hopped cider experiences, advice needed

[mike_57401]

Hey ya'll,

I've got a cider fermenting currently, consisting of 4.5 gals Great Value apple juice, Safale S-04 dry ale yeast, and 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient. I'm fermenting in a keg this time around, so there will be less transferring, and if I do need to transfer, I'll just push with CO2. It's a few days in, fermenting happily.

I plan to dry hop this cider (pellets in nylon bag in the keg-fermenter) and then stabilize and back sweeten with a can or 3 of apple juice concentrate at kegging.

I've never dry hopped a cider before. I'm curious as to your experiences with hop varieties and rate of hopping, etc. I've got a lot of hops on hand, many of the common IPA varieties as well as some lager hops and standbys, so variety is whatever I want, for the most part.

I was planning on around 1-2 ounces, maybe citra or galaxy or centennial blend or something like that. What do you think?

 

[Chalkyt]

I have done a couple of hopped ciders using both citra and galaxy. They both work fine.

A word of caution is that the cider takes up the hop flavour quite quickly, so taste, taste, taste, then get the hops out of there, is the way to go... tasting every day if necessary since it will only take about 5 - 7 days before the hop flavour overwhelms the cider.

I work on 3g/L (in a bag as you plan because the pellets disintegrate very quickly and are hard to get out if not contained), so your one to two oz seems about right for 4.5 gallons (at 3g/L you would need 1.8oz for 4.5 gallons). However, you might consider starting a bit lower until you get the feel for how quickly the hop flavour is taken up. This will give you a bit more time to get the taste where you want it without overshooting.

Have fun!

 

[CKuhns]

I have used Citra pellets as well, but prefer whole leaves. Yes, use a nylon bag and anything over 7 days gets you a dirt geass flavor. (Dont ask how i know.) As @Chalkyt suggested taste at least daily. Hop flavor does not really diminish with age.