Adding hops to a cider?

[dhardy3]

Anyone have any experience, or know if it would be a good idea to add hops to a cider?

 

[blackflagbrew]

Brandon O's Graff.

 

[dhardy3]

Is that like Sam Adams angry orchard? Because that's what I'm trying to get the taste of.

 

[blackflagbrew]

I've never had the Sam Adams, but you should go read the Graff recipe thread here on HBT.

 

[drainbamage]

I've never had Angry Orchard, but are you looking for bitterness, flavor, aroma, or all of the above? You could start by dry-hopping a batch with an ounce or so, and then experimenting from there in the future. I'd think that it would be best to start small and work up from there.

 

[dhardy3]

It's more of like a cider with a hoppy beer flavor its really good I recommend it to anyone who is a cider fan.

 

[OffbeatBrew]

I made a good cider with some of the more citrusy hop styles (citra + simcoe?). I used tree top cider, American ale yeast, some tannins, and some acid blend, and it was a delicious and cheap cider. I just used some corn sugar to carbonate at bottling.

 

[SiriusStarr]

I've had this commercial example: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/anthem-hops/176419/

I was not impressed at all, but it did not dissuade me from the idea. I think it has potential for a dry hop with something nice and fruity.

 

[dhardy3]

That's another thing do you guys advise using hops in the boil or dry hopping?

 

[SiriusStarr]

That's another thing do you guys advise using hops in the boil or dry hopping?

I would not recommend ever boiling cider; the heat will not do great things to the apple juice. If you're concerned about sanitizing the juice, use a chemical method of sanitization. So I would say dry hop, because A: boiling cider is bad & B: bitter cider sounds pretty yucky.

 

[Linda]

I have been making hopped cider for summer and fall. I dry hop cascade pellets at a rate of 1 level tablespoon per gallon. A 1oz. package is good for about 5 gal. I usually dry hop in the primary to smooth it out. I usually don't let the hops stay longer than a week.

 

[BadgerBrigade]

Dry hopping is good and gives the cider a nice kind of flavor and aroma but if you're going for an Angry Orcherd kind of taste, dry hopping is not going to do that.... But Just for the hell of it, use some cascade and see how you like it....

My method differs slightly from Linda's...
I use .1oz per gallon at the very end of aging (Sometimes a tad more... If I want a heavy hoppy flavor I might use .8 for 5 gallons)
Leave in only 7 days.
I ferment in primary for three weeks to a month, then I age for three months and at the very last week I will dry hop.

AMAZING!!!

P.s. Don't worry about sanitation with the hops, Just add it... you will be fine...
Don't boil the cider and Just throw it in your carboy or bucket loose and then when it's time to rack it out make a little cheesecloth filter over your racking cane, Works like a charm...

 

[dhardy3]

Alright thanks guys I'm gonna have to try some of These ideas out, and that's a good thing to know about the whole boiling idea.

 

[BostonianBrewer]

Make a hop tea and add that after it cools if you wat bitterness , as for sanitation of cider used potassium or sodium metabisulfite an let it sit for 24 hours in the cider before you pitch your yeast

 

[jflongo]

I guess I'm more of a hop person than you guys. I did 1.5 oz of Cascade 1.5 oz of Centennial in my last 5 gallon batch of Cider, dry hopped it with that for 10 days. Next time I will be upping that to 5 - 6 oz total While it had a slight hop flavor, I felt it could use even more.