Basic Cider Recipe Questions

[Shaw237]

I have been home-brewing beer for about two years now. I am looking to try my hand making some basic hard cider, but had some question as far as the specifics. Every time I have questions you guys do an awesome job at answering them. So thanks ahead of time. I created this basic recipe from what others I know have done, but wanted to check some parts of it. I am looking to make a quick and easy cider the first time around to get the basics of cider making. When I ask question about time I understand good brewing is not based on a set time, but an idea of how long really helps. I bracketed my questions. Thank you again.

- Buy 5 gallons of apple juice w/ no preservatives.
(If OK, I am planning on using the great value Apple Juice linked here.)

-Add the proper level of Sulfer Dioxide or Pottasium Sorbate to the cider based off the pH level to kill wild yeast.
(Is it OK to place the SO2 or PS directly into the bottle the juice came in and if I am using the apple juice above is it even necessary.)

- Wait one day.

- Pour the juice into a clean fermenting bucket, sprinkle champagne yeast on top, and place lid with lock on the bucket. Lightly rotate bucket to aerate yeast.
(Should I add sugar/yeast enhancers to increase alcohol content.)

Let it ferment until 3-4 days after bubbling subsides.
(How long does this usually take?)

Using cleaned equipment transfer to a secondary fermenting bucket to improve clarity.
(What is the maximum and minimum the cider should stay in the 2nd bucket.)

- Let sit for (?) days

- Transfer the cider to a bottling bucket, while adding 5 ounces of brown sugar.
(Any suggestions on what sugar to use and if this amount is enough.)

- Bottle into standard beer bottles and wait...
(For how many days? Max and Min.)

And the most important question. If proper cleaning is done will this process avoid bottle bombs!

 

[Pumbaa]

1. Should be fine
2. should be fine but no necessary. If I was going to use it I would just put it straight in the primary
3. If ya want to but 100% not necessary. My favorite cider for summer has nothing added to boost the ABV
4. depends on the temp can be a week to several weeks
5. depends on the yeast again can be quick or it can take weeks
6. adding sugar to carb or to back sweeten?
7. depends on the temp again
8. You should if you are priming to carb first figure out how much carbonation you want then use a priming calculator to determine the amount of sugar to add and you SHOULD get no bottle bombs

 

[thewurzel]

Apple juice with no preservatives is the key. The preservatives could kill the yeast strain you use and keep from fermenting properly.

Pottasium Sorbate or Camden Tablets. If you are using a a pasteurized cider from Walmart this step is not necessarily. The wild yeast should be killed of during pasteurization process.
I only use this step if using fresh pressed cider or some of the flash pasteurized cider I get from local farmers, as some times I get it passed the sell by date as its cheaper.

I normally add a little sugar to boost gravity and final ABV. but this step is not necessarily you can get some great cider from juice alone. but I would base this on the original gravity of the Juice. and how you want the final product. i find if you add a lot of sugar 3# or more you can actually strip some of the cider taste in the final product.

personally I will let it sit in primary fermentor for at least a week, and as long as you are willing to wait on in the secondary but I would say no less than a month. the longer the better.

after bottling I would leave it at least 3 weeks at at 60-68* before refrigeration.

I would add 4oz or less but as stated above, you should use a calculator to find the carb level you are looking for.

The reason for bottle bombs has nothing to do with cleanliness. it is due to adding to much sugar at bottling, or most commonly not letting it completely ferment out the sugars before adding more at bottling.


I mostly leave it bulk aging for months and the transfer to a keg and force carb. if you do have the patients to leave bulk aging for months when bottling you may need to add more yeast as the original yeast strain will have dropped out of suspension.

 

[Shaw237]

I was going to do this all around the 60-70F range and use 5 grams of 'Pasteur Champagne: Active Dry Wine Yeast by Fermentis as my yeast'
Open to suggestions as to another yeast I should use.

3.Is there a way to figure out what the extra sugar does to the gravity/alch. content when added to the primary. 'The wurzel' how much do you add and what % does that get you to.
5.Should I add another bag of Champagne to the second?
6. I am adding the sugar for carbonation. Using the link below to figure out how much. Open to suggestion on what to use.
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

Thanks again.

 

[thewurzel]

I was going to do this all around the 60-70F range and use 5 grams of 'Pasteur Champagne: Active Dry Wine Yeast by Fermentis as my yeast'
Open to suggestions as to another yeast I should use.

