Gluten free hopped cider

[drhall23]

I have been looking for gluten free homebrew recipes to make for my girlfriend. But after this weekend at some upper NY state wineries, we sampled 1911 Founders Reserve Hopped hard cider. We both loved it. And it was gluten free, so extra bonus for her!
So she asked if I could make some at home.... And who am I to disappoint [emoji3].

Sooo..... Does anyone have a recipe that can satisfy this request?
[emoji482][emoji519]View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1439831331.381931.jpg

 

[javalin]

I'll use either regular apple juice, and boil one litre with my hops, or use a concentrate kit and boil the hops in water. Either way works well.

I use hop pellets for my recipes, and I use about 10 pellets per gallon for bittering, and five pellets for aroma normally. If I want a batch with more hop character I'll either go 1.5x or 2x for both. I couldn't' tell you weights for it though. I have used Centennial, Wilamette, and Galaxy hops with good success.

So far as a recipe goes
1L apple juice
1 3/4 - 2 cups brown sugar
bring to a boil
add 10 pellets hops in a muslin bag (tea infuser, spice ball, whatever)
boil for 28 minutes
add 5 pellets hops
boil for 2 minutes
remove from heat

Pour 3L apple juice into carboy
add heated mixture into carboy
mix
take initial gravity reading
pitch yeast
top with airlock

Some people complain that boiling apple juice sets the pectins and creates a haze in your cider. I've never had this issue, but it's something to be aware of I guess.
This is a cider i started making for my celiac friends, and It's become one of my favorite drinks in the summer. I hope you guys can enjoy it as much as I have.

Cheers

 

[drhall23]

Thanks. I will try it.
What's the specific gravity at each stage? How many fermentation steps?

 

[javalin]

You're aiming for about 1.04 for your starting gravity.
For small batches I just leave it in the primary container until it clears, if you're doing a larger batch then you may want to put it into a secondary fermentation vessel. I would transfer to secondary when you're down to one bubble out of your airlock every 30 seconds. hydrometers are too long for my one gallon carboys

 

[drhall23]

what yeast?
What hops should be used for the 2 different steps? the same hops? mix and match?

 

[HawleyFarms]

With 2 cups sugar, how are you keeping that gravity so low? Most apple juice starts around 1.04

 

[javalin]

what yeast?
What hops should be used for the 2 different steps? the same hops? mix and match?

I've always used the same hops for both steps, you can mix and match depending on what effect you want. The first step is for bittering, and the second step is for aroma and flavor. The bittering effect can be enhanced by boiling the hops for longer if you desire. You can do a lot of research on which hops are good to get the effect you want.

With 2 cups sugar, how are you keeping that gravity so low? Most apple juice starts around 1.04

You are correct good sir. This is the recipe i normally use when I make my cider with a Black Rock cider kit, which requires 1kg of sugar per five gallons to bring it up to the correct OG. If you are using regular apple juice (OG 1.0484 for sunrype) this step can be omitted. I will edit the recipe to reflect this. Thanks for pointing it out. My bad

Turns out it's been too long to edit my above recipe, so I'll just correct it here

I'll use either regular apple juice, and boil one litre with my hops, or use a concentrate kit and boil the hops in water. Either way works well.

I use hop pellets for my recipes, and I use about 10 pellets per gallon for bittering, and five pellets for aroma normally. If I want a batch with more hop character I'll either go 1.5x or 2x for both. I couldn't' tell you weights for it though. I have used Centennial, Wilamette, and Galaxy hops with good success.

So far as a recipe goes
1L apple juice
1 3/4 - 2 cups brown sugar (this step can be omitted if using apple juice instead of a kit)
bring to a boil
add 10 pellets hops in a muslin bag (tea infuser, spice ball, whatever)
boil for 28 minutes
add 5 pellets hops
boil for 2 minutes
remove from heat

Pour 3L apple juice into carboy
add heated mixture into carboy
mix
take initial gravity reading
pitch yeast
top with airlock

Some people complain that boiling apple juice sets the pectins and creates a haze in your cider. I've never had this issue, but it's something to be aware of I guess.
This is a cider i started making for my celiac friends, and It's become one of my favorite drinks in the summer. I hope you guys can enjoy it as much as I have.

Cheers