5 Day Sweet Country Cider

[Axis]

This is my first time brewing so you could imagine my surprise when I found out that my batch actually turned out perfect. I just pulled a bottle from one of my batches and it tasted great it's still a bit sweet and after it's carbonated and cold tastes amazing thanks for sharing this awesome recipe

 

[scottsaxman]

First time cider brewer here, though I have brewed a few batches of all grain beer. I am hoping to make only one gallon of this just to see what it is like and get a little experience. However, I have a yeast question. Nottingham is almost $5, while champagne yeast is 75 cents. Can I use the champagne yeast without ill effect, assuming I pasteurized to stop the fermentation in the bottle?

 

[scottsaxman]

Well, my cider is complete. It tasted quite foul right out of the fermenter - very yeasty. I bottled it and waited about 3 days, then pasteurized. It should have waited a few more days, as it happens, but it is very lightly carbonated (like, if you pay attention, you will see some bubbles). After about a week or so, it finally tastes OK out of the refrigerator. Not sweet exactly, but not terribly dry. I think I caught it at 1.004, but I had a hard time getting a solid read. It is tart and pretty refreshing. All in all, forgiving my n00b brewz0r skillz, it seems like a decent deal. This was my first stab at cider and I learned a lot.

 

[MeadWitch]

Interesting recipe.

 

[chemdoc]

Bottled this thursday after 4 days fermenting. Started on top of a US-05 yeast cake. Was going like crazy after 3-4 hours. I probably let it go too far, as the FG was 1.010 (OG 1.058 ). Carbed up in about 5-6 hours and had to pasteurize quickly to avoid bombs. After sitting in the fridge for a few days, a lot has settled out. taste so far is a tad tart. Hope it mellows out a bit. Don't know if I could drink as is.

 

[goforevercrazywithit]

Fermentation was finished by day 3. FG got all the way down to 1.006. In all honesty tasted like ass. Little sweetness, very hollow tasting if that makes sense. Maybe a backsweetening is in order. I love this idea and am going to try it again but try to catch the SG way earlier to keep more flavor in. Probably give fermentation a day and a half or so. Awesome idea, I just need to work on gettin my process right.

 

[roymullins]

sounds good- but do you really get 5% after just a couple of days of fermentation? seems like I have run mine completely dry and only get to 5 or 6%...? not that it matters- if it tastes good then who gives a damn... just curious-

 

[petie]

I transferred my imperial blonde to the secondary today and figured since I got a little lag I'd try this. I'm thinkin bout a full 5 gallons. Maybe add a little more brown sugar and an extra cinnamon stick. I like cider to have a little higher abv so I'm thinkin bout a back sweeten with frozen concentrate. Any thoughts.

 

[petie]

Started this Sunday morning at 11 am had about 1.067. Checked it last night at 11 pm and I was around 1.052 and get a bubble out of the airlock about every 4 seconds. She's percolating nicely.

 

[petie]

I'm down to 1.042 sg. I'm shootin for 1.03-1.02. Won't be long now.

 

[CollegeCider]

1.03-1.02 is waaaaaaaaay to sweet for me 1.01-1.015 is considered sweet

 

[petie]

1.03-1.02 is waaaaaaaaay to sweet for me 1.01-1.015 is considered sweet

I tasted it last night when I took my sg reading and it was pretty sweet. I'll check it again tonite when I get home. I might let it go to 1.01 or so.

 

[petie]

Checked it tonite when I got home. Only dropped to1.038. Not gonna check it again til Saturday morning. It's still bubbling at one bubble every 7 seconds.

 

[Skyphoxx]

Used Treetop Apple juice (as I'm 100s of miles away from an orchard). Everything else I did to a tee. Used Nottingham yeast, brown sugar and cinnamon sticks. I sanitized with Starsan, and there was a little bit of foam left, but I've always been told not to 'fear the foam'.

I can't wait to try this on Wednesday/Thursday

 

[Skyphoxx]

Just taste tested it and it's super sweet. So while I wait for more fermentation I made labels.

 

[Zippox]

Free Testing Strips inside... classy. Haha. Please tell me you made that drawing yourself; I'd be amazed.

 

[Skyphoxx]

If only. Just did a google image search for "Wilford Brimley Cartoon" and I got this.

