Caramel Apple Hard Cider

[j1n]

I made a modified recipe of this and its been a big hit. I was aiming for straight apple flavor.

-4.5 gal apple juice
-3 cans of concentrate
-2lbs table sugar
-dap yeast nutrient
-Ferment with notty yeast @ 60F
SG - 1.070
FG - 1.014 (cold crash @ 1.014 then filter the yeast)
-back sweeten with 3 cans of concentrate and 1 cup brown sugar boiled in 1 cup apple juice
-force carb to 3 volumes of co2.
-bottle with beer gun

 

[solbes]

Update from my Holiday away from our Cider (bottled on Nov 23rd). I initially panicked after realizing we'd be out of town for the 4-5 day carbing window. I had it in my 59 degree basement room (bottom of Montrachet's yeast range). Popped one in the freezer on Saturday (day 6) and very little carbonation. So I cranked them up to 75F or so. Will check again tonight after 2 days at this temp.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

I have done 3 batches of this over the last 2 seasons. Have increased both the backsweetening volume and time before sterilization. Never a hint of natural carb. This year i am dispensing with the sterlilizatiion entirely and cellering like a homebrew ale.

This year I did:
5 gallons heat pasturized fresh juice
English Cider Yeast
2 LB brown sugar fermenter
5 cinnamon sticks

Ferment 4 weeks
backsweeten:
5 cans FAJS
2 cups brown sugar
Quart of fresh cider heated to dissolve remaining ingredients
1.5 OZ cinnamon extract
I'm beginning to think that the bottle bomb scare is just a snipe hunt.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I have done 3 batches of this over the last 2 seasons. Have increased both the backsweetening volume and time before sterilization. Never a hint of natural carb. This year i am dispensing with the sterlilizatiion entirely and cellering like a homebrew ale.

This year I did:
5 gallons heat pasturized fresh juice
English Cider Yeast
2 LB brown sugar fermenter
5 cinnamon sticks

Ferment 4 weeks
backsweeten:
5 cans FAJS
2 cups brown sugar
Quart of fresh cider heated to dissolve remaining ingredients
1.5 OZ cinnamon extract
I'm beginning to think that the bottle bomb scare is just a snipe hunt.

I hope you're not planning on giving them out as gifts.

 

[spclarke]

I think you said you used Notty for your yeast. You should be able to get 12% out of that yeast. How long total between brew day and bottle day? It probably just dropped out of solution if you did any sort of bulk aging (this happens to me with Notty in cider recipes because it flocculates well with time).


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that's what I thought in regards to the 12 percent. Which is why I aimed for 10.5 finishing at 10.7. I pitched the yeast October 30th. I moved it to secondary on November 15 or 16th and bottled on the 24th.

 

[brewski09]

that's what I thought in regards to the 12 percent. Which is why I aimed for 10.5 finishing at 10.7. I pitched the yeast October 30th. I moved it to secondary on November 15 or 16th and bottled on the 24th.

I'd give it some time. The Notty should carb up the rest of the way.


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[slamer]

I am a new brewer and just finished my first batch of Irish Stout which tastes really good. I really like this recipe and plan to cut it down to be in a 5 gallon carboy. My biggest question is, how much yeast do I use? I am planning on using the Nottingham yeast, but that is all the recipe says. It does not say how much to use.

 

[solbes]

One packet of dry yeast should work fine, especially with yeast nutrient. Two packets if you're feeling antsy, though I never have before.

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[AidanSavage]

I am a new brewer and just finished my first batch of Irish Stout which tastes really good. I really like this recipe and plan to cut it down to be in a 5 gallon carboy. My biggest question is, how much yeast do I use? I am planning on using the Nottingham yeast, but that is all the recipe says. It does not say how much to use.

Most of the better, or more well-known, yeasts are sold in packets large enough for a 5 gallon batch if you pitch the entire thing in. Notty's prescribed amount (on the packet) is .5 to 1.0 grams per liter, and if your LHBS sells the same packets mine does, that means you're looking at ~3gal at max dosage (1g/L), or ~6gal at min dosage (.5g/L).

