PaulTheGhost
Well-Known Member
So I have 5 gallons of fresh pressed, un-pasteurized apple cider from a local apple farm. 3 parts Rome, 1 part Golden Delicious, 1 part Gravenstein.
I also have 4oz of mulling spices and 3 pounds of Trader Joe's desert mesquite honey and one packet of Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast (what this out-of-town brew shop told me to use because my lhbs is closed until after new years).
So my question is... I pour the juice into my primary, add the mulling spices and the honey and pitch the yeast...?
Kidding, but seriously... I read about simmering the cider but not boiling it, to kill pathogens without setting the pectins. Is that right?
So I simmer the juice for so long (?), add the honey in and stir to dissolve it, add the spices in a muslin bag for the last 20 minutes, cool it and pitch the yeast?
How much honey should I add? I don't want it being too dry (shooting for ~7%) but I don't want it to be weak cider.
I've read some recipes that have given me a general idea, but nothing concrete with the ingredients I have. I want it to be sparkling, bottle conditioned. Should I bulk age or age in the bottles after adding the priming sugar?
I've brewed 2 batches of extract beer before this (first was a german amber ale which turned out surprisingly good and the second an american wheat which wasn't quite as good) so I'm still a huge newbie. I'm thankful I found this site to help me get started on this wonderful hobby.
Thanks!
I also have 4oz of mulling spices and 3 pounds of Trader Joe's desert mesquite honey and one packet of Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast (what this out-of-town brew shop told me to use because my lhbs is closed until after new years).
So my question is... I pour the juice into my primary, add the mulling spices and the honey and pitch the yeast...?
Kidding, but seriously... I read about simmering the cider but not boiling it, to kill pathogens without setting the pectins. Is that right?
So I simmer the juice for so long (?), add the honey in and stir to dissolve it, add the spices in a muslin bag for the last 20 minutes, cool it and pitch the yeast?
How much honey should I add? I don't want it being too dry (shooting for ~7%) but I don't want it to be weak cider.
I've read some recipes that have given me a general idea, but nothing concrete with the ingredients I have. I want it to be sparkling, bottle conditioned. Should I bulk age or age in the bottles after adding the priming sugar?
I've brewed 2 batches of extract beer before this (first was a german amber ale which turned out surprisingly good and the second an american wheat which wasn't quite as good) so I'm still a huge newbie. I'm thankful I found this site to help me get started on this wonderful hobby.
Thanks!