Caramel Apple Cider

[ryanapfel]

i just bottled the cider after 3 weeks and took a taster of it. it tasted really bitter and harsh like alcohol, no sweetness at all. even after adding the honey it didnt change it much. it also had an odd sour smell to it. it didnt have any mold or floaters... what happend ?

 

[oliver0575]

I've just had the same. Bottles 2 sets of this 3 days ago, both done slightly differently and one wry table sugar and one brewing sugar. Both taste and smell like beer or lager. No sweetness at all.


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[oliver0575]

They haven't even been ageing for a month and it's very popular. However it's turned out as a very strong apple cider with it's abv at 10.5%!
Not the result I was hoping for as it's very dry and I love my sweet cider but its still not half bad


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[M12345]

New cider maker here. This recipe sounds easy enough. What kind of sugar do I use, does it matter? Does regular sugar you use to make cookies work? Also I'm worried about bottle bombs, but I want a carbonated final product. Is there a way to carb them up and then have the process stop without having to use the stove top method? Would throwing in fridge work? I've had a few mason jars break on me during canning on stove top which is scary stuff but this sounds worse so I would like to avoid it if possible.

 

[rlonardo]

I'm contemplating making this as my first cider. With the holidays coming up, I was thinking about making it apple pie-esque by adding some apple pie spices. Anyone ever done anything like this with a cider? Any advice?

 

[M12345]

Newbie here. Finally got around to making this. Been going about a week and half. Gonna let it go another 2-3 weeks then check the sg. Few questions for when it's done fermenting. I plan to rack into another glass jug then add the honey and mix. I don't want it carbonated so I bottle and pasteurize the same day? I want it pretty sweet so will the honey be enough or do you think I will need to add more sugar or juice concentrate (which would be better?)? After pasteurized what do I do with the bottles, store in fridge or not? How long do they age before they taste good to drink? Thanks

 

[reapernazara]

I started two gallons of this yesterday, was doing one but accidentally used twice the amount of sugar so ran out and got more juice for two gallons. I used lalvin d47 in one and k1v1116 in the other, the only two yeast I have right now, and I don't really know their flavor profiles so I hope they turn out well

 

[tyounk]

If you want carbinated how long should you wait to pasteurize ?

 

[JDWebb]

I am getting ready to do the recipe as stated, was curious, I have Nottingham yeast, is a half packet plenty for a 1 gallon batch?
Also, I don't intend on carbing the cider, the only thing I like with fizz is my ice cold beer. So pasteurizing really isn't necessary, I can bottle and submit to freezing cold temps to kill the yeast, right? I really don't want to chem treat it.

 

[oliver0575]

Correct me if i am wrong but im sure cold temps only cause the yeast to go dormant which is fine if your cider lives in a fridge until its drunk but if not i think the addition of the honey after fermentation would cause secondary fermentation if the cider gets warm enough.

 

[JDWebb]

Holy crap! I made a cider and instead of putting the caramel in during fermentation, I added it as a back-sweetner, and it is amazingly good! And it sneaks up on you too I used 2 cups of white sugar with 1 cup of Mexican piloncillo sugar, which is not brown sugar, but raw, unrefined sugar.

I have another cookin' following the recipe exactly, anxious to see how it turns out.

One thing I've found, I drizzled about 1 cup of cold apple juice into the hot caramel a bit at a time while whisking the crap out of it until I had it cooled down and liquid enough to add to the cider.

 

[GillesF]

I brewed this over the weekend, my first cider.

I used Nottingham ale yeast, two different brands of "bio" apple juice without chemicals and brewing sugar that I mixed in boiling water. Added to a glass carboy and fermenting nicely now. Nice clean, beige Krausen. Not sure about the smell though, it's not sulfur, nor tartness. More like pie ...

Anyway, I forgot to take the OG readings. What should I expect for original gravity using brewing sugar? And the final gravity?

My plan is to let it in primary for 2 or 3 weeks, then 2 weeks in secondary (colder, racked). Then rack it again, kill the yeast with campden + potassium sorbate, followed by the caramelized honey. I will let this sit for another 2 weeks before bottling. Does this sound good?

 

[ROLLTIDE]

To get even an approximate OG, we kinda need to know your measurements / ratio of sugar to juice and did the juice contain sugar as well or was it " no sugar added". Your FG will vary greatly depending on your OG.All of your other steps seem to be in order and coming along nicely . If you are in doubt, you can always trust your tongue, taste along the way. Just be sure to be sanitary. Cheers

 

[symon]

Im completely new to brewing and wanted to try this as an easy starter. My only problem is when i think i finally understand things, i just get confused again! As such, can anyone answer me the following...

1. I want to do the alternative to step 8 and bulk age in a plastic keg. How do i carbonate after back sweetening? Am i right in thinking that ill just create a keg bomb with all the extra sugar thats added? I was assuming that the k-meta would kill the yeast and if this is true, then how can you then carbonate your drink?

Thanks

 

[ROLLTIDE]

It would take a very brave soul to try to carb cider on their first outting. Plastic ( unless its a soda bottle) is not made to hold high pressure. I recommend , for your first batch or two at least, get your recipe to where you like it before you worry about carbing. If you are hell bent to kill the yeast , back sweeten and carbing, you can go to an auto parts store and get a tire valve stem, drill a hole in a soda cap and shoot CO2 into it. I do this all the time to try out small batches.

