This has turned out to be a fantastic experiment and look forward with future batches and improving the flavor. I ran a second batch of straight juice on top of the cake/lees and its dry and lost almost apple flavor. Boiling/Condensing the juice really adds so much to this cider.
SG - 1.070
FG - 1.008
Ingredients:
2 - 96oz Great Value 100% Apple Juice from Concentrate
3 - 64oz Tree Top Apple Blend Juice 100% Fresh Pressed, Not From Concentrate (Granny Smith and Red & Golden Delicious apples)
1/2 lb - Dark Brown Sugar
1 - White Labs WLP585 BELGIAN SAISON III YEAST
Process
1) Toss the 3 Tree Top juice blends in the freezer
2) Boiled down 2 bottles of the cheap concentrate juice down to half which intensified the apple flavors.
3) Added some of the cheap concentrate juice to a sauce pan with 1/2lb brown sugar and turned to high letting it simmer away and caramelize
4) Cooled the base juice down & brown sugar syrup till it was not steaming in an ice bath, sorry didnt have my thermometer handy
5) Add 1 bottle of the cold Tree Top juice to fermentor
6) Add cooled base juice to fermentor
7) Add last 2 bottles of the cold Tree Top juice to fermentor
8) Add brown sugar syrup
9) Pitch yeast straight from tube
Backsweetening - Caramelized Lactose, Burnt sugar syrup, condensed juice & oaked tincture that I burnt off the alcohol to add a slight smoke flavor.
Boiled down cheap walmart juice, was very very good and flavor reminded me of the TreeTop juice.
High Krausen
Caramelized Lactose - slowly sprinkled lactose onto a hot pan and let it melt, then sprinkled more and more till the entire amount was melted. Once I got the color I was after added some apple juice slowly and then cranked up the heat to make a syrup.
Enjoying a glass or 2 of still cider before bottling
SG - 1.070
FG - 1.008
Ingredients:
2 - 96oz Great Value 100% Apple Juice from Concentrate
3 - 64oz Tree Top Apple Blend Juice 100% Fresh Pressed, Not From Concentrate (Granny Smith and Red & Golden Delicious apples)
1/2 lb - Dark Brown Sugar
1 - White Labs WLP585 BELGIAN SAISON III YEAST
Process
1) Toss the 3 Tree Top juice blends in the freezer
2) Boiled down 2 bottles of the cheap concentrate juice down to half which intensified the apple flavors.
3) Added some of the cheap concentrate juice to a sauce pan with 1/2lb brown sugar and turned to high letting it simmer away and caramelize
4) Cooled the base juice down & brown sugar syrup till it was not steaming in an ice bath, sorry didnt have my thermometer handy
5) Add 1 bottle of the cold Tree Top juice to fermentor
6) Add cooled base juice to fermentor
7) Add last 2 bottles of the cold Tree Top juice to fermentor
8) Add brown sugar syrup
9) Pitch yeast straight from tube
Backsweetening - Caramelized Lactose, Burnt sugar syrup, condensed juice & oaked tincture that I burnt off the alcohol to add a slight smoke flavor.
Boiled down cheap walmart juice, was very very good and flavor reminded me of the TreeTop juice.
High Krausen
Caramelized Lactose - slowly sprinkled lactose onto a hot pan and let it melt, then sprinkled more and more till the entire amount was melted. Once I got the color I was after added some apple juice slowly and then cranked up the heat to make a syrup.
Enjoying a glass or 2 of still cider before bottling