I'm new and I need some help

[thejudge]

Give this one a try from Upstate mike,

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/caramel-apple-hard-cider-292770/

The receipe is updated on 46 I believe.

 

[thirsty4cider]

I understand where you are right now. getting into brewing is hard because it turns into an information overload very quickly. I will give you step by step instructions and hopefully that will help.

1. clean your equipment. soak anything that touches the cider in a 1/10 bleach and water solution and then rinse with plain water.
2. you can use either one of your apple juices or even both, but for the sake of simplicity lets say you are just using the trader joe's cider. pop it open and pour off about a cup of juice. don't get anything unsanitised inside the apple juice though as any bacteria in there will like it just as much as the yeast.
3. soak your yeast in a bowl with some water and a little bit of sugar for about 15 mins to get it nice and active. just use the whole packet: im assuming its about 11 grams.
4.mix in about a cup of sugar with the juice. this can be either brown or white sugar, but I would suggest just plain old whit for your first try.
5.add the yeast to your apple juice. now put the cap back on and shake it up. this mixes oxygen up into it so the yeast can breath.
6. put on your airlock. the airlock will prevent outside air with contaminants from getting in while allowing the carbon dioxide building up inside from the yeast out. you can use a storebought one which will set you back a dollar or so or you can make on like burshaw did. some people just loosen the cap enough for the gas to escape, but I wouldn't suggest this as it allows some contaminants in and this can produce a bad taste.
7. Wait. you say you want a slightly sweet cider so let it ferment for about a week and a half or until the bubbles coming out of the airlock appear to have slowed down.
8. very carefully and steadily pour your cider out into another sanitized container. be very careful not to pour any of the yeast that has gathered at the bottom into this new container. clean out and sanitize the old container, and pour the cider back in. wait a day and do this again. the purpose of this is to remove the yeast and therfore stop fermentation. you probably only need to do this twice to get most of the yeast. unless keeping the cider for more than a few days the fermentation will have pretty much stopped.
9. optional. If you want to bottle then you will have to kill the remaining yeast to prevent bottle bombs. what I have done is pour the cider into a large pot (if you dont own a pot this large I would suggest doing it in parts), and heat it up to a slightly bubbling heat. keep it there for about 10-15 minutes. let cool and then bottle!

No one should expect their very first batch to be perfect. the best thing you can do is just get started. good luck!

 

[burshaw]

No offense but my first batch was perfect not even kidding my wife said she will never buy store bought booze agian

 

[BadgerBrigade]

.
9. optional. If you want to bottle then you will have to kill the remaining yeast to prevent bottle bombs. what I have done is pour the cider into a large pot (if you dont own a pot this large I would suggest doing it in parts), and heat it up to a slightly bubbling heat. keep it there for about 10-15 minutes. let cool and then bottle!

No one should expect their very first batch to be perfect. the best thing you can do is just get started. good luck!

I think you should do this with a floating thermometer, if you get the temperature too high you kill all the alcohol and then the whole point of making your cider is over... 170F will evaporate the alcohol... I think to kill the yeast you only need to get up to 140F

 

[burshaw]

Cant you just cold crash?

 

[thejudge]

Cold crash won't kill the yeast, it just makes it Dormant. They will wake up if you let the bottle warm up a little, and if you leave them in the fridge... Well lets just say the wife probably won't be happy with you after they blow.

 

[burshaw]

Why would they blow if thet are dormant?

 

[BadgerBrigade]

Why would they blow if thet are dormant?

Hey reactivate if the temperature gets above your cold crash temperature..... Actually, to my understanding even if you cold crash the yeast is still working just at a very very very slow rate....
I'm sure the big dogs will chime in if this is not hundred percent accurate

 

[thirsty4cider]

No offense but my first batch was perfect not even kidding my wife said she will never buy store bought booze agian

I said dont expect it to be perfect. My first was incredibe as well.

 

[nlg]

Ok. I tasted my cider today. Not sure if I like it. Maybe someone could tell me what I need to do next time. This is what I did:
I put a gallon of apple cider in a glass 1 gallon jug with about 3 grams of Lalvin D47 wine yeast. I put the air lock on and let it ferment for about 11 days. The room was around 67°. By then there weren't any bubbles in the air lock anymore. I carefully transferred the cider to another jug making sure not to pour the sediment that was on the bottom into the new jug. I put the air lock back on and let it set for one more day then transferred it once more and put it into the frig. Now I wanted something sweet and bubble but I got something else. It smells like a semi sweet wine with a little hint of yeast. It feels like a semi sweet wine in my mouth. But it has very little taste and is bland... Almost like alcoholic water lol.
What should I do next time?

