Hard Cider

[johnnyo1977]

5 gal. cider
5 lbs. dark brown sugar
1 package of cotes des blanc
hand full of french roasted oak chips

heat one gallon of cider on the stove (do not boil)
add 5 lbs of sugar to hot cider and stir untill sugar is disolved then remove from heat.
Sanatize fermenter, lid, air lock hydrometer and thermometer.

alow cider to cool a bit before adding to glass carboy. If you are using a bucket then add the 4 gallons of cider then add cider containing sugar and mix throughly for about 5 mins.
Take a temperature reading you want to pitch yeast around 80 degrees. Place lid on top and rehydrate yeast.
take a hydrometer reading.
Then pitch yeast and give it a good stir.
Place lid and air lock on.
Transfer after 2 week to secondary.
Wait 2 weeks then add sanitize oak chips to the secondary.
wait another two weeks before bottling .
Let it set in the bottle for at least a month two allow flavor to blend.

 

[khiddy]

What was your OG and your FG with this? ABV?

How does it taste?

 

[johnnyo1977]

The starting gravity is 1.091 just racked to secondary checked gravity at racking it was 1.034.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I made a cider with 2 lbs dark brown sugar and it has a nice "mapley" flavor to it. It should really stand out with 5 lbs.

 

[johnnyo1977]

Yes. It also gives it a very nice color too.

 

[mikeysab]

I'm getting ready to make my cider. wouldn't a 1.09 cider take 6 months or more to mature enough to actually DRINK. I made a cider 5 months ago with an OG of 1.10 and it's just starting to get rid of the rubbery taste. The smell is still there, but I stuck my nose in a glass of Magners and even THAT has a rubbery smell.

 

[johnnyo1977]

I have never had a rubbery taste before. what are you using to ferment with? I usually start drinking mine after 2 months in the bottle. It does get better with age if you can keep it that long. I usually get a strong alcohol smell when it is just out of the secondary but after a few mins in the glass I can start to taste the other flavors coming through.
sorry i can't be much more help.

 

[clinton]

I want to do a recipe similar to this one, but I would like to also add some maple syrup. Any suggestions about how much to add and about when would be the best time to add it?

 

[johnnyo1977]

I was discussing the addition of maple syrup last night. it can be added to the secondary
but the sugar in it will restart fermentation and there is a chance that you could loose all flavor when it is done.

you could try adding sulfates to kill the yeast then add the maple syrup just be careful on the amount because you are also adding sweetness to the cider.

if you do try this please post your results. I am quite courous on how it turns out..

 

[clinton]

Will do. It'll be a Christmas brew so if I do it it won't post until then. I feel confident that if I use only a small amount to start and kill the yeast it should be good and not too sweet. I'll post the recipe when done.

 

[clinton]

Also, I see you have the 5 lbs of dark sugar to start. sounds delicious, but what's the tipping point for too much sugar to start with? Is there a formula you use?

 

[clinton]

So I started my Xmas cider with 4 gallons of apple juice, 4lbs of brown sugar and 2lbs of sugar in the raw with 1gallon of water. We plan to kill the yeast and back sweeten it with apple concentrate and then add the maple syrup along with some Cinnamon and a few other things. should be tasty, I just hope we use the right amount of syrup.

 

[johnnyo1977]

Sorry to take so long to get back to ya. I have not been checking on here for a month or so now.
I usually go with a one pound of sugar per gallon of juice.

looking forward to hearing how your cider turns out. Keep me posted.

 

[johnnyo1977]

Ok I entered this in a competition for the first time LVHB Malt Madness 2010. It took 1 place. there were 14 entries in the cider category. I entered it as a New England Cider.
I am waiting for the sheet to come in and will post what the comments.

 

[clinton]

So we used two cans of apple concentrate after killing the yeast. We then used I 120ml bottle of maple syrup. Gotta say it only made it sweeter. didn't give any more of a maple taste. but it was good. Also put in orange peel, lots of cinnamon and Nutmeg and coriander. good stuff.

