I wound up brewing a cider last Friday night for the first time, and was wondering if I could get some feedback or if anyone could bring any issues to my attention. I'd also like to know if I should add clove, and if so, how much for a subtle and just noticeable effect?
My process started by brewing an extract clone of Fixed Gear by Lakefront Brewery, which is a pretty well hopped american red (recipe: http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/FixedGear_Pro_Lakefront.pdf). I dry hopped by adding pellets straight to the beer, so they were still in the yeast slurry. After bottling, I decided to dump 5 gallons of Ziegler's apple cider (no preservatives) onto the yeast (wyeast 1056) along with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, just under a fifth of a tablespoon of nutmeg, and 2 pounds of sugar (50/50 sugar in the raw and coconut sugar). I used a tablespoon of wyeast yeast nutrient. OG of the cider was ~1.050, and it rose to 1.058 with the sugar added. Fermentation is going well so far. It dropped to 1.030 by monday and is still active, with an airlock much busier than 1056 in wort.
I'd be happy to hear any feedback, and very happy to hear any suggestions on flavoring the thing. I like dry cider and plan to bottle condition, but I'd hate to have something flavorless. Should I up the nutmeg? Add clove? Something else? What are the odds this will taste like garbage?
Cheers and thanks
My process started by brewing an extract clone of Fixed Gear by Lakefront Brewery, which is a pretty well hopped american red (recipe: http://www.northernbrewer.com/documentation/beerkits/FixedGear_Pro_Lakefront.pdf). I dry hopped by adding pellets straight to the beer, so they were still in the yeast slurry. After bottling, I decided to dump 5 gallons of Ziegler's apple cider (no preservatives) onto the yeast (wyeast 1056) along with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, just under a fifth of a tablespoon of nutmeg, and 2 pounds of sugar (50/50 sugar in the raw and coconut sugar). I used a tablespoon of wyeast yeast nutrient. OG of the cider was ~1.050, and it rose to 1.058 with the sugar added. Fermentation is going well so far. It dropped to 1.030 by monday and is still active, with an airlock much busier than 1056 in wort.
I'd be happy to hear any feedback, and very happy to hear any suggestions on flavoring the thing. I like dry cider and plan to bottle condition, but I'd hate to have something flavorless. Should I up the nutmeg? Add clove? Something else? What are the odds this will taste like garbage?
Cheers and thanks