I digress. Don't want to get too off topic. Sorry guys.

 

[Apple_Jacker]

I stubbed my toe last night and took it out on the dog...I hit my wife last week. I come to find out my wife's been dead for years....who the hell did I hit?


Nice label!

 

[Skyphoxx]

Thanks! Most importantly NICE RECIPE! This 5 day sweet cider is amazing!

 

[Evilswine]

I've waited three days and there's still foam on top as fermentation is still going pretty strong. will cold crashing it stop it, then is it okay to bottle, carb then pasteurize?

 

[sburggsx]

a) Nice label.

b) I've been searching for cider for about 3 weeks now. Finally found some at Whole Foods. Pasteurized but all natural. Bought half of what they had.

Followed the recipe exactly and it's sitting on noddy now. OG was 1.064ish at 68*. This is my first try at cider so I hope it turns out well!

 

[Zippox]

I wish I knew what 1.040 tasted like. I feel like that would be crazy sweet so I am planning on bottling at 1.020, but I don't really know what that would taste like either. Shucks, looks like I'll have to make another batch of cider to find out

 

[Watson383]

Woodchuck cider has a gravity of 1.022. I don't know if that helps you or not.

 

[Zippox]

Actually that does, thanks for posting that.

 

[ong]

I made this a few days ago, using cheap Fred Meyer house brand concentrated apple juice in a 3 gallon Better Bottle. Fermentation was just under 3 days (to get to 1.04), and the bottles carbed up within 4 hours. Actually they were a bit more highly carbed then I would have preferred by then! Pasteurized them in 190 degree water, and they came out great. This is definitely a different flavor from commercial ciders -- much more of a fresh apple juice flavor. Really delicious, though, and *extremely* easy and inexpensive. I'm starting another batch (on the same cake) with about 10 ounces of fresh squeezed ginger juice in 3 gallons of apple juice.

 

[sburggsx]

a) Nice label.

b) I've been searching for cider for about 3 weeks now. Finally found some at Whole Foods. Pasteurized but all natural. Bought half of what they had.

Followed the recipe exactly and it's sitting on noddy now. OG was 1.064ish at 68*. This is my first try at cider so I hope it turns out well!

Ok so I let this go for a full 5 days. FG seems to be 1.020 at about 73 degrees. Looking somewhere north of 6% abv. I could see bubbles in the uncapped bottles so I know it's still working. Going to pasturize them in a few hours.... minus 4 that go in the freezer for cold crashing and immediate consumption.

 

[hubblyGoz]

I just made this two days ago and still in the fermenter. only difference is that i didnt have nottingham yeast and used a professional bakers yeast instead. did a gravity reading and got 1.050 so im gonna let it sit another day before bottling. It tastes freakin delicious so far!, and im sure its a little bit yeastier tasting than if i did use nottingham. gonna filter before bottling. thanks for the awesome and quick recipe!!!

 

[guscampag]

Wow. I had no luck at all with this. I bottled at 1.04 per the recipe. The stuff tasted very good! However, I let it carb up one day after bottling and the test bottle was as hard as a rock. I opened it to drink it and it was way too carbonated. I should have realized that I needed to do something different. Like I said, it did taste good. I first tried to pasteurize in the dishwasher. 3 of the bottles blew up in there. I cleaned up that mess and decided to try to pasteurize in a kettle. 2 of them blew up in there. I took the kettle off the stove to the cellar and a couple of them blew up down there. I began to open the rest and dump into a bucket. Wow, they were so carbed up that when I opened with the bottle opener, some of them flew out of my hand! I literally could not hold on to them! I got completely soaked with cider. Not sure what I will do with what is left.
I would like to figure out how to do this right, because, like I said the stuff tasted great.
This was my first experience with bottle bombs and I now have a RESPECT for what they can do. I don't want to go through that again. Very dangerous. I am glad to be uninjured! Need to clean up the mess in the basement tonight!

 

[Zippox]

I have read recently that if you don't give the CO2 time to dissolve into solution you can get gushers. This might be the case and I would say put them in the fridge and dont open them for around 30 days. I just watched a video of the dramatic effect that waiting a month and having it chilled has. If I remember later today I can post that video. I'm not saying that this for sure will fix it but it seems possible.

 

[guscampag]

Yes - GUSHERS! That's the work I was searching for!