and it doesn't seem like 2 gallon carboys are common. I will probably do a couple 1 gallon then.

A stick actually seems like a lot for 1 gallon. Maybe 1/2 or 1/4 a stick?

 

[Maylar]

I use 1 stick in a gallon of cyser and it's not overpowering at all. I do it in primary and remove it when racking to secondary. Other spices like nutmeg or cloves are much more powerful than cinnamon.

 

[bernardsmith]

A "stick" is about 2 inches here.

 

[njohnsoncs]

A "stick" is about 2 inches here.

Haha, yes this is important to know. Sticks around here are about 4-5 inches. Do you sanitize the sticks at all or just throw them in?

 

[Maylar]

I just toss them in.

 

[njohnsoncs]

Cool. I'm planning on getting two 1 gallon glass jugs and racking my apple cider to each and adding cinnamon in one and dry hopping the other. I hope at least one turns out well so I can make a full batch!

 

[buMbLeB]

I just picked up a glass "carboy" used to hold water cooler water, and I think it's about 2 gallons or so. Looks just like a regular carboy, only smaller.

 

[njohnsoncs]

OK I'm going to rack 2 gallons of my cider into two 1 gallon carboys. I want to add cinnamon sticks to one and dry hop the other.

How much cinnamon should I use? I'm thinking about 1/2 a stick so about 2 inches? I have a scale at home so I can weigh it to see exactly how much in ounces.

I bought citra hops (I think this will go well). I'm planning on using 0.20 ounces of hops. Does this seem OK?

I plan to let them sit for about 3 days then go to bottle.

 

[njohnsoncs]

So I used 0.21 ounces of citra hops and 0.07 ounces of a cider stick in separate 1 gallon carboys. I ran into some troubles.

1. Cinnamon sticks are really hard to break in half.

2. I racked one of the carboys too full and I added the hop pellets in directly. I thought about putting them in a hop bag but the one I had was really big and didn't want it to take up so much space when I'm only using a 1 gallon carboy. As a result the hops are in the neck and not much area of the hops is actually touching the cider.

3. There's a lot of CO2 being released and the hops are plugging the neck so the hops are being pushed up into the blowoff tube I had to add. Every once and a while the CO2 finds a way through and the hops drop back down into the cider.

4. The bunges I have for the carboys are almost too small and when wet they pop out of the hole. So they're basically worthless. So I added one blowoff tube. For the other I had to rubber band it down. We'll see how it works.

I'm thinking of letting it condition for about 2-3 days. I'd like to take samples to see how it's progressing but with such a small amount I'm not planning on it.

 

[njohnsoncs]

And now I woke up this morning and found that my blowoff tube had popped out of the carboy at some point so the cider was exposed. I put the tube back in and wrapped it in tape to secure it. There's nothing I can do now but hope there isn't an infection or off tastes. I'm hoping that since the hops are stuck in the neck and the cider itself wasn't exposed that much that the antibiotic qualities of the hops will prevent an infection...

 

[Drewed]

If it blew off the blow off tube, you were producing a lot of co2 and you will be fine.

 

[fofusak]

If the pressure was high enough to pop the blow off tube, I'd be worried that now that you taped it your fermenter may build too much pressure and explode?

 

[njohnsoncs]

If the pressure was high enough to pop the blow off tube, I'd be worried that now that you taped it your fermenter may build too much pressure and explode?

Is this a real concern I should have? I mean the pressure should push the hops into the blowoff tube rather than exploding the jug.

However, if I should remove the tape... what is a good way to keep the tube on?

 

[njohnsoncs]

When I get home, I might take a sample to help move the hops down and out of the neck and, while I'm at it, to see how the flavor is coming along. Hopefully this will allow the CO2 to escape safely.

 

[njohnsoncs]

Does anyone know if you can buy a carboy cap for 1 gallon carboy/jugs? I can't see to find anything.

 

[Drewed]

Like a screw cap? They sell them at my local HBS ( nothernbrewer )

Im going to guess that your whole bung and tube popped out, or did just the tube pop out of the bung? Either way, you should find some better bungs.

 

[njohnsoncs]

Like a screw cap? They sell them at my local HBS ( nothernbrewer )

Im going to guess that your whole bung and tube popped out, or did just the tube pop out of the bung? Either way, you should find some better bungs.

A cap like this

http://www.northernbrewer.com/3-5-6-gall-carboy-cap-orange

but which fits a 1 gallon carboy. I had initially put in the bunge and airlock and that popped out. So I used my 1" tube and inserted it directly into the carboy opening (without the bunge or airlock).

 

[madscientist451]

I've added cinnamon to cider and learned that you can go way overboard real quick. The solution is to get a 1/2 gallon jug or two, 1 quart mason jars. Put 4-5 cinnamon sticks and cider in those and let them sit for a week, maybe two or three. Then do some blending trials to see how much of the cinnamon cider to add to the non-flavored cider.

 

[njohnsoncs]

I've added cinnamon to cider and learned that you can go way overboard real quick. The solution is to get a 1/2 gallon jug or two, 1 quart mason jars. Put 4-5 cinnamon sticks and cider in those and let them sit for a week, maybe two or three. Then do some blending trials to see how much of the cinnamon cider to add to the non-flavored cider.

This is an interesting approach. I used about 1-2 inches of a cinnamon stick (equaling 0.07 ounces) for 1 gallon of cider. Based on what others have said, I think this will not be too much. Obviously it depends on how long it steeps for but I think for a 3 day steep this amount will not be too much, and, if anything, will be not enough.

I'm also curious about my dry hopped cider. Since I filled the carboy too high, not much surface area of the hops are actually in the cider. It seems like I will have to experiment with amount and steep duration for both cinnamon and hops.

 

[fofusak]

Is this a real concern I should have? I mean the pressure should push the hops into the blowoff tube rather than exploding the jug.

However, if I should remove the tape... what is a good way to keep the tube on?

I don't know how often it happens, but I know it does.
I remember reading this thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=331467&page=2

I don't think it happens very often, or people wouldn't use glass carboys at all. My comment wasn't meant to scare, I just wanted to mention that, if you have too much pressure in your fermenter, maybe it's a good idea to let it out

Cheers!

 

[MarkKF]

Does anyone know if you can buy a carboy cap for 1 gallon carboy/jugs? I can't see to find anything.

Most are same as 1/2 gal. growler caps at your local microbrew. They usually give you a fresh one with a fill.

 

[njohnsoncs]

OK so I used a turkey baster to push the hops down into the jug which seemed to break them up a lot. I took a sample so the neck is clear. Finally, I used StarSan on the bung and let it dry and tried to put it in again. It worked (i.e., didn't pop out like when it was wet) so everything is good now. The sample I tasted wasn't much different but the hops have only been in for 24 hours. I'm planning on leaving them in for another 2 days before bottling.