Cranberry Splash Cider

[Ashebrewro]

This is one of my go-to recipes for a clean, tart, and super refreshing cider perfect for summer cookouts and lazy picnics.

It finishes as a crisp, pinkish, crystal clear cider which is super easy-to-drink, fruit forward, and semi-sweet.

The recipe below will yield one gallon, but it can be easily scaled for larger batches.

Cranberry Splash Cider

Blend and Pasteurize

• 4 cups cranberry juice
• 8 ounces light corn syrup
• 6 ounces frozen apple juice concentrate

Add to fermenter with:

• +/- 96 ounces pasturized apple juice
• 1 bag black tea, brewed
• 1/2 teaspoon malic acid
• White Labs Cider Yeast

Notes:

For me this yielded a very drinkable 7% ABV. The corn syrup is not a fully fermentable sugar- if also adds viscosity and residual sweetness.

The cranberry juice I used was a "Cranberry Juice Cocktail from Concentrate", the ingredients were: 'filtered water, cranberry juice concentrate, cane or beet sugar, vitamin C' it was NOT a juice blend

My last batch took about 3 weeks to ferment out at 65 degrees. It was racked into secondary for another 5 weeks and bottled.

A month of bottle conditioning has left this cider a bright, fruity joy to imbibe. I hope you love it as much as I do.

What is your bottling process to get a sparkling cider?

 

[Ashebrewro]

Tasting Day

Brewed 7/1, secondary 7/31, bottled up 9/25. It's been perfectly clear in the secondary and I haven't seen any signs of fermentation in a long time. Two months at 64 degrees, One month at 70 degrees.

Holy crap this is good. I see what you mean about improving viscosity (although it in no way tasted 'thick'). I finally bottled it last night. Half still, half sparkling. I have enough left over I poured into a glass and threw in the fridge. I hadn't even sampled it up to this point.

I never take any measurements or gravity readings on one gallon batches brews due to loss I'm not willing to accept, so I can't give you any technical information, but I figured I could do it well enough to come close for an accurate assessment of the recipe. I followed your directions to a tee, except for using D47 yeast. But it was well worth scaling up and making a 5 gallon batch next time.

It wasn't 'hot' at all, I think the longer time helped with that if it even existed at all (I've also switched to a temp controlled fridge which has made a HUGE difference in my brews). Had a little body to it and tasted like apples, for being dry I was pleasantly surprised at the hint of sweetness while keeping that crisp tart apple characteristic, you could easily pass it off as a commercial cider to me and I wouldn't know. I'll post some pictures in a glass next time I open one up which shouldn't be long at all. Anything thing is without it being a bold flavor I can definitely tell the cran affected the overall flavor in a positive way.

Thumbs up thelema5!

What was your process for bottling the sparkling portion?

 

[audioruss]

Did you take a final gravity reading? How does the addition of corn syrup affect the reading? My fermentation is stuck at 1.020 after 3 weeks with no change in gravity when read at week 2 and 3.

 

[doctor strangebrew]

I was going to make something like this soon (very new to cider... make beer mostly) My last cider with frozen berries was messed up... boiled the berries. I like your technique for quick/mild heating. I would use 100 percent cranberry juice for more flavor ("coctail" is so weak)

 

[Blacksmith1]

Cran goes a long way. Did a cran rassberry that was diluted by half with spring water. Had a whole lotta flavor.