Everyday Simplest Dry Cider

[phug]

@phug or anyone else that may be able to help. I made a large 5 gallon batch of this recipe and wanted to keg some of it to try out the kegging process and also to make it easier rather than bottling.

So I ordered a little 2.5 gallon corny keg since I already have a kegging system. Anyway, tonight I finally decided to get to kegging and I read on here that if I was kegging to not add AJC unless I wanted to carb naturally. So I added the proper amount of AJC to carb naturally but it still is not sweet at all. So then I added xylitol to sweeten it up a bit.

I was curious why I couldn't just add more then the recommended amount of AJC to get it to my recommend sweetness level and then just put it in the kegerator (skipping the xylitol addition). Wouldn't putting it in the kegerator stop the yeast or at least slow down the yeast from eating the sugar from the AJC. Then I could hook my co2 up to it and just keep it connected for a few days to finish carb'g the keg?

Would this work or am I way off track?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide....

Go for it. It’ll stay a little bit sweet while the yeast eat up the sugars. It will go slower if you’re keeping it cold. It may even save you some(not much) co2 from your tank while you dispense.

It MAY go cloudy on you again if the yeast kick up too much.

 

[Techy]

Go for it. It’ll stay a little bit sweet while the yeast eat up the sugars. It will go slower if you’re keeping it cold. It may even save you some(not much) co2 from your tank while you dispense.

It MAY go cloudy on you again if the yeast kick up too much.

@phug Thanks a lot for the response...appreciate it! I've already keg'd it last night and it is just sitting there so your saying it "should" be ok to open the keg back up and add in some more AJC to get it to the sweetness that I want and then pop it right in the kegerator?

I just don't want the keg to blow up or anything like it would do if bottling because of adding so much AJC and it being over carb'd....?

I am thinking that by keeping it cold and drinking it within a week or so maybe it won't build up that much pressure will it will create a keg bomb or something....lol I don't know...I am just a beginner at this stuff

Thoughts?

 

[phug]

@phug Thanks a lot for the response...appreciate it! I've already keg'd it last night and it is just sitting there so your saying it "should" be ok to open the keg back up and add in some more AJC to get it to the sweetness that I want and then pop it right in the kegerator?

I just don't want the keg to blow up or anything like it would do if bottling because of adding so much AJC and it being over carb'd....?

I am thinking that by keeping it cold and drinking it within a week or so maybe it won't build up that much pressure will it will create a keg bomb or something....lol I don't know...I am just a beginner at this stuff

Thoughts?

Kegs can handle much higher pressure than bottles. 60 psi easy. Just drink some everyday. You’ll see the serving pressure go way up and your cider hit champagne levels of carb long before you risk anything damage from high pressure. Worst case scenario bleed off some pressure using the pressure relief valve. Which would also prevent your keg from exploding

 

[Meadmom]

Some people will say thet EC1118 is a beast of a yeast that will strip all the flavour out of any cider.

I've come back to this cider 4 times now, and there's always a good segment of my friends and neighbors who like it. The upside is that it is simple, cheap, and pretty darn hard to mess up.

For a 5 gallon batch, purchase 19 litres / 5 gallons of storebrand/whatever is cheapest filtered, pasteurized apple juice with vit c added. Avoid the low acid juices.

Pour vigorously into your primary fermenter, and pitch one sachet of Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. Allow to ferment for 4 weeks or until clear. For priming use 55ml per 3.75litres/gallon of storebrand frozen Apple Juice Concentrate, thawed and added to the bottling bucket before racking your cider to the bottling bucket. I cheat and use the entire can for 5 gallon batches, I believe the can of concentrate is 283 ml.

Bottle, allow to condition for 3-4 weeks. Chill and Enjoy.

This is the simplest cider in my recipe book, and it always has fans. Approx 6% ABV but will vary by your juice. Don't worry about the OG, don't bother to boost it, just start with your apple juice and let it ride.

