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I was noodling things over today and had a thought. Seems a lot of us want that apple flavor to come through, me included, and talk about adding things to get it. Of course unfermented cider comes to mind, but that's dilutive to the alcohol that we also want. So.... Maybe add sugar to your...

Flip tops can definitely handle it but the temp and time need to be carefully controlled with any pasteurization. I did it at 190 for 15 minutes, like suggested in the pinned post, but more recent info points to shorter time at lower temp like 149 for 10 minutes. I found the excellent reply I...

I'm no expert but have done several batches and feel I'm somewhat proficient. Here's what I say to your questions: 1. In my experience, cider clears relatively quickly and doesn't require fining or filtering. We're talking a month or two. 2. I'll defer to others on the value of bulk aging. As...

Thanks. I’ve got a titration kit and plan to test things at the end and adjust. pH was 3.6-3.8 as it went into secondary, so I’m in the ballpark. Meanwhile, all three continue to bubble away.

But...if you add concentrate, allow it to partially ferment and then pasteurize you've got some sweetening AND carbonation.

I've got a bottle of Shonauer Apfel liqueur and might try a splash of that in a glass with the cider. But probably my first choice will be to add frozen apple juice concentrate to both boost apple flavor but also to give a little sweetness and help with carbonation.

This three simultaneous batch experiment keeps producing interesting things. When I transferred to secondary all three jugs were still. After a couple days, the Cotes des Blancs, which went in at 0.998, started to bubble a little. Hmmm. Why not the other two? Then a few days later all three of...

I've toyed with that idea but I sorta want to tweak my recipes and/or process to try to get there first. I just kinda like the idea of doing it myself, if you know what I mean.

Well my previous batches were kinda bland, so I boosted the acid (and tannin) up from previous levels based on recipes I read in Modern Ciders. Even after increasing, I’m at the lower end of what’s recommended. I tasted it and think it could go higher, but I’ll adjust afterward.

I like the sound of that! Glad you were able to do one without the sugar too so you can compare.

Another thing: Those 2-gallon fermentation buckets don't have a gasket, so I suspect the reason I wasn't seeing the locks pop is because it was just seeping out around the edges. My 6-gallon ones do have gaskets.

I'm trying to get that figured out myself as my previous ciders have been much like what you describe. See the Irish Cider and Three Cider Experiment threads here for my thinking and some ideas. I do think the added sugar is working against you some, but it's not over for you yet. I boosted...

Things were slower than expected. I never did see the locks popping like I expected on two of them. So one week after pitching I opened them up, took specific gravity readings and was pleasantly surprised. Cotes des Blancs 0.998, Nottingham 1.003 and Safale S-04 1.000. Each had a unique smell...

Thanks for the detailed reply!

I've only pasteurized in large, thick, flip-top bottles at 190 F (88 C) for 15 minutes, which I believe I got from the pinned post here. I'm glad I stumbled onto this conversation because I'm going to bottle my current batches in either 12, 16 or 22 oz. regular bottles and hadn't considered they...

I feel the same way, but that's a personal thing. I'd rather add something to the glass like juice, simple syrup, whatever. Plus xylitol can mess with your gut a little.

Well, the first little interesting thing: I pitched yeast Monday 10/9 mid-afternoon. Since they are 1-gallon batches I only did half a pack for each. As of mid-day 10/11, the Safale S-04 is bubbling away like crazy. The Nottingham is pushing up but no bubbling yet. The Cote des Blancs isn't...

After asking questions here and reading up a bit, I decided I'd do an experiment in order to try for something like the more-flavorful ciders like we experienced in Ireland. I'm not going to be able to start with apples, so I'm going with Louisburg Cider Mill (Kansas, USA) cider, which is...

The farm-to-table movement and the proliferation of local wineries gives me some hope. In my opinion, a lot less breweries and wineries and some more cideries would be very welcome. But it’s an uphill climb. I did see Crispin is making a comeback. That was my introduction to hard ciders years...

Always sad to hear this kind of thing. Not sure where you are, but I'm hopeful that the resurgence in ciders here in the US will encourage planting/ replanting of more varieties geared toward creating better, more rounded ciders. The ciders we have now are mostly light and crisp, and generally...