 

[therealrsr]

Been researching to build a tradtitional recipe last few days. Clinton, i've seen 1.5lb/gallon, and not from a rocket fuel fan. Per a professor at Cornell.edu, "3. To the cider add 1lb. of sugar per gallon for a dry hard cider (not sweet) or 1 1/2 lbs. for a sweet drink. Honey can be substituted for sugar on a pound per pound basis. "

 

[woodardg]

So we used two cans of apple concentrate after killing the yeast. We then used I 120ml bottle of maple syrup. Gotta say it only made it sweeter. didn't give any more of a maple taste. but it was good. Also put in orange peel, lots of cinnamon and Nutmeg and coriander. good stuff.

what happen if you put cinnamon in at the start ??

 

[johnnyo1977]

during fermentation you will probably loose alot of the flavor from the cinnamon. I would add that to the secondary along with nutmeg and coriander.

 

[woodardg]

during fermentation you will probably loose alot of the flavor from the cinnamon. I would add that to the secondary along with nutmeg and coriander.

think you

 

[heatherdearest]

Do you really need to heat up the cider? We just started our very first batch about a month ago and we were told not too, and actually to add the yeast when the cider was at room temp. At 4 weeks in our cider stopped bubbling completely so we racked it off and tasted it and tested that alcohol content. we were at 13% Alcohol and it was delicious, but we wanted it sweeter so we added 1 more cup sugar and topped it off with more fresh cider. Im hoping we didnt ruin it! Any suggestions?

 

[johnnyo1977]

I only heated about a gallon to disolve the sugar the rest of the cider was added to the primary to warm to room temp before adding yeast. I do not heat all the cider and I do not boil it either. If you want it sweeter you should use splenda so as not to start fermentation again.
Did you use this recipe???

 

[Yambor44]

Johnny,

Are you using actual cider or apple juice like some others?

Thanks.

 

[heatherdearest]

No, I just found this website today. really all we did was filled a 6 gallon carboy, added 5 pounds of white sugar and one package of champagne yeast and let it sit. Im thinking we should have bottled it when we tasted it because it was so good, but just pretty dry.

 

[johnnyo1977]

hi yambro44 I am using cider. Try using S-05 beer yeast or a wine yeast other than champagne yeast. The champagne yeast ferments out below 1.000 making it dry. The S-05 will stay above 1.000 making it more sweeter because there will be some sugar left over.

 

[Yambor44]

hi yambro44 I am using cider. Try using S-05 beer yeast or a wine yeast other than champagne yeast. The champagne yeast ferments out below 1.000 making it dry. The S-05 will stay above 1.000 making it more sweeter because there will be some sugar left over.

Thanks Johnny. I have some 05 as well as some wine yeast (Montrachet I think).

 

[Yambor44]

Got my cider!

 

[johnnyo1977]

Nice looking jugs. Where is the cider from?

 

[Yambor44]

Nice looking jugs. Where is the cider from?

Whitehouse all natural, from Publix.

 

[CidahMastah]

Hey all - glad to see the cider interest. Just curious why you would heat your cider? That denatures the flavor and I have never had a problem disolving sugar by simply stirring it in (just takes some extra stirs). Just sayin'

Also have you ever try Wyeast's Cider yeast? Right now I have a beta testing event at my house, it will be interesting to see how the yeasts do in my batches. I pressed about 200 gallons of cider this year and put about 100 of it in glass. Very interested to see if all the chatter about the yeasts really plays a role. Have some cool test batches going as well

 

[johnnyo1977]

I only warm about a gallon of cider to disolve the sugar. I just started doing it that way and have not changed.

I did use a english cider yeast for a three gallon batch that used 3 lbs of sugar and a had full of oak chips and a had full of golden rasins. it turned out ok it was a little dryer than i like. It is forced carbed and has gotten better over the month.
I prefer a yeast that stays on the semi sweet side.

WOW... that is a lot of cider. Please keep us informed about your findings. what were the different yeasts that you used?