Apple Concentrate Online

[RedStone]

I live in Denmark and I cannot find apple juice in concentrate from. These are ubiquitous in the states. Anyone know of an online seller of such wares? I bought a bottle of apple flavoring last year - organic, good in a pinch, but I want to just try what all the others kids on the forum have been doing.

I cheated and made a batch from apple juice (Similar to what folks here are getting from Wholefoods). Added some dextrose to a whopping 1070. I want to take this down to a sweet but strong cider, then bottle, carbonate, pasteurize. So why add more sugar via the concentrate? In case I screw up to be honest. But I want to do a few more small batches before the autumn when my apples fall and I have ton of homemade æblemos to make cider. Then I'll have a better idea of the yeast, sugar combinations to make a better batch than I did last year (my maiden voyage).

 

[Maylar]

Google brought up a vendor on Amazon, but I suspect that shipping to Denmark would be expensive. And I don't know that concentrate would be any better than what you used.

I use concentrate for sweetening and priming sugar at bottling time. It adds some apple flavor and the small amount needed doesn't dilute the alcohol much. You could do the same thing by adding fresh juice, since your alcohol level is so high.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I would probably just take juice and make my own frozen concentrate. There are plenty of tutorials on how to do it.

 

[RedStone]

Hmm. Make my own concentrate you say? Sounds like a good idea. I haven't thought that out to even look for a how-to. For it to work, has to include boiling down and evaporating to get it right. I will look into that. For this batch I am not as concerned. Its 5 liters at 2 bucks a liter, so I don't mind spending 10 dollars to figure out where the sweet spot is. My goal is to get this down so I can crank out cider without putting too much effort into it. Especially my own apples when come in October.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

If i remember correctly, freeze concentrate requires freezing it solid then letting it slowly melt. The melted portion contains the sugar, since the sugar increases the melting/freezing point. This is time consuming, but should work if you do it a once or twice you should get it down pretty easy.

Boiling and reducing the volume works too, but may cause for a cloudy cider, as the pectin will also be activated and concentrated in the smaller volume. I would recommend picking up some pectin enzyme to help clear it, if it's available in your area.

 

[MindenMan]

Boiling cider to reduce water volume changes the flavor of the cider; sort of like cooked apples. Freeze concentrating is a whole different story, freeze your favorite juice for a few days, and then pour off what is not frozen. The liquid will be very apple flavored and very sweet, and at that point you decide how much of the water you want to leave behind creating the first stage of apfelwine. Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[RedStone]

Nice advice boys. I will do that freeze concentration. Sounds like a winner.

 

[MindenMan]

Freeze concentration is easy, really easy. I suggest you look up applejack making videos. It is the same process, but instead of concentrating alcohol, you are concentrating apple juice.