Hard cider

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Joseph Thorn

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Have just made myself a personal of hard cider (personally it tastes looks and smells amazing) and was wondering if I did it right not sure what the process was everything I read online showed me different methods some said that I had to do a second fermentation others said that the second fermentation wasn't need all sorts of different things was wondering if I could get some advice or some help for the next time I try this
 
Having your cider go through secondary is optional. You can make good cider with or without that step. Some say that you need to put your cider in secondary to make sure it's done fermenting and to improve clarity, others say it is unnecessary and could potentially lead to oxidation.
 
Great that's awesome news so now I don't have to worry that much about that my other question is there a way to get more of a cider taste out of my hard cider and if so what would I have to do(let me clarify it doesn't necessarily have to be cider I personally don't care what the flavor is just would like some other distinct flavor other than the taste of beer and the small hint of cider)
 
Yooper, maybe I wasn't clear enough I can give the recipe I just prefer not to and if I don't have to I would rather that but I can give the recipe with no problem maybe I wasn't clear enough in my comment
 
Kent88, if the recipe will help you get a better understanding so you can help me here it is,

2 1/2 cups of sugar (for every gallon of fresh apple cider or apple juice)

However may gallons of cider you want

Hopefully that helps
 
Kent88, if the recipe will help you get a better understanding so you can help me here it is,

2 1/2 cups of sugar (for every gallon of fresh apple cider or apple juice)

However may gallons of cider you want

Hopefully that helps

Ok, that's fairly typical, but more sugar than I would use. The reason is that while the sugar boosts the alcohol level, it also tends to reduce the flavor and aroma of apples.
Yeast strain can be really important. I like using S04 for most of my ciders, as it's an ale yeast that doesn't ferment it quite bone dry. I love my ciders dry and carbonated, so I will wait until it's totally clear (and yes, in secondary) before packaging.

I use a mix of dolgo, rescue and centennial crabapples in with traditional apple mixes because I like the little bit of tannic bite it gives. Without those crabs, I will often add a pinch of tannin. Also, if the cider is sort of 'flabby', I may add some citric or tartaric acid. I don't like sweet things, so I don't do sweet cider very often.

A couple of things that are general and may help include making sure to prevent oxygen ingress wherever you can, rack quietly (no splashing) and since cider can get light struck, keep the carboys covered and the bottles in a cool dark place.
 
Yooper, love the advice will definitely incorporate some of those things into the next batch I do, would it be possible to add any flavor now to the already finished cider( keep in mind I didn't do the second fermentation, will try it on the 2nd batch but for now I didn't)
 
Great that's awesome news so now I don't have to worry that much about that my other question is there a way to get more of a cider taste out of my hard cider and if so what would I have to do(let me clarify it doesn't necessarily have to be cider I personally don't care what the flavor is just would like some other distinct flavor other than the taste of beer and the small hint of cider)
Hmm. Does this perhaps mean the taste of yeast? I've made only a few batches so far, with store bought juice. None had secondary, but they tasted more like a white wine. Definitely not like beer at all. But I let them sit 1+ months so that it had a chance to clear up. If you remove it too soon, there could be a lot of suspended yeast still.
 
Great that's awesome news so now I don't have to worry that much about that my other question is there a way to get more of a cider taste out of my hard cider and if so what would I have to do(let me clarify it doesn't necessarily have to be cider I personally don't care what the flavor is just would like some other distinct flavor other than the taste of beer and the small hint of cider)
With cider almost all the sugar is fermented out, which usually leaves you with a very dry cider that does not have much traditional "cider" flavor. The best way to add that flavor back is with some back sweetening. I personally add some brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla after fermentation and before I keg. Another option is to add some apple juice prior to kegging.

Keep in mind, if you backsweeten, you don't want a secondary fermention to kick off. You can use Camden tablets to keep the yeast from activating again. But if you do this, bottle conditioning is pretty much out of the question. I go right to CO2 kegging and the colder temperature in my keezer keeps the yeast dormant. Hope that helps.
 
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