Cider Recipe Questions - new to Cidermaking

[paull]

Hi All,

I've been making beer for a little while but am new to cider making. I'm currently fermenting a pumpkin cider (first batch of cider for me), but want to make a cranberry cider for the Holiday season. My tentative recipe (loosely based off of the pumpkin cider) for a 5 gal yield:

• 2 gal cranberry juice
• 2 gal apple juice
• 1 gal water
• Nottingham ale yeast
• 5 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp powdered ginger
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 0-2 oranges
• spruce tips
• vanilla beans
• yeast nutrient?

I plan to dissolve the sugar in the gallon of water then add the nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, oranges, spruce tips and vanilla beans (last 3 in a bag) then boil for 30 min. Remove the bag with solids and then transfer to fermenter (once cooled) with the cranberry juice, apple juice and yeast nutrient (if used) then pitch the yeast. Ferment 2 weeks, rack to secondary and let sit 3 weeks then prime with dextrose and bottle (bottling in 12 oz beer bottles because I have those on hand).

Based on the recipe, do you think I need the yeast nutrient? The pumpkin cider seems to be fermenting fine without it (same yeast).

Anyone have any recommendations on the quantity of spruce tips and vanilla beans I should use? I would like the spruce to be more in the background; wouldn't mind the vanilla being more prominent, but I don't want a "vanilla bomb" or something like that. I may change the quantities of the flavoring ingredients I have listed depending how the pumpkin cider tastes. Still need to figure out where I'm buying the spruce from, but I'll probably end up getting dried spruce needles/tips.

Also, how much priming sugar should I use? Trying to figure that out for the cider I have fermenting too.. In general, I normally use 5 oz dextrose for a 5 gallon batch of beer. Would that give the cider too much carbonation though?

Happy to hear any general feedback as well!

Thanks!!

 

[lumpher]

I'd use 2 vanilla beans, split in half. I would advise using a little yeast nutrient, as the cranberry is a little more acidic than pumpkin. As far as the sugar, how fizzy do you want it? Close to still, slightly, leave a head when you pour it...

 

[paull]

I'd use 2 vanilla beans, split in half. I would advise using a little yeast nutrient, as the cranberry is a little more acidic than pumpkin. As far as the sugar, how fizzy do you want it? Close to still, slightly, leave a head when you pour it...

I'm thinking moderate carbonation/short head forms when poured. I'm bottling in beer bottles, so I don't want it to be too lightly carbonated that people think something went wrong with the bottle conditioning if that makes any sense.

 

[Raptor99]

This sounds like an interesting recipe. I like the combination of ingredients. Here are a few thoughts:

• If the cranberry juice is normal strength, not concentrate, then I would leave out the water. Why dilute the flavors?
• Cranberry is a strong flavor, so if you want to be able to taste the apple juice as well you might consider using 1 gallon cranberry juice and 3 gallons apple juice, or 2 and 3 respectively if you want a total of 5 gallons
• You pretty much always need yeast nutrient for a good result
• It is impossible to tell if you have the right amount of sugar without first mixing everything else up and measuring the SG with a hydrometer. But for you first batch, you could try it with the amount of sugar in the recipe and see how it turns out. It would be impossible to predict your final ABV without a hydrometer reading.
• The easiest way to carbonate it is to let it ferment completely dry, then add priming sugar right before bottling. I usually aim for about 2.5 vols CO2 for my cider, so you could calculate the amount of priming sugar just like you do for beer.