Caramel Apple Hard Cider

[Cheesy_Goodness]

The best answer there as far as I can tell is is "both"

I'd tend to age it more in bottles than carboys though. Let it ride for a month or two in the carboy then bottle with the syrup, pasteurize, and forget about it is my method.

 

[pwortiz]

It's been a while since I've made this one. Had one in the fermenter for 4 weeks. Between the juice and the dextrose, hit 1.060 and then 1.000 for 8%. Super clear.

Up to now I have always used the carmel syrup recipe verbatim. Today I used the following due to a lack of ingredients and a wish to change based on some other posts:
1.25 cup of Brown Sugar
.75 cup of Dark Brown Sugar
2 cups water
^ this was my "priming solution"

Added 2 cans of FAJC with -
.5 cup of Fireball whiskey
.25 cup of Pure vanilla extract (i make my own with vodka and vanilla beans)

Bottled today.

When tasting the end of the bottling bucket (.25 of a 12 oz bottle) I was very pleased. In 4 days I'll check the carb level.

 

[slamer]

I just finished stove top pasteurization on my 2nd batch. I changed it up a little by using brown sugar instead of dextrose. Everything else except the yeast was pretty much the same even using the syrup recipe before I bottled. I let it set for 2.5 weeks and had it at 7.25%, which is high enough. I used grolsch bottles and tried the whole getting them to 190. This made them let air in through the top (and water) but I found some info that says yeast dies at about 140 so I got the temp up to 150-155 and let it sit for 10 minutes. I was able to do this on about 25 bottles and put them in a plastic container in case of bottle bombs. When I went to that temperature, I had no leaks. I am hoping I solved the problem by changing the temperature. My first batch I got impatient and did not let it carb enough, but I let these set for just over 6 days before killing the yeast and the carb level was awesome. Oh and FYI, the cider tastes amazing.

 

[Newsman]

I'm having a hard time getting enough cinnamon flavor in my cider. I've now resorted to using about a shot of cinnamon whiskey in each glass to get the level of cinnamon to what I want. Any suggestions? I've got an experiment going now to "dry-hop" my cider with cinnamon sticks that have been soaking in rum. I don't have a lot of faith in that, but we'll see.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

My old man used to make pumpkin pie wine with a cinnamon stick right in the bottle. I'd guess you could use half a stick per beer bottle, since I have a hard time believing it will ever decompose like fruit would

 

[Newsman]

My old man used to make pumpkin pie wine with a cinnamon stick right in the bottle. I'd guess you could use half a stick per beer bottle, since I have a hard time believing it will ever decompose like fruit would

Well, I'm "dry-sticking" in the keg. We'll see how that works. I just hoped maybe someone had a source for some super-strong cinnamon extract. Might have to dissolve some red-hots in some vodka or something.

 

[Newsman]

Anyone know how well red-hots will dissolve in alcohol? Looking on Amazon, I can get 'em in bulk fairly easily.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Could you add a bunch when you're heating the syrup? I would think heat would help dissolve those little buggers.

 

[Newsman]

Could you add a bunch when you're heating the syrup? I would think heat would help dissolve those little buggers.

Hmm... that's an idea... warm up some apple juice and melt the red-hots in it. I may have to buy a couple packages at the grocery store and try to figure out which method works best.

 

[Newsman]

I found these cinnamon candies on Amazon. I asked about them dissolving in alcohol and was told they do.

 

[Newsman]

I decided to try an experiment... Kroger was having a sale on Old Orchard bottled fruit juice.. 1/2 gallon for a dollar (with card.) I bought 10 bottles... 6 or 7 apple and the rest Cranberry / Black Cherry. I plan on using this recipe and fermenting 5 gallons of this. If it doesn't turn out well, I'm not out that much. Still, I thought it would be a fun experiment. Not sure if I'll use the "Cinnamon Caramel" sauce or not.

 

[Newsman]

Interesting experiment so far... it seems to be fermenting, but no krausen at all! I dumped a couple teaspoons of yeast nutrient in it this morning (about 72 hours after I started it) and it really off-gassed, so I'm guessing that it *is* fermenting, but not real actively. That, to me, is surprising since I dumped two packets of yeast in there, and it's at 70* F.

 

[Requiemm]

So I started this as my first brew and hope I didn'r screw it up.

1. Opened 1 bottle of Wellesly Farm apple juice, got a gravity reading of 1.0590. adjusted for temp.
   
2. Poured first 2 bottles of juice into my 6.5 gal fermenter.
   
3. Opened bottles 3 and 4 of apple juice. Poured half of each bottle into fermenter. Added 1 pound dextrose per bottle to the remaining amount of apple juice in bottles 3 and 4. Shook bottles like crazy to mix sugar and apple juice. Then added bottles 3 and 4 into fermenter followed by bottles 5 and 6. New OG of 1.0633
   
4. Added nutrient and then the Nottingham. Followed by last 2 bottles, capped fermenter, added airlock and then placed in my spare bedroom.

