Great Scott! I made a hard cider!

[crawforc3]

5 gallons of Golden Russet apple cider (unpasteurized, from the farm)
4 lbs brown sugar
Mangrove Jack's M02 Cider yeast (2 packs, dry)

Added the cider to a 6 gallon bucket, then added 4 lb brown sugar. I half-ass stirred the mixture because I wasn't overly worried about it being homogenous.

O.G. 1.070
Primary for ~3 weeks at ambient temp of 66 to 68 degrees
F.G. 0.990

:rockin:



This was my first cider and the ABV was way higher than I expected, but I welcome it. Smells tart like apples and boozy like ethanol. The first taste was warming and shocked me because of the warmth. Honestly, I was going to be happy if something drinkable came from this because I did nothing to protect from wild microbes other than double up on yeast (farmer recommendation). I am stoked about the results and amazed at the lack of effort I put into it.

I have never used this yeast and I didn't really research much about making ciders beforehand. I like to keep things simple for the first round and I had no idea what to expect. I originally planned on using 1lb brown sugar per gallon, but during the "brew" I felt like 5 was too much so I stopped at 4 lb. The farmer recommended that I use ale yeast and double up on it in order to beat the wild yeasties to fermentation. I doubled up, but went with cider yeast because the package said "esters". I wanted esters.

I kegged it today after about 3 weeks of primary fermentation. Since it is just a one-off experiment, I don't plan on conditioning it. It would probably benefit from some conditioning and mellow out after a bazillion years, but to be honest, it's fine. I expected very little and gained a lot in return.

Next time I will dial back the amount of sugar because I would rather have a sessionable cider. This one will probably be around for a while because I get intoxicated if I even look at it for too long.

 

[WVMJ]

You started off with one of the best cider apples, is the taste a little bit to acidic? Congrats on your first batch. WVMJ

 

[crawforc3]

You started off with one of the best cider apples, is the taste a little bit to acidic? Congrats on your first batch. WVMJ

Thanks! I can't take too much credit because the farmer had several different apple ciders. It was him that suggested using the Golden Russet.

I think it is probably very acidic, but I would rather say that it's tart (if there's even a difference). The upfront tartness or acidity rolls nicely into ethanol which then becomes a little overwhelming. The intense ethanol lasts longer and dominates which makes it difficult to put my finger on the subtleties. Why do you ask?

 

[CorporateHippie]

While I LOVE brewing....cider is a very nice alternative to have on hand for the non-beer drinkers that come over. It is SOOO flipp'n easy to make (under a half hour) and can taste amazing if done right. I personally enjoy drinking it when it is very acidic and almost souring tart. I compare it to a gose almost. Try next time putting a gallon of it on one of your favorite flavors of tea, or concentrate juice, or my favorite.....mix 1 gallon of wort into 4 gallons of apple juice and make a great graff. enjoy !!

 

[WVMJ]

Now you are going to have to go back and try all the others! Golden Russets are usually listed on the sharps apples for cider, aromatic and high gravity and very good for cider. We are fermenting a Russets mix from our local ciderworks, goldens and roxburry and some other aromatic apples for a great mix. WVMJ

Thanks! I can't take too much credit because the farmer had several different apple ciders. It was him that suggested using the Golden Russet.

I think it is probably very acidic, but I would rather say that it's tart (if there's even a difference). The upfront tartness or acidity rolls nicely into ethanol which then becomes a little overwhelming. The intense ethanol lasts longer and dominates which makes it difficult to put my finger on the subtleties. Why do you ask?