 

[slamer]

I was wondering how big of a deal is it to put the yeast nutrient? I was also wondering if it matters too much between the liquid yeast and the dry yeast? If I do buy dry yeast, would anyone recommend rehydrating the yeast before I pitch it?

 

[AidanSavage]

As for the nutrient, I dont know. Liquid vs dry, I'd venture a guess that it'd be similar differences to baking yeast. Hydrating can be a good idea since you'll be certain it's evenly mixed in the carboy. An additional benefit, and this was how I did it, would be testing the make sure the yeast was actually viable by hydrating the dry yeast in an appropriate amount of cider based on directions. Notty recommends hydrating for 10 minutes before pitching the yeast, and by hydrating it in the cider, it was actively fermenting when I pitched it.


(And I think dry yeast has a longer shelf life once the package is opened if you arent doing "full pack" batches)

 

[j1n]

I was wondering how big of a deal is it to put the yeast nutrient? I was also wondering if it matters too much between the liquid yeast and the dry yeast? If I do buy dry yeast, would anyone recommend rehydrating the yeast before I pitch it?

The yeast nutrient is to prevent sulfur that the yeast puts off if there isn't any nutrient. aka Rhino Farts.

 

[Richelle]

Thank you for the recipie.
I inspired from it to make a nice, light tasting, desert cider

 

[brewski09]

I was wondering how big of a deal is it to put the yeast nutrient? I was also wondering if it matters too much between the liquid yeast and the dry yeast? If I do buy dry yeast, would anyone recommend rehydrating the yeast before I pitch it?

Do the nutrient. There isn't adequate nutrients in apple juice like there is in malt.

The differences are pretty minor between dry and liquid yeasts. Dry stores longer with a higher viability than liquid but liquid has more options. If you got Notty dry and liquid I would expect them to be nearly identical in fermentation profile.

As for rehydrating the dry yeast, there are forums dedicated to only this topic. You can direct pitch the dry yeast if you want to though (some will say doing anything else than this ruins the yeast). You can also make a starter. Good luck deciding which is better.

Cheers


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[Bobbys]

Got a question for the guys that are kegging this great cider. I'm used to bottling this cider, and I follow the original direction pretty much such as racking the cider at 1.08- 1.010 and adding 3 cans faj and the syrop. This being my first time kegging the cider, do I follow the same plan, ie rack at 1.008-1.010 or do I let it finish completely and then stabilize and back sweeten and carb in the keg.?
Thanks

 

[BeastYeast]

I was wondering how big of a deal is it to put the yeast nutrient? I was also wondering if it matters too much between the liquid yeast and the dry yeast? If I do buy dry yeast, would anyone recommend rehydrating the yeast before I pitch it?

I agree, the yeast nutrient makes a huge difference. That baby will be fermenting in no time at all. The smell is still not all that great, but its definitely much better than not using any at all. I use both nutrient and energizer.

Got a question for the guys that are kegging this great cider. I'm used to bottling this cider, and I follow the original direction pretty much such as racking the cider at 1.08- 1.010 and adding 3 cans faj and the syrop. This being my first time kegging the cider, do I follow the same plan, ie rack at 1.008-1.010 or do I let it finish completely and then stabilize and back sweeten and carb in the keg.?
Thanks

I let mine finish completely, leaving for a month or longer in secondary. I recommend starting with two cans of AJC, third is optional to taste. Even three makes it pretty sweet. I use three because.... Well because that's how I like it, and everyone else does too

The last run I also put 1/2 cinnamon stick in secondary for about 4 months just to see how it worked. I skipped the cinnamon in the syrup portion of the recipe and the flavor is excellent without any noticeable bitterness.

For those of you trying this recipe for the first time, just go ahead and start two at once and leave the 2nd in 2ndry until the first one is gone.... It won't take long!

 

[Newsman]

So I just checked the gravity of my latest batch... Don't know the OG, but I can guess it was pretty high. It was 5 gallons (give or take) of apple juice, 4# of corn sugar and yeast (plus about 4 oz of yeast nutrient over the period of about 10 days.)
FG is pretty darn close to 1.000. Any guess as to what the ABV is on this batch???

