Faux ice cider

[RPh_Guy]

Final thoughts 2-28-20

I like how this faux ice cider turned out. Falls into the desert cider (wine) category.

Added a couple of thoughts and observations to the process for consideration.

D47 at 62 deg f. Took nearly 8 weeks to get to 1.034 and was clearly still actively fermenting. Required cold crash to stop the little buggers. Not too surprising and given enough time they would have kept working well beyond their posted tolerance.

Added 2 oz med toast oak chips, 1.5 tsp citric acid and 1.5 oz vanilla to hit the flavor profile i prefer. Clarified using KC Super Kleer and bottled then immediately pasturized "still". Will require a little age, drinkable now but should be great in 6 months.

For furure batches :
- Target the desired FG and cold crash vs. waiting for the yeast to hit their tolerance.
- I will add a small amount of additional nutrient (Fermaid-O) to help it along at yeast pitch.
- Will ferment cooler. Thinking closer to 50 and certainly no more than 55 Deg F. Will take a lot longer but should be much cleaner and preserve more of the apple flavor.

This faux ice cider is a "keeper" and I will definately do it again!

Thanks so much for the inspiration!

You might want to consider using RHST yeast.

https://scottlab.com/fermentation-cellar/yeast/rhst-500g-015130
https://morewinemaking.com/products/rhst-dry-wine-yeast.html

You can see it's advertised for both ice wine and cider, and it doesn't disappoint. It'll be way faster than D47 (especially at those low temps) and more clean.

 

[Rockybrew]

I add 2t acid blend to All my ciders...including my faux ice.

I've aged this bad boy in a charred oak barrel (2L) for 40 days -- tasted amazing [emoji16] -- like a low ABV bourbon.

I've got a 5gal batch I started on 12/31 -- still chugging along & will check at the 6week mark - which is typically when mine have finished fermenting...ie) D47 tends to poop out at 14.1ish% in this cider for me.

Mine have never been Hot -- and I can enjoy em right after cold crashing. My walkout basement tends to experience wide temp swings in the winter due to a gas fireplace & me opening a window to air out from pets -- looking at my log this year it's been anywhere from 54F up to 70F. [emoji111]

Cheers [emoji111]

What is your "acid blend"? Do you just use citric acid, or a combination of acids? That sounds like a great idea, but I've never added any acid to my ciders.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I'll jump in here...

Normally "acid blend" is equal parts malic, citric, and tartaric acids.
Malic acid is the natural acid in apples and various other fruits like berries, citric acid is in citrus fruits, and tartaric acid is in grapes. They all taste different. Personally I malic acid for adjusting clean or stabilized ciders and tartaric for adjusting ciders with bacteria (because bacteria eat both malic and citric acids).

 

[CKuhns]

I use either the acid "blend" or just straight up citric. Depending on the flavor profile im looking for. In this case i went with citric as the apple juice tasted like it brought some malic of its own.

 

[Rockybrew]

I'll jump in here...

Normally "acid blend" is equal parts malic, citric, and tartaric acids.
Malic acid is the natural acid in apples and various other fruits like berries, citric acid is in citrus fruits, and tartaric acid is in grapes. They all taste different. Personally I malic acid for adjusting clean or stabilized ciders and tartaric for adjusting ciders with bacteria (because bacteria eat both malic and citric acids).

@RPh_Guy - Thank you very much! That explanation is perfect. I always thought grapes had Tanic acids which is what produced the Tanins in drier wines. Looks like I need to start experimenting with these different acids. Thanks!

 

[CircleC-Brewer]

Just sample my faux cider I started last December. Super smooth and very tasty. Will be bottling it up soon. Going to start another batch soon.

 

[JordanfromOK]

So just checking an idea here.

@bmd2k1

As a D47 guy & OP of this, having your last batch at 62°F, and seeing the yeasties still hard at it, even 8wks later, do you think it'd be a safe to bottle @ 8-9wks and just keep an eye on a pop bottle tester? Or think that D47 will just keep chugging too much longer. End up having to pasteurize anyway.

 

[bmd2k1]

So just checking an idea here.

@bmd2k1

As a D47 guy & OP of this, having your last batch at 62°F, and seeing the yeasties still hard at it, even 8wks later, do you think it'd be a safe to bottle @ 8-9wks and just keep an eye on a pop bottle tester? Or think that D47 will just keep chugging too much longer. End up having to pasteurize anyway.

What's your current ABV? I've had D47 take one of my ice ciders as high as 14.8%.

I do routinely use D47 for "regular" ciders - cold crash & rack to plastic 1gal bottles I then keep refrigerated -- they tend to bottle carb just a slight bit but nothing major for me....again Your Results May Vary!

 

[JordanfromOK]

What's your current ABV? I've had D47 take one of my ice ciders as high as 14.8%.

I do routinely use D47 for "regular" ciders - cold crash & rack to plastic 1gal bottles I then keep refrigerated -- they tend to bottle carb just a slight bit but nothing major for me....again Your Results May Vary!

I'm still in a hypothetical stage. I've slowly (wife needed freezer space) been able to gathered up 4 cans of FAJC, 1 can of FPJC (Pineapple), & 4 or 5 cans of FGJC and just wondered if the OP recipe as is using D47 would leave room for bottle carbing. Haven't done the math or really even looked at how much sugar is even in them.

 

[bmd2k1]

I'm still in a hypothetical stage. I've slowly (wife needed freezer space) been able to gathered up 4 cans of FAJC, 1 can of FPJC (Pineapple), & 4 or 5 cans of FGJC and just wondered if the OP recipe as is using D47 would leave room for bottle carbing. Haven't done the math or really even looked at how much sugar is even in them.

Using D47 (which has a stated ABV tolerance of 14%) would leave wiggle "room" for bottle carbing -- since the OG is about 1.13 -- which if taken to FG of 1 would yield about 18%.

I always drink my faux ice non-carbed.

Cheers and Good Luck...

 

[CKuhns]

@JordanfromOK I have made two batches of this (Everyone who has tried it loves it!) and in both cases D47 was still active but had slowed considerably at about 1.025. Figured I did not want to drive it any further so...
- Cold crashed and clarified using KC Super Kleer
- Bottled it in beer bottles with crown caps
(Was very concerned about any suspended D47 continuing to chug through the sugars over time.)
- Immediately after bottling Pasteurized (Still.) But would think you could bottle carb and pasteurize.

A little more work / effort but well worth the peace of mind.

I too drink this non-carbonated.

 

[JordanfromOK]

@JordanfromOK I have made two batches of this (Everyone who has tried it loves it!) and in both cases D47 was still active but had slowed considerably at about 1.025. Figured I did not want to drive it any further so...
- Cold crashed and clarified using KC Super Kleer
- Bottled it in beer bottles with crown caps
(Was very concerned about any suspended D47 continuing to chug through the sugars over time.)
- Immediately after bottling Pasteurized (Still.) But would think you could bottle carb and pasteurize.

A little more work / effort but well worth the peace of mind.

I too drink this non-carbonated.

I'm still a noob and will heed the advice and abstain from carbing. Its my white wale kinda. Haha.
Tweaked with a recipe converter yesterday to get the correct ratios in a smaller batch and can make a 1.7gal batch in a 2gal bucket. Gonna have to go with the concentrates I have on hand, but it sounds like it'll be worth it.
Thanks guys,
-JfromOk