Caramel Apple Hard Cider

[jvotava91]

Like to add it tastes great! A little dry which I was expecting so I don't think it will be too sweet once I add the caramel sauce which is good.

 

[spclarke]

I made this last saturday I think it was and got a OG of 1.062. I pitched the yeast and I checked it today and FG is already down to 1.012. Has anyone else had it finish so quickly?? I had my 1 gallon bottles in a water bath sitting around 68 degrees I know its a bit warm but thats all I got

My OG was right around there. 1.064 I think. Mine finished quickly but I still let it sit for about two weeks or whatever the recipe called for. It actually finished at 1.000 by the time I back sweetened and bottled. As far as the temp I wouldn't worry. I let mine sit at 70- 72 degrees. Notty is fine at that temp.

 

[jvotava91]

Bottled this stuff this afternoon and my test soda bottle is already firm? should I open it and see what happens? I feel like there is no way this stuff is carbed already

 

[bizoneill]

You could try adding some yeast nutrient / energizer and swirl the carboy/bucket around a bit and see if that rouses your yeast. If not, you'll probably need to pitch some new yeast. Make sure you add nutrient for the yeast.

How much nutrient?

 

[fosgate]

Question about the syrup. I personally don't care for the syrup in the recipe as it seems like the cinnamon is a bit over powering. I was just going to use the Smuckers Caramel topping syrup and a tsp of apple pie spice instead. Anyone have any mediocre results with store bought caramel or see a potential problem with this?

 

[Bobbys]

Does anyone know what the s.g. is at bottling time for this cider ?
i.e if you bottle when the s.g. hit 1.010-1.015 as suggested and add the caramel syrup & 3 cans of frozen apple juice concentrate.

 

[brewski09]

Question about the syrup. I personally don't care for the syrup in the recipe as it seems like the cinnamon is a bit over powering. I was just going to use the Smuckers Caramel topping syrup and a tsp of apple pie spice instead. Anyone have any mediocre results with store bought caramel or see a potential problem with this?

FYI, cinnamon will fade a lot over time. If you aren't planning on drinking this all relatively quickly then I'd use the higher amount of cinnamon.


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[mm1473]

So--quick question. Just finished bottling a batch of this using the updated recipe on pg 42. I had some EC-1118 on hand so that is what I used during the fermentation process. I decided to stove top pasteurize. My question is--I know EC-1118 is a pretty potent yeast so, with my temp controller set at 71 deg.--what kind of time period am I looking at before I need to kill it off?? I am gone all day tomorrow and don't really want to come home to bottle bombs--so the answer will hopefully be more than 24hrs so I don't have to call out sick. I do have the mandatory soda bottle in there as well. Anyway--thanks for the help and have a good night.

 

[Newsman]

How much nutrient?

Hmm... good question. Maybe a teaspoon? Maybe use yeast energizer instead? (they're very similar formulations, from what I understand, so they are nearly interchangeable.)

 

[bizoneill]

Hmm... good question. Maybe a teaspoon? Maybe use yeast energizer instead? (they're very similar formulations, from what I understand, so they are nearly interchangeable.)

I added half a teaspoon per gallon and a pack of cask & bottle conditioning yeast. Its going again

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

For future reference, be careful when you add nutrient and make sure you have plenty of headspace. I can't tell you how many times I tossed in the occasional teaspoon of nutrient and it immediately started foaming up out the carboy.

 

[Newsman]

For future reference, be careful when you add nutrient and make sure you have plenty of headspace. I can't tell you how many times I tossed in the occasional teaspoon of nutrient and it immediately started foaming up out the carboy.

That's why it's better to mix it with a cup of cider or water so that you don't have nucleation points.

 

[brewski09]

Hmm... good question. Maybe a teaspoon? Maybe use yeast energizer instead? (they're very similar formulations, from what I understand, so they are nearly interchangeable.)

The individual brands of energizer and nutrient should have instructions for how much per gallon or 5 gallons. And yes, energizer and nutrient are very similar to each other.


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[bizoneill]

I had a ton of head space in my 6.5 big mouth. Active fermentation in the air lock and were on our way down... Thanks for all he help guys!

 

[PinkFrog]

Any suggestions on kegging this cider? I swore this has come up before, but nothing came up in my thread search.

Has anyone tasted this cider kegged before?


Edit: Never mind, searched "kegging" and came up with all the results! For some reason just "keg" was fruitless.

 

[Newsman]

Any suggestions on kegging this cider? I swore this has come up before, but nothing came up in my thread search.

Has anyone tasted this cider kegged before?


Edit: Never mind, searched "kegging" and came up with all the results! For some reason just "keg" was fruitless.

Yep. Gonna say that's ALL I do.

 

[cheeseplease]

Thanks for sharing this recipe UpstateMike

This is the next recipe I'm going to try. Does the caramel syrup make this a super sweet hard apple cider (almost like a dessert wine)? or does it still taste somewhat dry? I recently tried an Angry Orchard Crisp and it was quite good - not too dry and not too sweet. Is this recipe anything like Angry Orchard?

Thanks again.

 

[bizoneill]

I just read over this again since I'm pretty close to bottling. Is there a reason for waiting 24 hours after making the caramel sugar?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Nope. It can be made in advance if need be, but doesn't need to be.

There's an updated recipe on page 42 or 43 if you havent seen it already

 

[Newsman]

Nope. It can be made in advance if need be, but doesn't need to be.