 

[ajohnson153]

So, instead of cinnamon extract or powder I am simmering a cinnamon stick with my caramel sauce. Hopefully that will be a nice compromise. I am also adding a tsp of vanilla extract, just to add a bit more complexity. I'm not a chef, nor do I play one on tv, so I have no idea how it will turn out. We shall see.

 

[phug]

So I just checked the gravity of my latest batch... Don't know the OG, but I can guess it was pretty high. It was 5 gallons (give or take) of apple juice, 4# of corn sugar and yeast (plus about 4 oz of yeast nutrient over the period of about 10 days.)
FG is pretty darn close to 1.000. Any guess as to what the ABV is on this batch???

Somewhere from 1.077-1.092 I'd guess depending on your juice.

 

[Newsman]

Somewhere from 1.077-1.092 I'd guess depending on your juice.

According to the bottles, it's 26 sugar carbs per 8oz

 

[phug]

then your OG was probably somewhere near 1.080

 

[ajohnson153]

So, just an update on my tweaked batch of this. Carb isn't quite there yet but I have had a couple of bottles so far, and I can honestly say that it is great! I used dark brown sugar instead of light, I'm honestly not sure what difference it makes because I have always used it for this cider. I heated the water for the caramel with a cinnamon stick and let it steep for a few minutes before adding the sugar, the result was (to me) a perfect amount of cinnamon flavor with no cinnasnot in the bottles. I also added just a tsp of vanilla extract, which I think added a bit more depth of flavor to the cider. This stuff is dangerously drinkable.

 

[Newsman]

So, I started another 5 gallons of this last week with 5+ lbs of sugar and a packet of Danstar Nottingham. Then about 24-36 hours later, I added about a cup of slurry I had salvaged from my previous batch, which was made with Champagne yeast. Now I've got a nice layer of krausen on top, which makes it hard to add yeast nutrient.
My OG was approximately 1.080. Hoping to get this down to about 1.00 or below.

 

[Newsman]

This is odd -- I've never seen a thick krausen on cider before. I'm using a mixture of recycled champagne yeast (pitched about 1 pt approx 24 hours or so after pitching the Danstar Nottingham.) I've got a thick layer of krausen approximately 2" tall in my fermenter. I'm assuming I should just ignore it and leave it be for a week or so?

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I've had krausen a few times with nottingham in this recipe, but it has varied as to how much. Not sure what the missing variable is.

 

[Newsman]

I've had krausen a few times with nottingham in this recipe, but it has varied as to how much. Not sure what the missing variable is.

Yeah. This time I'm using a mixture of Notty and champagne yeast slurry. Plus a crap-ton load of sugar (over 5#.) I've never experienced significant krausen with either Notty or Champagne yeast, and I've made several batches with significant amounts of sugar. I think the variable may be the yeast slurry I used instead of fresh yeast. I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

[solbes]

I think your sugar content is one thing contributing to high krausen. 1.080 is up there for cider. Depending on where it ends up you will be between 10.5-11.5 % ABV. With all of that yeast added at once it doesn't surprise me.

I would tend to believe you end up closer to 11.5%, or even slightly higher once you factor in the bottle carb process.

 

[Newsman]

I think your sugar content is one thing contributing to high krausen. 1.080 is up there for cider. Depending on where it ends up you will be between 10.5-11.5 % ABV. With all of that yeast added at once it doesn't surprise me.

I would tend to believe you end up closer to 11.5%, or even slightly higher once you factor in the bottle carb process.

Yeah, I don't bottle. I keg. But you're right there with the ABV. This is for a Sci-Fi convention the end of this month. I know it'll be a bit young and green, but they won't care.

Edit: BTW, I looked at it last night and it looks like the krausen has finally mostly fallen.

