Caramel Apple Hard Cider

[spclarke]

I'm making this for my wedding. It's been in primary for one week. Next week I'm gonna put it in secondary etc. Then I have one month to the day. Should I use more Carmel to get a little more flavor or just say screw it.

My last cider was a honey cider and about 3 weeks after bottling the honey was coming through well.

 

[bizoneill]

Has anyone tried kegging this? I want to make this for a bbq the day after my wedding and wanted to have a few kegs flowing.

 

[Newsman]

Has anyone tried kegging this? I want to make this for a bbq the day after my wedding and wanted to have a few kegs flowing.

Yes. I keg. It works quite nicely in a keg. Not a lot of head, but it is lightly sparkling (not quite as carbonated as "sparkling grape juice" but not still either.)

 

[bizoneill]

Yes. I keg. It works quite nicely in a keg. Not a lot of head, but it is lightly sparkling (not quite as carbonated as "sparkling grape juice" but not still either.)

Awesome! Did you just add the caramel to the keg and let it condition? Did you force carb?

 

[Newsman]

Awesome! Did you just add the caramel to the keg and let it condition? Did you force carb?

I force-carb. What I typically do is pour the carmel sauce in and then pour the cider in on top of it. Maybe shake it up a bit to help it mix, then add CO2, purge the keg a couple times and then let it sit to carb. I typically put it on about 10-12 PSI. Works out beautifully.

 

[bizoneill]

I force-carb. What I typically do is pour the carmel sauce in and then pour the cider in on top of it. Maybe shake it up a bit to help it mix, then add CO2, purge the keg a couple times and then let it sit to carb. I typically put it on about 10-12 PSI. Works out beautifully.

Thanks for the info! Cant wait to try this out!

 

[Newsman]

Thanks for the info! Cant wait to try this out!

You're welcome. If you really want to be sure you get it all mixed well, I'd mix the syrup and the cider before I moved it to the keg. Or you can try moving it back and forth between a couple kegs by hooking the liquid posts together. Note -- be sure the PRV is open before you try this.

 

[KegYeti]

For 5 gallon batch of cider My OG was 1.068 fermented down to 1.020 which brewers friend calculated to be 6.3% ABV. What will it be after I add five 12 oz cans of AJ concentrate to backsweeten/ prime? How can I figure that out?


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[KegYeti]

Is this okay. 2 weeks in primary. S-04 yeast.


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[Cheesy_Goodness]

For 5 gallon batch of cider My OG was 1.068 fermented down to 1.020 which brewers friend calculated to be 6.3% ABV. What will it be after I add five 12 oz cans of AJ concentrate to backsweeten/ prime? How can I figure that out?

The goal after you backsweeten is to get the sweetness to where you want it for consumption. In other words, you don't want the FAJC to be fermented anymore, unless you're wanting to bump the ABV after the initial fermentation stopped.

 

[KegYeti]

Right. But won't the ABV be diluted after it's added?


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[Cheesy_Goodness]

View attachment 214596
Is this okay. 2 weeks in primary. S-04 yeast.


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At first glance it looks normal, how does it smell/taste?
That seems to be a very high level of krausen (the lines on the bucket) for a cider. Granted I only ever used Notty for this recipe but that seems huge!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Right. But won't the ABV be diluted after it's added?


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You're right, the ABV will be diluted but most likely it won't be enough to make a difference.
If you're only adding about 60 ounces in a 5 gallon (640 ounces) batch, the difference with ABV is minimal.
If we were to figure it out though, it still wouldn't be truly accurate (though it definitely doesn't make a bit enough difference to matter here) to what's being consumed if you bottle condition and pasteurize, since a slight bit more is being produced.

Most people just find their ABV at bottling and call it a day

 

[jak1010]

You're right, the ABV will be diluted but most likely it won't be enough to make a difference.
If you're only adding about 60 ounces in a 5 gallon (640 ounces) batch, the difference with ABV is minimal.
If we were to figure it out though, it still wouldn't be truly accurate (though it definitely doesn't make a bit enough difference to matter here) to what's being consumed if you bottle condition and pasteurize, since a slight bit more is being produced.

