Easy Cider, Like the store bought Product

[beerrab]

Easy Hard cider made the way the big guys do it a save money

The easy way to make hard cider is from frozen juice concentrate. The big guys use juice from concentrate; just read the ingredients label on the store bought ciders. This Allows for year around production at a very reasonable price.
How much concentrate is needed for five gallons depends on the alcohol content desired. I found 16 can of apple juice concentrate gave me the OG of 1.058 or potential alcohol of 7.88 ABV and my total cost to make 5 gallons of store bought cider was $30.70. I ended up with 2.5 cases bottled and at the store cost of 9.00 a six pack or $90.00 total that is quite savings just under $60.00.
The sugar in the apple juice concentrate ferments very dry and potential alcohol is closely accurate to what is produced.
To get body and sweetness in the cider one must add complex sugar the yeast cannot eat.
I have had good success using apple juice concentrate for cider in gallon batches and five gallon batches.

Here is a link to my five gallon video http://youtu.be/SkLcCJ-hew4


Here is a link to my 1 gallon video http://youtu.be/gLBHNAPbkJ4

 

[beerrab]

Here a a New video showing start to finish taste test.
https://youtu.be/xEmb3_k1m7s

 

[2grit]

Good videos

 

[Maylar]

Fresh pressed cider from my local orchard is $4 a gallon. And I can choose the kind of apples by the time of year they're being pressed. I'm waiting for the Granny Smith's in November for my next cider.

What kind of apples are in your store bought concentrate from China?

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Fresh pressed cider from my local orchard is $4 a gallon. And I can choose the kind of apples by the time of year they're being pressed. I'm waiting for the Granny Smith's in November for my next cider.

What kind of apples are in your store bought concentrate from China?

Leave the guy alone. Unlike you, at least he's being helpful.


Not everyone is a fancy lad and has an apple orchard nearby. He's offering a cheap alternative for people who'd like to make a cider, but aren't as blessed as you. The orchard 45 minutes away from me sells cider at $9 a gallon. They refuse to sell it unpasteurized too, and you have to argue for them not to put any preservatives in it as well. Plus, you have to be there on the day they're pressing, and if the guy is moody that day... No special requests. More of a hassle than it's worth.



Also, I've been to China. Their apples are delicious!

 

[z-bob]

[Watching your video right now] I've been experimenting with using big jugs of apple juice (Kirkland, Mott's, etc) chapatalized with just a little sugar, and fermented with different yeasts. Just watch out to make sure the only preservative is Vitamin C or sodium ascorbate.

The batch I made with EC-1118 was pretty harsh, but a squirt of simple sugar in the glass before I poured helped tremendously. So far my best has been with 71B yeast. After aging 2 months, the 71B cider is totally dry but it tastes good that way. I have a carboy of S04 that's about ready to bottle. I didn't see where you said what yeast you're using...

The more sugar you add, the longer it has to age before it's drinkable. There's nothing wrong with 1.028, especially if you're impatient.

 

[thaymond]

I use Indian Summer juice, and I like my results using wlp002. It takes about a month to ferment completely, and I'll age it for a month or two, and it comes out great. I skip the sugar additions unless I'm shooting for Apfelwein. I keg, so I'll K sorbate and K sulfite mine and backsweeten. I try to stick it to 5%.

 

[motobrewer]

Fresh pressed cider from my local orchard is $4 a gallon. And I can choose the kind of apples by the time of year they're being pressed. I'm waiting for the Granny Smith's in November for my next cider.

What kind of apples are in your store bought concentrate from China?

I don't break this out often but:

Classic EAC.

 

[ejcrist]

Thanks for the info beerab. Living in AZ I'm interested in any and all sources for making cider and frozen is something I didn't consider. I'm working on my second batch now made with Musselman's unfiltered from Wally Mart which works for me for now. Since I'm new at this game I don't know if I'll be able to get cider all year or if it's a seasonal thing. I used Trader Joe's cider for my first batch but I'm pretty sure they only have it in the fall; don't know about the Musselman's though. So having another source like frozen concentrate is a big help to me - much appreciate you sharing that info and posting the videos.

 

[Paps]

don't know about the Musselman's .

I've used their `cider` bought at wal-mart last fall.
They only carry it in the fall and imho it's a crappy product.
Wal-mart also carries "great value" namebrand which is better and is available year round. Sometimes they will carry "Motts" or "Tree-Top" as well.

 

[Maylar]

Leave the guy alone. Unlike you, at least he's being helpful.


Not everyone is a fancy lad and has an apple orchard nearby. He's offering a cheap alternative for people who'd like to make a cider, but aren't as blessed as you. The orchard 45 minutes away from me sells cider at $9 a gallon. They refuse to sell it unpasteurized too, and you have to argue for them not to put any preservatives in it as well. Plus, you have to be there on the day they're pressing, and if the guy is moody that day... No special requests. More of a hassle than it's worth.



Also, I've been to China. Their apples are delicious!

Point taken. I sometimes forget that apples don't grow in all parts of the world. And you're right, I'm blessed in that regard.

I too have used bottled juice from WalMart, and while the results were acceptable it wasn't what I'm used to. I wish that everyone had apple trees in their back yard, but alas that ain't so.

 

[ejcrist]

I've used their `cider` bought at wal-mart last fall.
They only carry it in the fall and imho it's a crappy product.
Wal-mart also carries "great value" namebrand which is better and is available year round. Sometimes they will carry "Motts" or "Tree-Top" as well.

Thanks for the tip. I was speculating the unfiltered stuff would be a little better but I'll try a batch of the clear stuff for comparison. The nice thing about making cider from juice is it's relatively cheap to make compared to other alcoholic drinks like mead and wine.

 

[BlackInk]

The best deal I've ever found was Costco. Their brand, Kirkland?, was 2 gallons for 8.99. 100% organic juice. Hard cider turned out great.