 

[LoloMT7]

Ok. I tasted my cider today. Not sure if I like it. Maybe someone could tell me what I need to do next time. This is what I did:
I put a gallon of apple cider in a glass 1 gallon jug with about 3 grams of Lalvin D47 wine yeast. I put the air lock on and let it ferment for about 11 days. The room was around 67°. By then there weren't any bubbles in the air lock anymore. I carefully transferred the cider to another jug making sure not to pour the sediment that was on the bottom into the new jug. I put the air lock back on and let it set for one more day then transferred it once more and put it into the frig. Now I wanted something sweet and bubble but I got something else. It smells like a semi sweet wine with a little hint of yeast. It feels like a semi sweet wine in my mouth. But it has very little taste and is bland... Almost like alcoholic water lol.
What should I do next time?

That's what happened to me everytime I made cider the yeast will eat all the sugar out of the cider and it will end up very dry if you let it ferment out all the way ie 11 days. I seriously plan to try this
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/5-day-sweet-country-cider-265986/
for both a bubbly and sweet cider next time myself. At least try a taste test after 24-48 hours of the fermenting. I have and it tastes great! So next time I'm stopping it there and pasteurizing it. Good luck

 

[nlg]

Ok thanks. This is the one I'm gonna try next.


For a 1 gal batch:

Ingredients:
2 cups raw sugar (I would believe that the sugar is interchangeable, doesn't matter if it is white or brown)
250 ml honey
1 gal Apple Juice/Cider (preservative free)
Any standard wine/champagne yeast.

Method:
1. Add 2 cups sugar and 1/2 cup apple juice to a pan. Caramelise on medium heat for around 14 mins. NOTE: If you want this to be a clear cider, substitute JUICE for WATER.
2. Once sugar is caramelised, add to fermenter.
3. Pour half of your juice into the fermenter and SHAKE.
4. Add the rest of your juice.
5. Pitch yeast.
6. Ferment till dry, and yeast clears (see notes).
7. Add honey (Adding extra sugar is optional at this point, depends on your tastes) to a pan and caramelise to taste. (I used 15mins).
8. Siphon clear cider into clean fermenter and add half of your cider and the honey mixture from step 6.
9. MIX, MIX, MIX, MIX. I ended up mixing for almost half an hour to get it all to homogenise. Be wary that your cider may still be releasing CO2, so release the pressure often. Once you have mixed in the honey/sugar solution, add the remaining cider.
10. Bottle and pasteurise.

Notes (READ):
The sugar mixture will take a long while to mix in both times. It is more important to mix in the sugar at the latter part of the recipe, as the yeast will eat the sugar not in solution during primary fermentation.

Ferment till dry and yeast clears. If you have used apple juice with your sugar mixture, your cider will not completely clear, I would suggest using a hydrometer and wait for stable readings.

Do NOT burn your honey or sugar. This will most likely ruin your pot, and will smell and taste awful. That being said, watch for splashes and remember that the sugar will continue to caramelise after you remove it from the heat.

Essential Reading:
Pappers_ pasteurisation thread which is stickied at the top of the cider forum. I do not know how this would go being dry, but the flavours are complemented as a sweet cider.


Finally, I did not take gravity measurements, but I would hesitate a guess of a final ABV at 9%. This is the single best cider I have made to date. It tastes like I am drinking apples dunked in caramel, with a honey aftertaste. It is SO smooth. I had a sample of it as I was mixing and ended up going through a whole 750 ml bottle. BE CAREFUL with this stuff, it's dangerous because it is so smooth, even straight out of primary.

 

[JtotheA]

Beware that adding sugar (especially white sugar), contributes to harsh tastes that require mellowing/aging. The alternative is to add a can of apple juice concentrate for a gallon to bump up the SG.

 

[thejudge]

Ok. I tasted my cider today. Not sure if I like it. Maybe someone could tell me what I need to do next time. This is what I did:
I put a gallon of apple cider in a glass 1 gallon jug with about 3 grams of Lalvin D47 wine yeast. I put the air lock on and let it ferment for about 11 days. The room was around 67°. By then there weren't any bubbles in the air lock anymore. I carefully transferred the cider to another jug making sure not to pour the sediment that was on the bottom into the new jug. I put the air lock back on and let it set for one more day then transferred it once more and put it into the frig. Now I wanted something sweet and bubble but I got something else. It smells like a semi sweet wine with a little hint of yeast. It feels like a semi sweet wine in my mouth. But it has very little taste and is bland... Almost like alcoholic water lol.
What should I do next time?

Sounds like you made a super dry apple wine instead of a cider. Do you have a hydrometer? If not get one! Next time ferment for a shorter time, go by your hydrometer readings to gage sweetness and ABV. When you have achieved your fg then back sweeten with fajc to taste and let it bottle carb to where you want it and pasteurize. You'll find it to be a much better product.

If you want a real good cider try upstate mikes Carmel apple cider receipe. It's super easy and REALLY good..

 

[thirsty4cider]

try back sweetening. that should bring back some sweetness and flavor. also you can take it out of primary much earlier.