Fail safe recipe?

[Ludesbrews]

All,

Admittedly I am more often in the beer section of the forum. That said, I have (year after year) attempted to make and sweeten the perfect batch of cider.

Year after year I get the gallon from Whole Foods, doctor it up, pitch the yeast, and I’m left with semi-drinkable cider.


Anyone have a fail safe???

Sorry if it’s a ridiculous question.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Making great cider is about using quality apple juice and enabling a healthy fermentation.
Making adjustments to acidity, and tannin level can help make up for a juice blend that is less than ideal (e.g. what most of us have available).
Being able to prevent both oxidation and contamination are basic prerequisites.

If you can describe in detail what your current process is, and what you don't like about the results, we can help set you on the right path.


Anyway ...
Here's a 1 gal recipe for a sweet, tart, faux ice cider that I think is hard to screw up. Wait until winter if you don't have good temperature control.
7x 12oz cans of frozen apple juice concentrate (Great Value brand or Old Orchard)
45oz (0.35 gal) Distilled water
8 grams R-HST wine yeast

Put the thawed juice (50-60°F) in the fermenter.
Shake vigorously for 3-5 minutes to aerate. (You have to earn it!)
Rehydrate the yeast with some of the water and then add to fermenter with the rest of the water (should be 1 gallon total).
Airlock and let ferment at 50°F.
Slowly raise to 70°F after 6-8 weeks.
Allow to ferment & clear 2-5 months total.
At bottling, crush and add 1/2 campden tablet. (No carbonation obviously)

OG approx 1.130
FG approx 1.050
ABV approx 12%

Cheers

 

[Damstr8]

My base cider is what I use for all my ciders. Once it is fermented out I back sweeten and add flavor to what I am looking for. So here is my base recipe.

5 gallons Apple Juice (Store Bought Kroger mostly)
1 TSP wine Tannin
5 TSP Yeast Nutrient
1 PKT Yeast (Nottingham or any Ale Yeast)
Malic Acid till 3.5 PH is read or 1.5 TSP (Cranberry I just use 1.5 TSP Acid Blend)
2.5 TSP Pectin Enzyme

1. AJ in Fermenter
2. Adjust PH to 3.5 (You will need to add Malic Acid & Mix)
3. Add Wine Tannin
4. Mix, but mix to also aerate.
5. Add Pectin Enzyme, Yeast, & Nutrient. (I start with a small mixture of AJ, PE, Y, and YN in a small jelly mason jar for a starter.)
6. Mix, but mix to also aerate.
7. Seal with air lock in a place of your liking. I keep my A/C at 68*.
8. First 3 days I mix and aerate once everyday.
9. Leave is alone to work its magic for 7 days or more. No bubbles for 2 days to mean done.
10. Rack to Keg, add what ya want for flavor. (6 AJ concentrate, 1 oz Glycerin works for my regular cider)
11. Carb in keg, I roll the keg to quick carb. Then into the fridge or kegerator.

Yes I drink it once its chilled. And once one fermenter is empty, clean, sanitize, and start next batch, cause the last 5 gallons will be drank in 12 to 14 days.

 

[smarch0]

I found the flavor I was looking for from store bought juice by blending Nottingham and Brett B.

Throw them both in with some nutrient and let it ride for a month. Give it a taste to if it needs any adjustment to your taste preference. Just get separate plastic (racking cane) to use with the Brett.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Brett B.

Which strain?

 

[bracconiere]

Allow to ferment & clear 2-5 months total.

lol, 5 months for a gallon? i'd die of starvation!

 

[RPh_Guy]

lol, 5 months for a gallon? i'd die of starvation!

If you only had one fermenter, yeah you'd probably get DTs.

 

[bracconiere]

If you only had one fermenter, yeah you'd probably get DTs.

hell, i run two 13 gal fermenters, DTs are a fact of life....

 

[applescrap]

All,

Admittedly I am more often in the beer section of the forum. That said, I have (year after year) attempted to make and sweeten the perfect batch of cider.

Year after year I get the gallon from Whole Foods, doctor it up, pitch the yeast, and I’m left with semi-drinkable cider.


Anyone have a fail safe???

Sorry if it’s a ridiculous question.

Yes, I have two, daddys juice and daddys orchard and they are lock stock and two smoking barrels safe. They are great recipes and are my own. And I never ever make or reccomend using anything other than quality recipes, but these two are nice. One is backsweetned with black cherry juice, the othe pomegranate. Super good as confirmed by me and countless others. My wife even drinks it.

 

[applescrap]

Making great cider is about using quality apple juice and enabling a healthy fermentation.
Making adjustments to acidity, and tannin level can help make up for a juice blend that is less than ideal (e.g. what most of us have available).
Being able to prevent both oxidation and contamination are basic prerequisites.

If you can describe in detail what your current process is, and what you don't like about the results, we can help set you on the right path.


Anyway ...
Here's a 1 gal recipe for a sweet, tart, faux ice cider that I think is hard to screw up. Wait until winter if you don't have good temperature control.
7x 12oz cans of frozen apple juice concentrate (Great Value brand or Old Orchard)
45oz (0.35 gal) Distilled water
8 grams R-HST wine yeast

Put the thawed juice (50-60°F) in the fermenter.
Shake vigorously for 3-5 minutes to aerate. (You have to earn it!)
Rehydrate the yeast with some of the water and then add to fermenter with the rest of the water (should be 1 gallon total).
Airlock and let ferment at 50°F.
Slowly raise to 70°F after 6-8 weeks.
Allow to ferment & clear 2-5 months total.
At bottling, crush and add 1/2 campden tablet. (No carbonation obviously)

OG approx 1.130
FG approx 1.050
ABV approx 12%

Cheers

There has been talk that fermentation scrubs the nuances of quality juice, idk if it's true or not but has me thinking.

 

[RPh_Guy]

There has been talk that fermentation scrubs the nuances of quality juice, idk if it's true or not but has me thinking.

Not in my experience.
I taste a huge difference among juices.

 

[applescrap]

Hey, did I mention daddys juice.

 

[smarch0]

Which strain?

My bad, that would be:
Wyeast 5112
BRETTANOMYCES BRUXELLENSIS