 

[bizoneill]

This is odd -- I've never seen a thick krausen on cider before. I'm using a mixture of recycled champagne yeast (pitched about 1 pt approx 24 hours or so after pitching the Danstar Nottingham.) I've got a thick layer of krausen approximately 2" tall in my fermenter. I'm assuming I should just ignore it and leave it be for a week or so?

The one and only time I brewed this with Notty I had about a 1 1/2" - 2" Krausen.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

This is a PSA for everyone that regularly drinks their cider at the 4 week mark: don't.

I just enjoyed (and I really mean enjoyed!) a cider that was started in June of 2015 and gat dam!

This stuff really improves with age. If you have to, make two batches, drink one, and leave the last one to age a while. It will only get better.

 

[phug]

Holy time travel batman!

 

[solbes]

Where we're going...we don't need roads

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I only drink cider from the future when drunk posting on HBT, and you should too.

 

[rocketsan]

"Get on your hover board Marty, and get down to the LHBS for some yeast - we're making cider!"

 

[Newsman]

Is there any way to artificially "age" a kegged cider? I have some that's probably going to taste like rocket fuel when it's drunk in less than 2 weeks. I've back-sweetened it and put in the caramel syrup. I'd still like to have it taste halfway decent.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

yeah. I have a batch I brewed in November. This time I skipped the sanitization step. The pour gives me a nice frothy head that dissapates quickly and (murphy, turn your head) no bottle bombs, no over pressure. I really think that bottling rouses the yeast just a bit to carb but that it is stressed too much from the high alcohol content to do much with the priming solution.

 

[slamer]

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything on here in the way of questions, but I am back and this time with good news. I started this hard cider recipe today and am looking forward to finish it. I it started out good by testing the OG at 1.050 with the first jug of apple juice. I then added the second jug, then the third and fourth (with the dextrose) and the fifth and got a OG reading of 1.062. On the original recipe from UpState Mike it said 1.050 and 1.062 so I figured I am close enough. I have been reading a lot of the posts on this thread and they have been very helpful. I decided to pitch the yeast dry so we will see how that works. I also am using a 5 gallon carboy so I had to cut it down a little. I do have one question about the original recipe if someone could possibly help me out. It says after the 14 days (or desired FG) to make the caramel and then wait 24 hours before transferring it to the bottling bucket. Do I need to do that step or is that just for the optional step? Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Newsman]

So I made 10 gallons of this for a local science fiction convention. I upped the ABV and the cinnamon/caramel syrup, and added some vanilla. It was a big hit! I've offered to make more next year, if they provide the raw materials.

 

[bizoneill]

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything on here in the way of questions, but I am back and this time with good news. I started this hard cider recipe today and am looking forward to finish it. I it started out good by testing the OG at 1.050 with the first jug of apple juice. I then added the second jug, then the third and fourth (with the dextrose) and the fifth and got a OG reading of 1.062. On the original recipe from UpState Mike it said 1.050 and 1.062 so I figured I am close enough. I have been reading a lot of the posts on this thread and they have been very helpful. I decided to pitch the yeast dry so we will see how that works. I also am using a 5 gallon carboy so I had to cut it down a little. I do have one question about the original recipe if someone could possibly help me out. It says after the 14 days (or desired FG) to make the caramel and then wait 24 hours before transferring it to the bottling bucket. Do I need to do that step or is that just for the optional step? Thanks for all the help so far.

I didn't wait. Just let it cool down and make sure it is all mixed in. the caramel is really popping now with about 4 months on it. Can't wait to see what more age will bring!

 

[slamer]

Okay so something that I am freaking out about with my hard cider. Like I posted a few days ago, I pitched my yeast this last Friday which has been a little over 5 days. The yeast has been going crazy and the airlock has been bubbling really good (about every 4 seconds). In my defense with this question, this is only the second time I have done something like this. My concern is that there is white/yellow stuff at the bottom of the carboy that looks like it is alive. It is bubbling up and some of it goes to the top and some is making little tiny bubbles going to the top. I think it is the yeast, but I am just wondering. It is a lot more than I figured would be at the bottom. It basically looks like it covers the bottom. I also wondered if the floaters that this is causing will settle so they will not end up in the bottling process.