Pontiac_Guy
Well-Known Member
Hi everyone, this has been an ongoing drunken test to find a way to bottle a lowly-sweet, but not dry, cider that I can bottle since I haven't moved up to kegging. Sadly this has yet to be achieved for me with just cider, sugar, and yeast, BUT I've tuned this to a good recipe that isn't as strong as Ed's beast. I also wanted to let you all know that I took a hydrometer sample when it reached 1.007 G at 68 degrees F and it was PERFECT! If you keg I strongly suggest doing this and stopping it then. It had just the right amount of residual sweetness and booze ratio that fit perfectly to what I wanted.
so:
5x Gallon apple cider/juice (I use Kroger brand)
16oz clover honey
Danstar Munich Yeast
Heat the honey in a bowl over a pot of water to thin it up. Pour the 5 gallons of the juice into the carboy. Pour the now thin honey into the carboy. Mix well. Pitch rehydrated yeast into the carboy. It carbonated between 66-68 deg F. I shook it vigorously about 10-15 times a day to degas it for the first week. It took roughly 2 weeks to drop from 1.055 to 1.007. I bottled at 6 weeks because I was busy and the final gravity was 1.002. I bottled with 2/3c brown sugar and I can taste a slight brown sugary taste to this.
So yeah, it's a dry cider that is not as harsh as Ed's due to the yeast and is around 7% abv or slightly less. I wish that there was a bit more wheat yeast character, but it's dried yeast so a dryer drink is expected.
My next cider I'm going to experiment with a few times is a BOMM style cider around 8-9%. Once I figure it out i'll let you know.
so:
5x Gallon apple cider/juice (I use Kroger brand)
16oz clover honey
Danstar Munich Yeast
Heat the honey in a bowl over a pot of water to thin it up. Pour the 5 gallons of the juice into the carboy. Pour the now thin honey into the carboy. Mix well. Pitch rehydrated yeast into the carboy. It carbonated between 66-68 deg F. I shook it vigorously about 10-15 times a day to degas it for the first week. It took roughly 2 weeks to drop from 1.055 to 1.007. I bottled at 6 weeks because I was busy and the final gravity was 1.002. I bottled with 2/3c brown sugar and I can taste a slight brown sugary taste to this.
So yeah, it's a dry cider that is not as harsh as Ed's due to the yeast and is around 7% abv or slightly less. I wish that there was a bit more wheat yeast character, but it's dried yeast so a dryer drink is expected.
My next cider I'm going to experiment with a few times is a BOMM style cider around 8-9%. Once I figure it out i'll let you know.
