Cider Graff with a twisty

[TwoRiders]

Clean fermenting yeast EDIT ( WLP500 Trappist ale yeast )
.5 lbs of Crystal 120L
4 Gallons of Wal-Mart apple juice.
1 gallon of water
1 lb Briess Bavarian wheat DME
1 lb Briess Golden Light DME
0.5 oz organic tradition(7.5% AA)

Secondary on top of some freshly skinned/cored/chopped apples(not granny smith, probably red delicous)


Thats what Im going to use for my Graff recipe.

This is my first time deviating from a recipe. So before I jump in and ruin 5 gallons of perfectly good ingredients.


Can someone tell me why this Will or Will Not work.

Will the hops kill the earthy tones from the Trappist yeast?
Will the yeast destroy the apple taste?

Will it all be too tart or sweet or what have you?

Someone with more experience than I chime in and tell me Im crazy or tell me I might be on to something.


By the way. If no conclusive arguments are made against this recipe Im putting it in the pot next weekend.

 

[Brann_mac_Finnchad]

First, I would use granny smiths rather than sweet apples, in order to get some malic acid in there.

I'm assuming you have a plan to do a partial mash?

The yeast should change the apple taste--real cider doesn't taste like fresh apples. Although, theoretically, a slower/cooler fermentation would preserve more of the flavour.

Why would the hops kill the flavour from the yeast..? Also, how are you going to use the hops--a longish boil, at the end of the boil, dry hopping?


I do say to go for it--shouldn't come out nasty. Slainte

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Should be tasty. It's pretty hard to screw up graff to the point it's undrinkable. I've been experimenting with various malts, grains, extracts, fruits, spices, and processes & haven't had a bad batch yet. Are you pitching a weizen yeast?
Regards, GF.

 

[TwoRiders]

Sorry The yeast I will be using is the WLP500 Trappist ale yeast.

I want it to complement the fruit tones already in the cider.

Im hoping to bring that out even further with the Bavarian wheat malt and hopefully balance it out with the light malt.

at least thats what Im hoping for.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

If you can get Idared or McIntosh apples, you might go with those instead of Red Delicious. They'll give you more aromatics than the Red Delicious will. Also the C120 will give you some nice raisiny flavours to go with the apple notes. I've used a whole pound of C120 in a 6 gallon batch with good results, pretty intense though.

Something you might want to do is add enough frozen apple juice concentrate (FAJC) to the must to compensate for the water, thawed but NOT reconstituted; essentially turning that water into juice after the boil. I actually add more than that, sort of "juicing up" my juice.
Regards, GF.

 

[TwoRiders]

ok so after Im done with the boil I just dump in some frozen juice concentrate?

that would cool it down relatively quickly. added bonus.

and a full pound of the C120.

Would you change up the Malt choices at all?

I REALLY like the Trappist yeast and how complex it can be at certain temperatures. I'm really hoping to capitalize on that earthy fruity flavor with ferment temp at a low 60 and I would rather not unbalance it with anything that might interfere.

Thanks

 

[gratus fermentatio]

ok so after Im done with the boil I just dump in some frozen juice concentrate?

that would cool it down relatively quickly. added bonus.

and a full pound of the C120.

Would you change up the Malt choices at all?

I REALLY like the Trappist yeast and how complex it can be at certain temperatures. I'm really hoping to capitalize on that earthy fruity flavor with ferment temp at a low 60 and I would rather not unbalance it with anything that might interfere.

Thanks

That's what I do with the FAJC, works great.

As to the malt, I was just saying that I've used up to a full pound of C120, it's YOUR CHOICE to use that amount or not; but I'd suggest you stick with 1/2 lb of C120 for this batch. Depending on your mash/steep time & boil time, you can get some pretty intense raisin/prune/caramel/burnt sugar flavours from C120. Better to start with a 1/2 lb & see if you like it enough to use more.

I don't have my fermentation log with me at the moment, but if you'd like, I can PM you my graff 120 recipe & another to compare to it; might give you a better idea of what I did. I'm not trying to dissuade you, I'm just saying the intense flavour may not be for everyone, better safe than sorry; besides, it gives you a good reason to brew more.
Regards, GF.

 

[TwoRiders]

Gee a reason to Brew more.

Gosh don't do that.




YES PLEASE send me the recipe.

I'll compare it to what I have and use that as my next brew.

 

[MagooBrew]

ok so after Im done with the boil I just dump in some frozen juice concentrate?

that would cool it down relatively quickly. added bonus.

and a full pound of the C120.

Would you change up the Malt choices at all?

I REALLY like the Trappist yeast and how complex it can be at certain temperatures. I'm really hoping to capitalize on that earthy fruity flavor with ferment temp at a low 60 and I would rather not unbalance it with anything that might interfere.

Thanks

I would be carefull dumping hot wort into the AJ. This will sometimes cause serious hazing. If clarity is not an issue go for it.