Dave's Carmel Apple Cider

[D_Nyholm]

Great recipe but between this one and another one I made I will never bottle another cider again. Way to may bottle bombs after only a few days in the bottles.

The few bottles that I have been able to drink are delicious though!

Yeah, this recipe doesn't show the full way of stabilizing.
I just kegged mine and kept it cold the whole time after adding the campden tablets. I would then bottle it if i was going anywhere when I needed a 6 pack or so. Check out the bowie bottler If you have a kegging setup.

 

[KCBigDog]

Just ordered everything to make this. Really looking forward to it. I'm going to keg the whole batch, and use a growler if I want to take some to a party or something.

Now I need to burn through some pipeline to have room... Cheers!

 

[gratefuldavis]

Campden tablet question... I purchased 5 gallons of unpasteurized and preservative free cider from the local orchard. Last night i crushed and added 5 campden tablets to it to ward off the wild yeast/bacteria. Tonight i will pitch the yeast and get this recipe going. My question is, is it okay to add more campden tablets again at the end of this process if I follow the recipes suggestions prior to bottling? Not sure if the grand total at the end of 10 having been added to the 5 gallons does anything bad/harmful to it or not.......

 

[RelicBrewingSupply]

Campden tablet question... I purchased 5 gallons of unpasteurized and preservative free cider from the local orchard. Last night i crushed and added 5 campden tablets to it to ward off the wild yeast/bacteria. Tonight i will pitch the yeast and get this recipe going. My question is, is it okay to add more campden tablets again at the end of this process if I follow the recipes suggestions prior to bottling? Not sure if the grand total at the end of 10 having been added to the 5 gallons does anything bad/harmful to it or not.......

Nope, it's quite common when when making wines from fresh fruit. Sulphates won't have any detrimental effects.

 

[Chavi]

So, I made this recipe. My SG was 1.068 and my FG was 1.010. I made the syrup and kegged it but all the syrup sat at the bottom so when I went to pour a glass, I got nothing but syrup. For those of you who have kegged this, how do you add the syrup without it sitting at the bottom?

 

[D_Nyholm]

I just shook the keg a few times over a few days. Though I did get a glassfull of cinnamon on my first pour.

 

[Chavi]

ok haha so should i remake the cinnamon sugar and pour it back in and just shake it up over a couple of days?

 

[D_Nyholm]

ok haha so should i remake the cinnamon sugar and pour it back in and just shake it up over a couple of days?

I would shake it first and try it. There might be enough left to taste good. If you think you need more, than make some. Personally, I don't add the syrup anymore, just Apple juice concentrate and cranberry concentrate.

 

[gratefuldavis]

After fermenting for 9 days so far I took a gravity reading and it started at 1.052 and last night was at 1.032. is it ok that its going this slow? temp is 62 degrees and i used montrachet yeast.

 

[D_Nyholm]

After fermenting for 9 days so far I took a gravity reading and it started at 1.052 and last night was at 1.032. is it ok that its going this slow? temp is 62 degrees and i used montrachet yeast.

Mine took almost 3 weeks to get to FG at 60*, the low temp really slows it down. Just give it another couple of days and check it again to make sure it hasnt stalled, but my understanding is that yeast is pretty hardy and should not have much of a problem.

 

[IdahoBen]

I made this 9 days ago.
OG was 1.071! Praying for an FG of 1.000 or less!
Still very active and actually looks like its turning clear again.... Any thoughts on when to transfer to corny keg?

I just did a batch and I had an OG of 1.070 as well! Hoping it drops over time. Planning to let it sit as long as needed.

 

[VanHeroy]

So I have completed and bottled and opened the first batch and the only problem I've run into is that it actually isn't carbonating sufficiently. I used only the Camden tabs and bottled in champagne bottles so as to avoid bombs. Taste is good but it is almost flat. Thoughts?

 

[D_Nyholm]

Did you add any extra sugar?

 

[VanHeroy]

Nope, in reading the original recipe I thought it said no priming sugar was needed as the simple syrup added at the end more than compensated.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Nope, in reading the original recipe I thought it said no priming sugar was needed as the simple syrup added at the end more than compensated.

