First Cider Question

[GoleyBrew]

Would this work...and would it be turn out well? I've been brewing beer for a little while now and my fiance would like me to make a small batch of hard apple cider.

1 gallon apple juice
1 can apple juice concentrate
1 cup dark brown sugar
Sweet mead yeast

Thanks!
GoleyBrew

 

[shanecb]

I don't see any problems with that recipe at all. Keep in mind that brown sugar can be a little "rum"y when it's fermented. Just a little.

 

[GoleyBrew]

Thanks for the response. Hoping to get the ABV around 10%. I'm brewing a Rogue Oatmeal Stout clone this weekend and would love to try this at the same time.

 

[shanecb]

Let us know how it is! I think it will turn out just fine. Just make sure your concentrate doesn't have anything in it that might screw with fermentation (stabilizers and such).

 

[NiteBeest]

I have something like this sitting in secondary right now. Turned out pretty well. I bottled half and am oaking the other half with hungarian medium+. Give em all a couple months to age, but from what I've tasted... Definately going to be good.

 

[GoleyBrew]

Quick update. Here's the ingredient list.

1 gallons Indian Summer - pasteurized - no preservatives
1 cans Cascadian Farm Organic Apple Juice - Concentrate
1 Cups Dark Brown Sugar
Lalvin D 47 Yeast

 

[oldmate]

D47 should be better than the mead yeast, the sweet mead yeast is a bit dodgy and other users have reported a lot of problems with using it.

 

[GoleyBrew]

Good to know. Might have been fate that my LHBS didn't have any mead yeast in stock.

 

[NiteBeest]

D47 is a good yeast. I've used it in a few brews and have liked the outcome. Plus it is a good yeast to age sur lee (on the lees). So you really don't have to worry about racking right away.

I needed my carboy free, so I racked/bottled mine right away, but I've read that it adds a little bit of a buttery mouth feel to the wine/cider. You'll be getting some decent body with the 1 gallon of juice and 1 can of concentrate as well. Hope it all turns out well for you... let us know how it goes!

 

[McKinley]

I just did a six-way side by side with different wine yeasts and standard juice. D47 was my wife and I's second favorite, behind 71B. It left a fuller mouthfeel than the others. A little bit of a slower start. Good choice.

 

[GoleyBrew]

It's been a couple weeks and my fiancé and I decided to take a gravity reading. It's gone from 1.082 to 0.998. It tastes amazing. At the moment it tastes like an apple sweet Riesling. My fiancé is insisting I make a 5 gallon batch for Christmas. I may experiment with a cinnamon stick in the secondary. When all is said and done I plan to post this as my first recipe.

Thanks for the comments and help all.

Goleybrew

 

[GoleyBrew]

Well I made a 5 gallon batch last night and I have another question.

After a few weeks could I rack onto a 1-1.5 lbs of honey? Would there be enough residual yeast in the secondary to push up the ABV and/or sweeten the wine?

Thanks,
GoleyBrew