Apple Cider '08

5 gallons Louisburg apple cider
5 lbs tupelo honey
5 cans Seneca apple juice concentrate
White Labs sweet mead yeast
Mix 4 gallons of cider, the honey, and the concentrate into 5 gallon carboy. Shake or stir well until honey is dissolved. Pitch yeast. OG 1.094. Two weeks later I racked to another carboy...gravity at .996. I added 3 tsp of acid blend at this time. I let it sit for 4 more weeks, hoping it would clear..it didn't. I kegged this batch as I wanted a sparkling, sweet cider. At kegging time, I added 2 cups of a brown sugar syrup and the extra gallon of apple cider. It was unbelievably strong, sparkling, and sweet.
I will add the Seneca concentrate to the keg for sweetening on my next batch, instead of the sugar syrup and cider.

 

with addin cider. need too add some pectic enzyme.

 

I did this same batch in October of '08 except I added 1 qt of Vermont grade A amber maple syrup. This batch cleared very nicely. I stopped the ferment at 1.012 to let it be sweeter...it was. This was by far my best hard cider. It goes down a little too easy as it is sweet with a definite apple and honey flavor. This is also kegged, which is nice. Some would consider me a heavy drinker with a tolerance for alcohol. This stuff knocked me on my butt. I am in process of collecting the necessary ingredients for batch to be consumed in the summer. I am considering boiling down a couple gallons of the cider to perhaps concentrate the apple flavor some. Other than that, I will keep the recipe the same.

 

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse by adding this... Just a word of caution: boiling apple cider/juice will release Pectin and cause an irreversible haze to your brew. As far as I know it doesn't change the flavor much, but some people are pretty particular about clarity of brews.

 

I did make the other batch boiling down 3 gallons of fresh cider to two gallons. Surprisingly, it was clear after several weeks of clearing. This batch was better than the previous. I was disappointed to find out that the local grocery discontinued the cider as I guess it was out of season. I'll have to wait until November for the next.

 

Where are you located extexan? Louisburg Cider is available year round at many grocery stores in the Kansas City area, it's made just down the road in Louisburg, KS.

Recipe sounds good with the addition of maple syrup. Might have to try this one.

 

Being a fan of Guinness and Hales Cream Ale, are there any recipes for a heavy Cream Ale style of Cider? It seems that most of the cider forums are so focused on clarity.

Personally I like my orange juice chunky, cider chunky and beer to be a meal in itself.

 

Just a thought but would a conservative dose of Irish Moss help to clarify your batch if you boil it? Last year I made a cider and it turned out with a vinegar finish. I'm thinking that it got some wild bugs in it because it was not pastuerized. The cider was fresh and I am an ultra stickler for sanitization, so I would prefer to boil it before fermenation. That way I have control of what bugs get in to it.

 

Instead of boiling, you can use campden tablets. 1 tablet per gallon 24 hours before you add yeast.