Granny smith question

[franzy]

I have done a few small batches of ciders using store bought cider and apple juice. I had woodchuck ' granny smith cider and loved it.

So I made a 1 gallon test batch where I cut up and blended 5 granny smith apples with a little cider. It's done in the primary, moving to secondary soon.

Good idea/bad idea? Your ideas?



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[EpicCider]

It sounds like a fine idea. You can also add fruit to a secondary, which in my opinion helps retain flavor more. A lot of people are anti boiler or heat, when it comes to ingredients but I personally think it's safer that way.

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[franzy]

It sounds like a fine idea. You can also add fruit to a secondary, which in my opinion helps retain flavor more. A lot of people are anti boiler or heat, when it comes to ingredients but I personally think it's safer that way.

So I could buy apples, slice them up, possibly soak in vodka for a week, and add to the secondary to add the flavors?

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[EpicCider]

Vodka actually doesn't complete sterilize ingredients. If you wanted to be safest you would most likely heat the ingredients, but again there is a large anti heat trend on this forum. Many home brew ingredients are Pasteurized before being canned.

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[franzy]

I'll do whatever is best, thanks for the replies!

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[bernardsmith]

what exactly is your concern? If you wash the apples then why are your apples more likely to introduce bacteria than the apples that were pressed by the orchard or by the commercial apple juice manufacturers? Store bought apples typically don't carry e-coli, do they? And if you are adding those apples to the secondary then presumably the alcohol in the carboy is likely to inhibit or retard the growth of any bacteria. I know beer brewers are anxious about spoilage but is there any real reason to be overly concerned about spoilage when it comes to hard cider? What ABV is your cider? Personally, I treat my cider like wine and add K-meta every couple of months or each time I rack. The SO2 acts to prevent bacterial growth as well as to retard oxidation.

 

[oljimmy]

I've got a batch in secondary that's been soaking on some MacIntosh skins for 3 weeks now. They float to the surface but the C02 in the headspace protects against spoilage. Not sure if any taste will be imparted but I'm looking forward to finding out!

 

[franzy]

@bernard, it's expected to be in the 5% range so it wouldn't be a high enough abv???

@oljimmy, keep me posted on your progress!

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