 

[symon]

It would take a very brave soul to try to carb cider on their first outting. Plastic ( unless its a soda bottle) is not made to hold high pressure. I recommend , for your first batch or two at least, get your recipe to where you like it before you worry about carbing. If you are hell bent to kill the yeast , back sweeten and carbing, you can go to an auto parts store and get a tire valve stem, drill a hole in a soda cap and shoot CO2 into it. I do this all the time to try out small batches.

Thanks rolltide! I think I'll just stick to the still cider for the min! My wife did buy me a plastic keg with a safety valve on it so you shoot co2 into it! It says it has a safe working pressure of 15psi on the keg. Am I right in thinking then that when I've got the hang of still cider, I could potentially put co2 in that way to carbonate it? If I can, how do you know when your up to the right carbonation levels as there I can't see any way of monitoring the co2 level and pressure inside!?

Thanks for replying and apologies if the answers to these questions are blatantly obvious to everyone else! I just don't want to blow my shed up as the wife would kill me!

 

[ROLLTIDE]

Blow up the shed, lmao. Okay, so yes, you are correct. You want to master your cider then use your keg to carb it. Do keep in mind though that carbing works best when the liquid is cold. As for how to get it in there, I don't know what kind of a keg you have to suggest anything specific. Online brewing supplies are a staple for us homebrewers to get your connectors, regulators, etc. Then get refills of CO2 at your local paintball shop or Academy sports.

 

[symon]

Thanks for taking the time to reply rolltide! I tried my first batch of this recipe today and it's fantastic! I'm not even sure I'll ever want to carb it it was that good still!

 

[GillesF]

So today I measured the final gravity and it's at 1010. Tastes great, has a nice apple flavour, slightly tart and a nice alcohol burn without being too overwhelming. Very happy so far.

Personnaly, I'm happy with the alcohol percentage as it is now. Can I kill the yeast now for back sweetening or would you advise to let it ferment out?

*edit* I let it sit for a while at room temperature, final gravity was about 1012. I've decided to let it ferment for a few weeks more. I did already transfer to a second "dame jeanne", is this a problem?

Cheers
Gilles

 

[ROLLTIDE]

It will continue to ferment in this transfer, although at a much slower rate. I was just curious as to why you would continue to ferment if you're happy with it. Don't forget, the longer it ferments, the drier it will get.....along with more of an alcohol and less apple taste.

 

[GillesF]

Good point. I wanted to continue the fermentation to avoid bottle bombs when bottling. Then again, perhaps I should just try the stove top pasteurization method, never tried that before.

I also have campden + potassium sorbate but I think the "no chemical" option (pasteurization) is better, no? Will it work well on an electric stove top?

The most difficult thing would be mixing the honey in the cider without oxidation. I'm thinking of dropping the honey into a plastic bucket and then gently rack the cider to this bucket while gently mixing. Then from the bucket into bottle with the spigot.

 

[GillesF]

OK, so I left the cider in the fermenter a month longer than I expected due to circumstances. Came down to about 0.996

Tasted great, sweet apple at the beginning with strong apple tartness at the end with some alcohol warmth. Caramelized the honey a bit which also tasted very nice. Then I added this to the cider + mixed thoroughly without splashing so it did not end up at the bottom and bottled everything.

I had some leftover of this "mix" and I tasted it. Personally, I was kinda disappointed because the apple taste was much less and I did not taste the honey at all. Not sure what happened there, maybe it just takes time for the flavours to develop?

I'll leave it for 2 days in the bottle before pasteurizing.

 

[chunkychicken]

Giving this one a crack. I put this in my S04 brew that was already on for 2 weeks, so it'll go back on for another 2 weeks before I add additional flavours to it.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Im goimg to try this recipe I think. (In the UK here).

I want it sparkling. So... I will likely add a little honey to prime bottles, then after a couple of weeks pasturise it. Any suggestions or advice?

 

[oliver0575]

Are you kegging or bottling?

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Bottling

 

[oliver0575]

When i bottled it after primary and secondary i would mix the honey in in another fermetation bucket until dissolved ( i did 25l
L batches so added 5 jars of aldi clear honey). Then i would bottle and only pasteurise after a few days. I wouldnt leave a few weeks unless only a small amount of honey is going in as i have had bottlebombs after only 7 days

 

[fall-apart-dave]

When i bottled it after primary and secondary i would mix the honey in in another fermetation bucket until dissolved ( i did 25l
L batches so added 5 jars of aldi clear honey). Then i would bottle and only pasteurise after a few days. I wouldnt leave a few weeks unless only a small amount of honey is going in as i have had bottlebombs after only 7 days

I will be using the plastic bottle trick to gauge the gas.

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Just purchased a new fermenter, the yeast and a new hydrometer along with some yeast nutrient (because it was £1) and a couple of other bits. 15 litres of pressed apple juice to collect at the weekend and I can set it away!

 

[fall-apart-dave]

Important question:

Gallon... UK or US gallon? A "gallon" here is 4.55 litres...