First batch of cider! Suggestions?

[chucksel]

So I am a beginning beer home brewer and have made only 3 batches of homebrew. My wife is a Angry Orchards hard cider fan so I thought "Hey! This stuff is expensive. Maybe I can brew up a batch and save a few bucks". So I land here on this forum and peruse the posts for an hour or two and set off on my first cider. I made a 5 gallon batch that is in week 5 of the fermentation.

Hard cider brewed on 3/29:
Barsotti brand apple cider (gallon) from Whole Foods $7.99 on sale ($1.00 off)
Waited for 70 degrees, oxygenated and then pitched SF04 ale yeast
SG measurement was 1.054 at (66° with 60° calibration hydrometer = 1.054)
Gravity check on 4/25 was 1.000

My wife likes Angry Orchard "Strawman" the best. I was hoping some of you were familiar with the flavor profile and had any suggestions on how to duplicate. I realize the SF04 will produce its own flavor and might not be what I should have used initially.

I plan to rack the cider into a sanitary bottling bucket with seal, taste and then add Xylitol to sweeten as necessary and then bottle from there or add AJFC if there isn't enough apple flavor and then seal and ferment further. If I add AJFC, do I let it ferment out again until .990-1.000 or....?

I planned to add powdered corn sugar at the 2.5 level (or so) as I get to the bottle stage or so to get carbonation back in.

Hints? Suggestions?

 

[Maylar]

Your plan is good. S-04 makes a great cider.

What I do is put enough FAJC in to bring the SG up 5 points (1.005 in your case), as priming sugar. Then add Xylitol to taste. About 3 TBSP per gallon is semi-sweet, which is what my family likes. It will raise SG like sugar, but doesn't ferment.

As for duplicating a commercial cider, it's not really possible. You'd have to control the apples that went into your juice.

 

[chucksel]

How much FAJC will bring it up 5 points for a 5 gallon batch? Should I just sanitize the hydrometer and bob it in the 6.5 gallon bucket until it looks about right and keep adding/stirring until it is right or should I use the thief to grab a sample?

 

[Maylar]

Siphon the cider to a clean bottling tub or carboy to get it off the lees and leave the sediment behind. You can add / stir your sugars after that.

I use a sanitized turkey baster to take samples, but a thief will work too. IIRC about 1/8 cup FAJC per gallon is a good starting point but it seems to vary depending on the brand of concentrate that I use.

 

[bernardsmith]

...
Waited for 70 degrees, oxygenated and then pitched SF04 ale yeast

Hi chucksel,
You say you "waited for 70 degrees"? Does that mean you boiled or heated the juice? Why? You don't brew cider. Apples are like all other fruit. Their sugars are all accessible without the need for heat or enzymes to convert starches into sugars. In fact applying heat will evaporate off volatile flavor and aromatic molecules and may set pectins that will prevent the cider from clearing bright.

Here in NYS , all commercially sold apple juice must be pasteurized (UV is best) but if you live in a state that does not require this and you are concerned that the juice may harbor e-coli or unwanted wild yeasts or bacteria, you simply add K-meta (Campden tablets for example) and the SO2 that they produce will kill any possible contaminants. Again, no need to heat the juice. And 24 hours after dropping in one Campden tab (or equivalent) per gallon of must (unfermented fruit juice) you can pitch the yeast - as the SO2 will have evaporated off.

 

[chucksel]

Sorry. I meant I waited for the refrigerated juice to come UP to 70 degrees before pitching the yeast. It was pasteurized but all-natural without any preservatives.