Most people just find their ABV at bottling and call it a day

That's what I do. If there's any topping off or additional liquid for sweetening, it does lower the abv but not much.

 

[KegYeti]

1. Smells tastes fine. First cider and never had much if any top floating trub with my beers. So this made me worry a little
2. Thanks that makes sense. So the little bit of dilution will be offset by the little bit of alcohol produced at conditioning.


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[spclarke]

Bottled this Saturday night. Will most likely pasteurized tonight. This stuff carbs up quick! Tasted delicious. And got 7.6% abv

 

[pathofexcess]

Hi all,

I am planning a half batch of this and was curious: should I also halve the caramel syrup ingredient amounts? I was concerned that it may thicken up too much if I cut the amount of initial ingredients, so thought I would make the full amount of syrup but only put 6 of the 12oz in the bottling bucket.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

There's no right or wrong amount to add (provided you follow proper pasteurization or stabilizing techniques).
That being said, halving the amount sounds like a good idea. You might even find that it's too sweet, and might want to cut back on the amount of syrup added.
It's all a matter of preference. Play around and find what you want

 

[spclarke]

Hey any trick to getting the floaties out after bottling or should I just call it unfiltered

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

There should be some sediment if you bottle conditioned (if you haven't already, make sure you've read up on the pasteurization thread in the Cider forum), as it's a natural byproduct of adding carbonation.
However, it should all be at the bottom of the bottle. Have you refrigerated it? Toss it in the fridge for a few days and see if that makes a difference.
Most people on here don't filter any of their brews, but make sure they leave the trub at the bottom of the bottle when pouring.

 

[spclarke]

I don't tend to filter as it doesn't bother me. This is for my wedding however and guest might be put off. I did just open a tester to check carbonation levels. The sediment is just the cinnamon. So I'll just put "unfiltered, bottled conditioned with cinnamon" on the label and call it a day

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

If your family isn't familiar with homebrews it might be a good idea to give them some warning about sediment, and to do something like "pour easily and don't disturb the yeast cake at the bottom of the bottle" when you consuming.
I speak from experience. Most are used to grabbing a bottle, popping the top and putting it down the hatch.
Congrats on the wedding!

 

[bizoneill]

Has anyone tried this with apple cider or raw juice from pressed apples? I was thinking about using either cider or going to an apple barn by me that presses fresh apples for their cider. I'm not worried a bout clarity and just trying to do something different here.

 

[spclarke]

If your family isn't familiar with homebrews it might be a good idea to give them some warning about sediment, and to do something like "pour easily and don't disturb the yeast cake at the bottom of the bottle" when you consuming.
I speak from experience. Most are used to grabbing a bottle, popping the top and putting it down the hatch.
Congrats on the wedding!

I think I'll put a sign on the bar.
Thanks

Has anyone tried this with apple cider or raw juice from pressed apples? I was thinking about using either cider or going to an apple barn by me that presses fresh apples for their cider. I'm not worried a bout clarity and just trying to do something different here.

I would just use Camden tablets to kill off the wild yeast and let it sit for about 24 hours before pitching the notty.

 

[bizoneill]

I would just use Camden tablets to kill off the wild yeast and let it sit for about 24 hours before pitching the notty.

Awesome thanks! I'm guessing you'd do this for both cider and the raw pressed apples?

 

[spclarke]

I believe anything unpasteurized.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

If I recall, someone earlier in this thread tried this recipe with fresh cider and couldn't really tell much of a difference between that and store bought juice.
I don't want to discourage you but if you've got another use for the fresh stuff I'd put it towards that.
Just a thought. If you do end up doing it be sure to post results!

 

[bizoneill]

I believe anything unpasteurized.

Thanks!

 

[bizoneill]

If I recall, someone earlier in this thread tried this recipe with fresh cider and couldn't really tell much of a difference between that and store bought juice.
I don't want to discourage you but if you've got another use for the fresh stuff I'd put it towards that.
Just a thought. If you do end up doing it be sure to post results!

Thanks for the heads up! We'll see what happens...depending on the cost

 

[Hop_Head_from_Connecticut]

Just bottled my cider today. I can't wait to try it.