Any good brewers Yeast will work fine. personally i like White labs English cider yeast or any good ale yeast they will give a very slightly difrent flavour profile. check out this post for great info on different yeast in cider.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results-juice-yeast-sugar-experiments-83060/

3.Is there a way to figure out what the extra sugar does to the gravity/alch. content when added to the primary. 'The wurzel' how much do you add and what % does that get you to.

Most apple Juice is going to start with an o.g. from 1044 - 1056 depending on apples used and usually will ferment out dry below 1000 approximately 996-998.
if o.g. is 1044 and it ferments out dry it will be approximately 5.8 abv
if o.g. is 1054 and it ferments out dry it will be approximately 7.1 abv
if o.g. is 1064 and it ferments out dry it will be approximately 8.4 abv
adding a pound of sugar will add approximately 9 or 10 points to the o.g. in 5 gallons US

5.Should I add another bag of Champagne to the second?

No it is not necessary to add any extra yeast to secondary.

6. I am adding the sugar for carbonation. Using the link below to figure out how much. Open to suggestion on what to use.
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

As long as use the calculator you should be fine.

 

[thewurzel]

check this out also.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/edworts-apfelwein-33986/

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I have been home-brewing beer for about two years now. I am looking to try my hand making some basic hard cider, but had some question as far as the specifics. Every time I have questions you guys do an awesome job at answering them. So thanks ahead of time. I created this basic recipe from what others I know have done, but wanted to check some parts of it. I am looking to make a quick and easy cider the first time around to get the basics of cider making. When I ask question about time I understand good brewing is not based on a set time, but an idea of how long really helps. I bracketed my questions. Thank you again.

- Buy 5 gallons of apple juice w/ no preservatives.
(If OK, I am planning on using the great value Apple Juice linked here.)

-Add the proper level of Sulfer Dioxide or Pottasium Sorbate to the cider based off the pH level to kill wild yeast.
(Is it OK to place the SO2 or PS directly into the bottle the juice came in and if I am using the apple juice above is it even necessary.)

- Wait one day.

- Pour the juice into a clean fermenting bucket, sprinkle champagne yeast on top, and place lid with lock on the bucket. Lightly rotate bucket to aerate yeast.
(Should I add sugar/yeast enhancers to increase alcohol content.)

Let it ferment until 3-4 days after bubbling subsides.
(How long does this usually take?)

Using cleaned equipment transfer to a secondary fermenting bucket to improve clarity.
(What is the maximum and minimum the cider should stay in the 2nd bucket.)

- Let sit for (?) days

- Transfer the cider to a bottling bucket, while adding 5 ounces of brown sugar.
(Any suggestions on what sugar to use and if this amount is enough.)

- Bottle into standard beer bottles and wait...
(For how many days? Max and Min.)

And the most important question. If proper cleaning is done will this process avoid bottle bombs!

1.) The commercial juice is fine, I've used the same brand with great results.

2.) No need for sulfites, the juice is pasteurized. DO NOT SORBATE! Adding potassium sorbate will inhibit yeast reproduction & stop your fermentation before it gets started. You don't need sorbate for cider unless it's done fermenting & you want to backsweeten; other than that, steer clear of sorbate.

3.) Follow the rehydration instructions on the yeast packet; just sprinkling dry yeast into the juice will work, but you really are better off giving the yeast everything they need for a healthy fermentation, and it only takes 15 minutes, so why not? BTW, you might want to reconsider the champagne yeast, it'll take the cider very dry & will likely strip out a lot of flavour. I've been using ale yeast (Nottingham) for ciders for a while now, works great & leaves more apple flavour; works for me but it's your choice. A dose of yeast nutrient/energizer will help too, I use it for every batch of cider/wine I make.

4.) You can rack to a secondary vessel if you want to, I usually do, but you don't have to. Lots of people just leave their cider in primary till bottling day with great results; again, it's your choice.

5.) Get a hydrometer. It's only about $5 & is easy to use; it's also the only sure way to know when your cider is done fermenting. Going by how many days or bubbles will NOT give you an accurate reading & you could very well end up with bottle bombs if it's bottled too early.

6.) Use a sanitizer (I use Starsan) after you've cleaned everything thoroughly. Just cleaning doesn't actually sanitize anything. Just follow the instructions.

7.) Your priming & bottling mostly sounds good (see #6 above) but I wouldn't bottle until the hydrometer reads 1.002 - 0.998; then wait about 4 - 5 weeks for it to condition (carbonate), open one & see how it carbed & how it tastes. You might want to set some aside to age a bit, it really does get better with a bit of aging.

8.) Repeat steps 1 - 7 for a 2nd batch, and/or try another recipe, and enjoy this truly awesome hobby!
Regards, GF.

 

[Shaw237]

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[Shaw237]

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