Adding FAJC to increase flavour and abv

[TGFV]

Hey all, had a quick question about adding FAJC to cider, looked around here but couldn't find the answer I am looking for.

I know the more sugar you add to a recipie the more washed out the Apple flavour becomes as it is taken over by the flavour of the alcohol.

I was curious what would happen if instead of any added sugar to boost ABV you added extra cans of FAJC.

I know this would eventually boost the ABV pretty high, but would the concentrated Apple flavour from the juice help to keep some of the flavour as well?

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

I use 1 can FAJC per 1/2 gallon of juice; that is I remove 12oz from a 1/2 jug and replace it with the can of FAJC. That brings me up to around 1.075-80, and with Nottingham ale yeast I finish out at about 8.5 or 9 ABV. That is good for me.

Also, i do like the added apple taste in the finished product. It is not too strong, but the flavor is much better than when I boosted ABV with brown sugar.

 

[jtratcliff]

Wow.. so 10 cans per 5 gallons? How sweet is the final product?

I usually make Ed Wort's apfelwein with 2lbs brown sugar to 5.5 gallons of juice... And use montrachet yeast...

Makes for a nice dry, German-style cider... SWMBO is German and she declares it just like back home...

But I wouldn't mind a little extra apple flavor as long as it's not too sweet...

 

[TGFV]

Thanks Gene! I am assuming the Nottingham stops at its usual 1.006 for a mostly dry cider?

And may do that for my next batch. My last two batches of cider were a big hit but quite a few people were asking me to make it more Apple tasting if possible.

 

[Maylar]

Every time I've used Nottingham for cider it went below 1.000.

 

[Drewed]

Yes, FAJC will boost sugar and apple flavor, but I find it tends to taste like FAJC and not cider. I may be using the wrong brand or something, but I can taste the difference. I will agree that it tastes better than sugar. What I have started doing is boiling down a gallon of cider with about a pound of sugar. I boil it down to at least 1/2 a gallon, usally more. This concentrates the apple flavor and sweetness with out getting all chemical apply tasting. I use this apple "sryup" to boost starting gravity (if I have too) and for backsweeting/ carbonation.

 

[TGFV]

Most FAJC shouldn't have a chemically taste as most are merely reduced and frozen Apple juice with asorbic acid added (just like juice). It may be the brand then that causes the off flavours.

And for me I usually get my ciders down to 1.000 to 1.004 depending on the batch using notty and leave it for a week there before testing 4 days in a row to be sure. For when I have used wine yeasts I usually get it down to well below 1.

 

[Drewed]

Perhaps chemical isn't the best description, but I would be that if you had a glass of FAJC, a glass of Simply Apple ( not from concentrate,) and a glass of pressed cider.m you could tell them apart.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I add FAJC to every hard cider/graff I make. It does add apple flavor & sugar, but it also adds acid. If you add too much, you could end up with a rather acidic cider, unless you do some acid reduction or use a yeast (71-B) that will metabolize some of that acid.
Regards, GF.

 

[Maylar]

Yes, FAJC will boost sugar and apple flavor, but I find it tends to taste like FAJC and not cider. I may be using the wrong brand or something, but I can taste the difference. I will agree that it tastes better than sugar. What I have started doing is boiling down a gallon of cider with about a pound of sugar. I boil it down to at least 1/2 a gallon, usally more. This concentrates the apple flavor and sweetness with out getting all chemical apply tasting. I use this apple "sryup" to boost starting gravity (if I have too) and for backsweeting/ carbonation.

Rather than boiling, I'm going to try freeze concentrating some cider for sweetening. I figure it's better to use the same juice than to add unknown apples from FAJC.

 

[MindenMan]

If you have the volume of cider needed to make your own frozen concentrate (as you apparently do) then I would say that is likely the best option. Adding FAJC does add some brightness due to the sugar and also to the acid content. I add 20 cans of FAJC to 2.5 gallons of 3 blend juice to make my hard cider and it never tastes like FAJC. My fermentation process is done very slowly at a low temperature with a non-aggressive yeast usually requiring 3 or so months to ferment out. The majority of my hard ciders become applejack and by using so much FAJC it really adds to the finished flavor as well as the mouth feel. The small amount of hard cider I make that doesn't become applejack, I always age at least 6 months before drinking.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Adding the FAJC does keep more of an apple taste, but I like that. The 2 cans-to-1 gal ratio I use does not seem really alter the taste that much, and I like the higher ABV.

The nottingham yeast chews through my recipe in 8-10 days. And since I can't really taste much difference between young and aged cider, I drink it right way, after cold-crashing and pouring off the lees.

 

[TGFV]

Dang now I have to decide between the honey cyser I was thinking of or just more cider with a good amount of FAJC added.

 

[Drewed]

Dang now I have to decide between the honey cyser I was thinking of or just more cider with a good amount of FAJC added.

Why not both?

 

[TGFV]

Because currently I have 10G of Paps on week 10, 5gal of caramel Apple Graff to bottle next week, 6 gal radberry lemonade blond ale to bottle this week, and 3 gal Scottish ale to bottle in 2 weeks.

Any more at a time than that and SWMBO will straight up murder me.

So plan is when the blonde ale is done to do the batch of skeeter pee on the cake (going for a lower abv than most so the ale yeast will be perfect for 9%) and when the Graff is done I will be doing the cider.

Perhaps when the Paps is done I'll do a mead then and age till winter.