Trying this now... Only one gallon with 1/5 packet of Red Star Premier Blanc. Started slow, but bubbling along fine after about 30 hours... Will see

 

[Scientific hippie]

As I stated in another forum, I recently tasted the cider I made with this recipe using Montrachet yeast and it was wonderful! It just took some time to develop. I used a different, but similar, recipe to make sweet cider from Vermont juice with Wyeast Sweet Cider and Mead yeast. It came out delicious, too.

 

[Meadmom]

Trying this now... Only one gallon with 1/5 packet of Red Star Premier Blanc. Started slow, but bubbling along fine after about 30 hours... Will see

So... 1 month in and no longer fermenting and still in primary, but it has a strange milky look to it. Not at all attractive. Nothing indicating infection, but looks like i mixed apple cider with milk. Is this normal? Will it clear after racking to secondary?

 

[z-bob]

So... 1 month in and no longer fermenting and still in primary, but it has a strange milky look to it. Not at all attractive. Nothing indicating infection, but looks like i mixed apple cider with milk. Is this normal? Will it clear after racking to secondary?

I've not used Premier Blanc, but that's what my ciders often look like at 2 or 3 weeks -- especially if I used ale yeast plus yeast nutrients. Then they start to clear.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Nothing indicating infection, but looks like i mixed apple cider with milk. Is this normal? Will it clear after racking to secondary?

It's yeast in suspension. When you rack into secondary, some of the CO2 will escape and it will start falling to the bottom of your carboy. It is normal and will clear. Degasing sped up the process for me.

 

[Localhopper]

Hey, so it’s been over 4ish years since this recipe came out and seems like a total hit. Any tips/recommendations to someone who wants to brew this, or an updated version of this recipe if there has been any tweaking? If not then stoked to follow the op.

 

[Scientific hippie]

If it doesn't taste good, just wait. My stuff was supposedly ready on Thanksgiving, but didn't taste good till April.

 

[Immocles]

I'm tired of staring at the couple of empty 1 gallon jugs in my basement, so I think I'm going to give something like this a try. I have zero experience in cider (and very little in beer, to be exact), I'm planning on mixing in a bit of leftover honey and yeast from a recent brew. Is 2/3rd of a packet of s04 way overkill for this? I'm assuming the OG after mixing the honey into the juice will be ~1.065.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Up to a whole packet is fine. The more you pitch the faster your colony gets up to speed.

 

[JAReeves]

I'm planning on mixing in a bit of leftover honey and yeast from a recent brew. Is 2/3rd of a packet of s04 way overkill for this? I'm assuming the OG after mixing the honey into the juice will be ~1.065.

I would only use 1/5 of a packet of yeast per gallon. I have had good success at that ratio. The diluted honey adds extra food, so you probably don’t need yeast nutrient.

My first cider was unfiltered unpasteurized juice from Sprouts. I poured it onto the yeast cake from a pale ale. It was good almost immediately, though it took about 3 months of bottle conditioning before it was liquid gold.

My 2nd was wild fermented-put the juice in the carboy all by itself and airlocked it for two months then bottled. It’s even better than the 1st after 6 months of age.

Also, if you know your quantities and don’t have a hydrometer to check OG sugar levels, you could use brewers friend or another calculator to estimate your OG.

 

[Immocles]

I planned on taking an actual hydrometer reading for my OG, I was just purely estimating in my post. Maybe I'll try just a third of the packet and do another batch when I rack this one to secondary. I'm not a huge fan of the s04 yeast in beer, so I wanna use it up somewhere instead of just throwing it out. Basically curious if its detrimental to use the remaining 2/3 packet?

I poured it onto the yeast cake from a pale ale. It was good almost immediately, though it took about 3 months of bottle conditioning before it was liquid gold.

I read a post about doing that a few days ago. I'm totally giving that a shot on my next small lightly hopped batch!

 

[Immocles]

Well I gave it a try and it’s bubbling away. I won’t have an open secondary, but I’m already brainstorming making a bigger batch and splitting it up to rack onto different flavors. Ugh, this hobby just keeps going deeper...

