My favorite cider recipe, I think you'll like it too

Alright, I've spent a year now making cider after cider trying to find a recipe I like (in a two bedroom apartment with kegging not possible). I've made about 30 gallons of the following recipe due to my own fondness for it and the approval of those that have been able to taste it.
4 gallons apple cider
3lbs amber DME
1lb orange blossom honey
white labs london ale yeast
5 gal total volume
has been between 5 and 6%alc

Easy recipe I know but it tastes so good. Also, toss a saison or other belgian yeast in this for a Belgian kick if that's your thing. It happens to be my thing and it tastes awesome. If you havn't tried orange blossom honey in your cider recipes I would strongly suggest it. The tangy citrus flavor is unlike any other honey you'll try. I currently buy 12lbs at a time from Northern Brewer in St. Paul, MN (good deals on shipping). Happy brewing

Nice recipe. What is the typical OG and FG you get on something like this?

Do you ad water and/or boil?

I normally boil the DME for about 45min and I add the honey right after taking the kettle off of the stove top. I start with just a little over a gallon of water to bring the final volume close to 5 gallons with the 4 gallons of apple cider. OG has been around 1.055 to 1.060 depending on exact volume and the FG has been coming in at around 1.005. The LME is nice to add if you don't keg because you can hit a high attentuation and still have some body to your bottle carbonated cider.

So are you talking any old preservative-free apple cider from the grocery store like Mott's or something or do you need something special?

Sounds good. BTW, kegging IS possible in an apartment if you have space in the kitchen for a small chest freezer or even dorm fridge. I have one in my 1br apt.

I am talking about any old preservative free apple cider. I use Cub Foods brand apple cider for my current recipes. I've also tried organic apple cider from Whole Foods co-op and I didn't notice a difference. As I wrote before, the orange blossom honey is one of the key features to the recipe, the citrus-like after taste it brings is different then your basic clover or basswood honey. No room for kegging currently, the entire dining room is already full with my homebrew supplies.

Edcculus said:

Sounds good. BTW, kegging IS possible in an apartment if you have space in the kitchen for a small chest freezer or even dorm fridge. I have one in my 1br apt.

Click to expand...

SWMBO is very supportive but I think I'm pretty lucky with my current set-up

Ha, true.

Back on topic, I've used orange blossom honey in a cider before too. It was great. How fast do you normally turn this around? I might brew this up after my move for a quick easy way to fill a tap before I get beer back in the pipeline.

Edcculus said:

Ha, true.

Back on topic, I've used orange blossom honey in a cider before too. It was great. How fast do you normally turn this around? I might brew this up after my move for a quick easy way to fill a tap before I get beer back in the pipeline.

Click to expand...

The quickest I've bottled this batch as of right now is two weeks after the initial brew date. Our apartment generally stays pretty warm (over 70deg) so it could take longer if you're brewing in cooler temps.

Are u priming the bottle's with anything or straight to bottling???

rockinipa said:

Are u priming the bottle's with anything or straight to bottling???

Click to expand...

I'm priming with corn sugar. I find that adding just a little over 3/4cup per 5 gallons carbonates the cider nicely. At least to my own preferance.

Also, last night I bottled a batch of cider with the original posted recipe except I added Wyeast Trappist High Gravity Yeast instead of a regular ale yeast. I've been really happy with how my Belgian ciders have turned out so far (including this one) and there's no better way to impress your friends then having them try a Belgian Apple Wit Cider (making up my own style)

Thanks, the wife hates most of the beer that i like, so this will be for her and doing a wheat beer for her also this weekend, again thanks for the help, i will let you know how it turns out in a couple of weeks.