This is the point where I realized that the original recipe only called for 7 96 oz bottles not 8. Please tell me the extra bottle won't throw off the recipe....

 

[pwortiz]

You'll be fine. It'll be a little less strong and you'll have more to drink. Bonus! I just started another myself, but only used 6 of the 96oz bottles.

 

[CheerfulHeart]

I found these cinnamon candies on Amazon. I asked about them dissolving in alcohol and was told they do.

Not sure if you have tried it yet but the candies will dissolve nicely in alcohol. I have made "Red Hot" infused vodka several times. Just dump the candies in the alcohol of your choice in a jar and let it sit overnight or for a couple of days. Just shake or stir it once in a while. Also, you might need to filter it through a coffee filter to remove the cornstarch coating that might sink to the bottom.

 

[Newsman]

Not sure if you have tried it yet but the candies will dissolve nicely in alcohol. I have made "Red Hot" infused vodka several times. Just dump the candies in the alcohol of your choice in a jar and let it sit overnight or for a couple of days. Just shake or stir it once in a while. Also, you might need to filter it through a coffee filter to remove the cornstarch coating that might sink to the bottom.

Thanks. I did try some in a glass of cider. Interesting flavor, I'll say that much. Not quite what I was hoping for. May have to go back to cinnamon extract or some cinnamon schnapps or something like that. Don't really want to add more alcohol, but I want more cinnamon flavor.

 

[mcbethenstein]

Newsman ~ If you have a carbonated cap you can try this. Take a small clean soda bottle and stuff it full of fresh (new) cinnamon sticks. Fill with vodka. Put your carbonator cap on and hit with around 30 psi. let sit for 10 min.... I might let it sit a day or two. This will be your super potent cinnamon extract. Denny Conn and Drew Beechum showed this technique at NHC. Instead of waiting weeks or months for a strong extract you can make one in a few minutes. The Pressure drives the alcohol into the cinnamon (or whatever you are trying to extract). He suggested giving it a shake and then depressurizing. then run the vodka out through a fine mesh strainer... instant extract.

from personal experience I always get better extracts from vodka than from rum.

 

[Newsman]

Newsman ~ If you have a carbonated cap you can try this. Take a small clean soda bottle and stuff it full of fresh (new) cinnamon sticks. Fill with vodka. Put your carbonator cap on and hit with around 30 psi. let sit for 10 min.... I might let it sit a day or two. This will be your super potent cinnamon extract. Denny Conn and Drew Beechum showed this technique at NHC. Instead of waiting weeks or months for a strong extract you can make one in a few minutes. The Pressure drives the alcohol into the cinnamon (or whatever you are trying to extract). He suggested giving it a shake and then depressurizing. then run the vodka out through a fine mesh strainer... instant extract.

from personal experience I always get better extracts from vodka than from rum.

Cool. May have to invest in a carbonator cap.

 

[Newsman]

Update: I "dry-hopped" with about 3-4 cinnamon sticks in the keg and set it to carbonating at room temps. One of the kegs in the kegerator kicked a couple days ago so I moved the "dry-hopped" keg into the kegerator. I tried a sample last night. I can actually taste the cinnamon. I think I'm going to transfer to another keg tonight to get it off the cinnamon sticks. Or I may do it sometime this weekend before I leave on vacation on Sunday, to make sure it has plenty of cinnamon flavor. I expect the cinnamon to dissipate somewhat over time.

 

[bizoneill]

I really loved how this recipe turned out in the fall so I kinda took this and ran with a new version.

In November I went to a local orchard and picked up 6 gallons of fresh pressed cider. I left it as it was in the fermenter. I wanted to see what the wild yeast and bacteria would produce and by June I had a nice tart cider. I pulled off the cider and kegged it but left the cake. I then went to Costco and picked up their apple juice and a couple new additions to this version. I went with Costcos cran-raspberry blend. Poured 2 gallons of the cran-raspberry and 3 gallons of the apple mixed with 2lbs of corn sugar on top of the cake. It took a little while to start up but by the next day it had a nice frothy krausen

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

How would you compare naturally fermented cider against the original recipe? That's on my "to-do" list in the fall for sure.

 

[bizoneill]

How would you compare naturally fermented cider against the original recipe? That's on my "to-do" list in the fall for sure.

The original recipe is a great dry cider. The naturally fermented cider is also dry but has a nice tartness too it. I wouldn't call it sour but its almost there... I've wanted to do this for a couple years and finally found a place through a local home brew club. Easiest brew ever LOL!

Every year the club will come back for their yearly fills and they bring the past year or years ciders. All different variations which is really cool! One guy even ferments his with strains of brett! That one really peaked my interest so I think I'll be grabbing a lot more this year and playing around with a few things...