 

[Localhopper]

Mines been fermenting for about a month now, just checked it yesterday and it’s sitting at 1.006. Funny thing it’s still bubbling away, slowly but still bubbling away.
Waiting for it to get around .99 to bottle

 

[cmac62]

I'll be listening in.

 

[Cidre Breton]

I have been through all the #287 comments of this thread. So much great information, thank you all, phug and z-bob in particular.
Earlier in the thread, people where pouring AJ over their beer cake, right after they transferred their beer. Is it a common procedure? and can it be done over cider cake as well? and how many times?

 

[Immocles]

+1 on the info in this thread. I've read it start to finish a couple times now as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/reusing-cider-yeast.435286/

It sounds like folks have had some success with reusing it. I believe I recall reading somewhere that folks only reused for a few generations. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I have a gallon of a honey blonde ale that I will be bottling in a week or so. I'm definitely reusing the cake for cider immediately after bottle.

 

[Cidre Breton]

+1 on the info in this thread. I've read it start to finish a couple times now as well.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/reusing-cider-yeast.435286/

It sounds like folks have had some success with reusing it. I believe I recall reading somewhere that folks only reused for a few generations. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I have a gallon of a honey blonde ale that I will be bottling in a week or so. I'm definitely reusing the cake for cider immediately after bottle.

Fantastic Immocles. That will be worth trying.

 

[cortex]

Currently have a similar 23l batch going at the minute but I'm trying Nottingham for the first time, what's the flavour of EC1118 like compared?

 

[JAReeves]

I have been through all the #287 comments of this thread. So much great information, thank you all, phug and z-bob in particular.
Earlier in the thread, people where pouring AJ over their beer cake, right after they transferred their beer. Is it a common procedure? and can it be done over cider cake as well? and how many times?

I loved using a pale ale yeast cake for cider, I used S-05. I didn't keep the cake after the cider, though I could have, it was really healthy. I have since moved to using a wild yeast culture for my ciders and that works kind of like a solera-I just keep dumping fresh juice on top when I empty it, same as my sours.

 

[klr]

I'm drinking this right now. I followed the directions exactly. It's good. Crystal clear, perfect carbonation, and a lot of apple taste. If it's too tart just add some simple syrup in your glass when when you drink it.
Thanks, phug!

 

[treacheroustexan]

Has anyone made this with the Giant Eagle Granny Smith apple juice? I pitched yeast yesterday. Got 5 gallons of it for like $12 so what could go wrong?

 

[Ty520]

how long does this typically take from pitch to drinking?

I think the lower ABV is more critical to retaining flavor than the yeast strain.

I have yet to try bottle carbing - how long can they sit unopened and remain carbonated?

 

[Raptor99]

I have yet to try bottle carbing - how long can they sit unopened and remain carbonated?

So far the longest I have kept bottle carbonated cider is 2 years. The carbonation was still good after 2 years. If it is in a well-sealed bottle with a crown cap I don't see why it wouldn't keep the carbonation indefinitely.

 

[GilRIEL]

I have kept bottle carbonated cider is 2 years but not more. I fell flavor less good after. It becomes more bitter and less sweet, I think.

 

[evolutionary]

Has anyone made this with the Giant Eagle Granny Smith apple juice? I pitched yeast yesterday. Got 5 gallons of it for like $12 so what could go wrong?

Yes, two 5 gallon batches so far and going to throw another 5 in now. Used berries in the last one and both batches were emptied quick. Used us-05 on one and a cider yeast in the other; both were pretty tasty.

 

[boatbuilder]

I made this for the first time this weekend. Did one 1 gallon batch with no sugar and another 1 gallon batch with some brown sugar added. Curious to see the difference in a month.

 

[devil]

For priming use 55ml per 3.75litres/gallon of storebrand frozen Apple Juice Concentrate, where to buy this i can't find it