Good point! I kegged so didn't think about that. I don't think campden alone will kill all your yeast, but I guess it is possible. Maybe it stunted them enough that bottle carbing will just take a little longer? How long has it been?

 

[VanHeroy]

I think I'm looking at about a month in bottle. Very little carbonation to speak of at present. I also though it might take longer also because I'm using larger bottles, but I should think it would be done by now.

 

[D_Nyholm]

Hmm, only thing I can think is that the yeast is dead? Though I didn't think only campden could do that? You keeping them warm enough?

 

[RelicBrewingSupply]

Yes, that is odd. The syrup alone will provide plenty of sugar for carbonation and the campden will only prevent "wild" yeast from growing. I'm guessing the yeast were mostly dead but since you have them in champagne bottles, give them all a LITTLE shake to maybe rejuvenate the yeast/sugar then let sit for a week.

 

[brazedowl]

I already have a batch of Edwort's Apfelwein going which is almost exactly the same except no caramel syrup, no extra concentrate, and Montrachet yeast. Can I just add the concentrate and caramel syrup at bottling and get the same effect? I really think it'll be better carbed, but not sure how the yeast change up will affect it. Any thoughts?

 

[djs4000]

Just got a 5 gal batch in my carboy. This is my first 5 gal batch of anything so wish me luck!

 

[RelicBrewingSupply]

I already have a batch of Edwort's Apfelwein going which is almost exactly the same except no caramel syrup, no extra concentrate, and Montrachet yeast. Can I just add the concentrate and caramel syrup at bottling and get the same effect? I really think it'll be better carbed, but not sure how the yeast change up will affect it. Any thoughts?

Yes you can the only difference will be the dryness. Using the Montrachet will leave a very dry cider. If you don't add K sorbate before you bottle I suggest you use champagne bottles and can carbonate. Wine yeasts are very hearty and will eat every bit of sugar and make bombs in any normal bottle. The Nottingham can only withstand so much pressure and co2 content before it will die.

 

[brazedowl]

Hmm... it tastes amazing. Just like apple pie... but the brown sugar and cinnamon like congealed into snot-looking goopy threads... did I miss a step to prevent this aesthetic abnormality?

 

[Stauffbier]

Howdy Folks!

I have a bunch of fresh apples that I just picked, and I want to make something similar to this recipe. All I have is Safale S-04... Any thoughts on using that instead of Notti? I also have Red Star, Cote des Blancs and Assmanhausen (crazy name!) Dry wine yeast, but I really don't want a dry, high octane wine. I'd really rather have something a little sweeter with a lower ABV, so I'm hoping the S-04 will work. My LHBS is out of Notti, and these apples need to be processed today before going bad...

Thanks for any advice!
Mike

 

[D_Nyholm]

I think you should be ok, though I am not sure of the differences of Nottingham and S 04. I used s05 once and it tasted very similar to the Nottingham and ended right around 1.010.

 

[Stauffbier]

I think you should be ok, though I am not sure of the differences of Nottingham and S 04. I used s05 once and it tasted very similar to the Nottingham and ended right around 1.010.

I made it yesterday, and I pitched the S-04. I changed it up in comparison to the OP's recipe. I made my own cider with apples from my back yard. On the sugar additon I used 1/2 table sugar and 1/2 brown sugar. Since the cider was homemade I had to boil it, so I tossed some pumpkin spice in the boil. It tasted great, so I'm excited to see how it turns out. When I bottle I only plan on using about half of the concentrate...

 

[wsender]

Has anyone made this successfully without having bottle bombs? If so, what exact procedure did you use?

 

[804Amy]

I did not pasteurize but i did use Campden tablets after the fermenting stopped.

Also last night when i opened 2 bottles both erupted with carbonation. Today i opened 2 and they were carbonated but not more than I would expect if I was trying to bottle carb them.

Did you ever figure out how to make this without it becoming a bottle rocket??

 

[RelicBrewingSupply]

Use WhiteLabs Nottingham. Using Danstar Nottingham causes bombs, dry is notorious for contamination.

 

[wookiemofo]

Could I make this by substituting fresh pressed cider for the cans of concentrate?

 

[mdgapinski]

Don't see why not.