Lemon in Cider

[mrphillips]

I'm really excited about my next cider! I went up north last weekend and got a bunch of reeeeeeally tasty fresh cider from my hometown orchard, and I'm hoping to make something close to an apple wine, but with a nice little zip at the end.

I'm making a 4 gallon batch: 4 gallons of cider, 2 lbs. dark brown sugar, and Nottingham yeast (maybe champagne yeast, haven't decided yet). I wanted to add 1 tsp. of tannins, but my homebrew store is out of them. Would adding a fresh squeezed lemon give me that nice "bite/zing" to my cider, but still maintain that apply cider character? I was curious if anyone has used lemon in cider before. Thanks!

 

[SShannon]

I haven't used any tannins but usually use champagne yeast or a white wine yeast strain (if you have ferm temp control) and it dries the cider out nicely while giving it a nice tart zing. I up the carbonation because I like my cider nice and bubbly like champagne as well.