 

[Newsman]

Update to my "dry-hop" cinnamon stick experiment -- it works great. I took a gallon to a local convention (ShudderCon) in Chattanooga where it got rave reviews, even though it was still. Very good cinnamon flavor. I probably ought to take the stuff in the keg and transfer it off the cinnamon sticks, but I'm lazy. I will say I'm getting extra strong cinnamon flavor

 

[Ike]

Recently cut this down to a two gallon batch. Used Notty per the directions. NOT per the directions, I let it sit around for about a month before bottling. Sometimes life gets in the way of what really matters, you know?

When I checked OG: 1.000! 8.9%! I didn't think Notty would go this low. The SG sample tasted dry but AWESOME. I added the two cans of FAJC and appropriate amount syrup as per the recipe, and carefully watched my bottles for the fast bottle-carbing mentioned, fearing bottle bombs, standing by ready to pasteurize those suckers like firefighters sit around waiting for the call.

It's day 8 and everything is still flat as a board. It's an awesome still cider, but the wife wants the bubbles!

I've read that Notty doesn't shut down until 12%... is 9% sitting around for a couple weeks enough to nuke it? Did I just let it sit too long and everything went dormant, meaning a longer time to bottle carb? Or is it dead?

 

[pwortiz]

I have moved on to letting it sit for a full 4 weeks myself now to getting completely dry. I'll be honest, I am considering just doing that consistently in the future without any additional stuff other than 5 oz of dextrose for normal carbing. It's the closest thing to Strongbow I've ever tasted that I've made.

Anyhow, I need to ask about the temp where the bottles are stored. If it's not 68 - 72, I have noticed this doesn't move much.

 

[Ike]

Anyhow, I need to ask about the temp where the bottles are stored. If it's not 68 - 72, I have noticed this doesn't move much.

The pantry is "on the sunny side of the street" here. So, temps should be pretty good, along the lines of 75-78. The AC is set at 75 and interestingly enough when I'm checking the temperatures of room-temp stuff on brew day it's pretty close to that. Add a few degrees for the sun coming through the small pantry window and a lack of an AC duct in there and things are nice and warm.

The last bottle had something that I'd ALMOST call carbonation in it. I'm just going to move them to a plastic bin to protect the pantry from a bottle bomb, grit my teeth, and move to checking a bottle every few days.

 

[pwortiz]

OK, watch 'em close Maybe it just took a little to get the little guys awake again...kinda like us recharging after a good night out?

I've had it sit for a while before and then all the sudden every bottle was carbed almost a bit too much (my new dishwasher didn't pasteurize as well as I expected).

Good luck!

 

[summerofgeorge]

So I made this and once it got down to 1.010, I put it in the fridge. I didn't have a free carboy so I couldn't rack it off the yeast cake. I still added the 5 crushed campden tablets. Is this going to do anything to the yeast or do I really need to rack? If I need to rack now, should I add more campden? I'm planning on kegging this but there's a chance I would bottle some samples from the keg.

 

[TwoJollyRanchers]

So I'm about two weeks into my fermentation. I ended up pitching some lalvin EC-1118 yeast two weeks ago, but wasn't getting much fermentation (or so I thought) since I wasn't getting any action through the airlock (yeah yeah I know its not a good way to check fermentation). Anyways I pitched another EC-1118 yesterday and still wasn't getting any airlock action. So I drew a little bit up and checked it with my homemade hydrometer and its right around 1.000.

Here's the strange part. It doesn't taste alcoholic at all. Instead of the 2lbs of sugar I've added ~3lbs and it really doesn't taste alcoholic to me (in fact it tastes quite good), so I'm wondering if I have something else going on. So I add another pound of sugar to my brew and here's what happened.

https://youtu.be/M7Lm3RoMAtA

So is it possible that I have something else growing or does that have to be yeast?

 

[TexasWine]

So I'm about two weeks into my fermentation. I ended up pitching some lalvin EC-1118 yeast two weeks ago, but wasn't getting much fermentation (or so I thought) since I wasn't getting any action through the airlock (yeah yeah I know its not a good way to check fermentation). Anyways I pitched another EC-1118 yesterday and still wasn't getting any airlock action. So I drew a little bit up and checked it with my homemade hydrometer and its right around 1.000.

Here's the strange part. It doesn't taste alcoholic at all. Instead of the 2lbs of sugar I've added ~3lbs and it really doesn't taste alcoholic to me (in fact it tastes quite good), so I'm wondering if I have something else going on. So I add another pound of sugar to my brew and here's what happened.

https://youtu.be/M7Lm3RoMAtA

So is it possible that I have something else growing or does that have to be yeast?

I think you just need to simmer down a bit

You pitched yeast onto an already fermented batch of cider. Not sure if that will do any harm.

And the bubbles you saw are just co2 coming out of solution because you gave it a nucleation site with the sugar. Fermentation will kick up again now that you've added more sugar.