There's an updated recipe on page 42 or 43 if you havent seen it already

Post #420.

 

[bizoneill]

Thanks!

 

[Newsman]

Finally kegged my latest batch of this. I ran out of store-bought cinnamon extract, but awhile back I had bought a bottle of cinnamon sticks and poured some Captain Morgan spiced rum over them and re-capped it. When I ran short of cinnamon extract last night I used some of that. DELICIOUS!!!

 

[Desrever]

I started this two weeks ago with 2.5 g AJ and 1 lb Corn sugar - s04 yeast dry and have fermented at 62 degrees since, still airlock movement and test reveal 1.003 taste is of flat Apple. I have allowed the temp to rise the last 8 hours and still have fermentation happening.

I would like to backsweeten this with 1/2 of the caramel syrup and 1.5 cans of AJ concentrate and bottle sparkling.

I won't have time to do this however for another two weeks, if I let this primary for a month and then backsweeten bottle and ST pasteurize I'll have a higher abv.. Already do! Should I add more to sweeten?

Or should I rack onto 2.5 campden tabs and leave it for 2 weeks and bottle still.

I ended up adding campden and kegging this a week later, been on gas for 7 days now 7 weeks old and tasting great already! Definitely one of the best ciders I have made. Thanks for sharing this recipe it encouraged me to try new things!

 

[wtaylor3]

Tbk

 

[yankeroo]

Caramel Apple Hard Cider

Ingredients, Part 1:
7 x 96 ounce bottles (5.25 gallons) Wegmans 100% Apple Juice, pasteurized, only vitamin C added
2 lbs. Dextrose
Nottingham Yeast

Ingredients, Part 2
5 campden tablets (Optional, see notes)
5 – 12 oz. cans of Frozen Apple Juice Concentrate, thawed to room temperature
12 oz. Caramel Syrup

Recipe for Caramel Syrup:
2 cups of water
2 cups of light brown sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Combine in a saucepan and bring to a boil. At boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes (until volume is reduced to half). Let cool & bottle for future use.

Part 1 (Started 1/7/12):
Opened 1 bottle of apple juice, got a gravity reading of 1.050. Temp is 64 degrees.

In a 6 gallon carboy, pour in bottles 1 and 2 of apple juice.

Open bottles 3 and 4 of apple juice. Pour half of each bottle into carboy. Add 1 pound dextrose per bottle to the remaining amount of apple juice in bottles 3 and 4. Shake bottles to mix sugar and apple juice. Pour bottles 3 and 4 into carboy.

Pour bottles 4, 5, and 6 of apple juice into carboy. Take another sample for OG, got a reading of 1.064. Open Nottingham yeast, pour into carboy. Agitate carboy to mix in yeast. Pour bottle 7 of apple juice into carboy.


Part 2 (In about 14 days):
Check for target FG of 1.010 to 1.015

Rack cider into a 5 gallon carboy.
OPTION: If you want a still cider, add 5 crushed Campden tablets to the cider at this time. If you want a carbonated cider, skip this optional step.
Make the Caramel Syrup and wait 24 hours before proceeding.

After 24 hours, siphon cider into your bottling bucket. Add the Caramel Syrup and the 5 cans of apple juice concentrate while siphoning to aid in mixing. Bottle the cider and enjoy.

If you are carbing in the bottle, be aware that this will carb up fast (4 - 5 days) due to all the sugar. I highly recommend that you fill and cap a plastic pop or beer bottle first, and use that as a guide to tell you when it will be time to Stovetop Pasteurize the batch.

Picture is Caramel Apple Hard Cider in the foreground, after adding yeast. The Apfelwein is ageing in the background.

If you are using apple juice that has been pasteurized why do you pasteurize again after bottling and letting it carbonate...is this something recipe specific or should I be doing this for all my ciders?

 

[TrustyOlJohnson]

We buy pastuerized cider or pastueurize homemade cider (by boiling) to kill any wild yeasts. Then we take that, introduce yeast, and ferment to completion. With live active yeast present, we back sweeten and bottle. Once carbonation reaches the sesired level, we pastuerize the mixture to stop the carbonation process.

 

[nesbit6363]

Mmm


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[d_d311]

Any different instructions for kegging this cider? Thanks for the share! Can't wait to try it!

 

[Newsman]

Any different instructions for kegging this cider? Thanks for the share! Can't wait to try it!

I can only tell you what I do -- I put it in the keg (after mixing in the syrup) and close it up, then carb it at about 12-15 PSI. Generally I leave it there for a few days. It never gets a very big head, and what head it gets doesn't stick around. I keep my kegerator pretty cool... not sure what the temperature is, but my cider is pretty well chilled.

 

[ajohnson153]

So I tried this cider last year and it was a HUGE hit with the family on Christmas Eve! The only part that I was unsatisfied with was the snotty looking cinnamon at the bottom of the bottles. I am making another batch this year, I was going to use cinnamon extract, but could not find any. What I did manage to find was cinnamon oil (meant to be used as a candy flavoring) I was wondering if you guys think this would be alright to use in place of extract, I really don't have time to order and wait for a bottle from Amazon. The oil is much more concentrated than the extract, so obviously I am not going to add as much. Next time I make this I might make my own cinnamon extract by submerging some cinnamon sticks in vodka just like making vanilla extract, I just don't have time to go that route this year. If anyone has used the oil or has experience with this please let me know.