Making Applejack from hard cider?

[MindenMan]

You mention "cheaters" ice cider, are you referring to making it with FAJC? I made "ice cider" based on what I had read on the specifics of IC are; I used a significant amount of FAJC in making my IC and it did not turn out like the store bought IC we tested. In our opinion it was so much more flavorful; if you want to get technical it would have to called Sweet Apple Wine, as the techniques for making Ice Cider are very specific, and not the exact method we used.
To answer your question about applejack: I fortify my cider up to approx. 14% ABV or so, sometimes more, sometimes less. Out of a gallon of hard cider I usually get three 12oz bottles of applejack and some "weak" hard cider I make using the alcohol from the ice. I have learned through experimentation that if I add 3oz of FAJC to a bottle and top off with the "ice water" in a couple of months I have some very drinkable hard cider.
As far as refreezing goes, it differs from batch to batch; sometimes I do, but it really depends on how much alcohol is left in the ice after the color has gone out.

 

[bmd2k1]

You mention "cheaters" ice cider, are you referring to making it with FAJC? I made "ice cider" based on what I had read on the specifics of IC are; I used a significant amount of FAJC in making my IC and it did not turn out like the store bought IC we tested. In our opinion it was so much more flavorful; if you want to get technical it would have to called Sweet Apple Wine, as the techniques for making Ice Cider are very specific, and not the exact method we used.
To answer your question about applejack: I fortify my cider up to approx. 14% ABV or so, sometimes more, sometimes less. Out of a gallon of hard cider I usually get three 12oz bottles of applejack and some "weak" hard cider I make using the alcohol from the ice. I have learned through experimentation that if I add 3oz of FAJC to a bottle and top off with the "ice water" in a couple of months I have some very drinkable hard cider.
As far as refreezing goes, it differs from batch to batch; sometimes I do, but it really depends on how much alcohol is left in the ice after the color has gone out.

Yes...using just FAJC & 100% AJ....have been very happy with results so far...ABV around 12%...and have used S04 & 71B so far....prefer S04...less work...and better taste/mouth-feel for me. I use that term...only based on what others here on boards have mentioned....and I'm no purist...as I've added both cinnamon sticks & tart cherry concentrate to some. [emoji41]

 

[bmd2k1]

You mention "cheaters" ice cider, are you referring to making it with FAJC? I made "ice cider" based on what I had read on the specifics of IC are; I used a significant amount of FAJC in making my IC and it did not turn out like the store bought IC we tested. In our opinion it was so much more flavorful; if you want to get technical it would have to called Sweet Apple Wine, as the techniques for making Ice Cider are very specific, and not the exact method we used.
To answer your question about applejack: I fortify my cider up to approx. 14% ABV or so, sometimes more, sometimes less. Out of a gallon of hard cider I usually get three 12oz bottles of applejack and some "weak" hard cider I make using the alcohol from the ice. I have learned through experimentation that if I add 3oz of FAJC to a bottle and top off with the "ice water" in a couple of months I have some very drinkable hard cider.
As far as refreezing goes, it differs from batch to batch; sometimes I do, but it really depends on how much alcohol is left in the ice after the color has gone out.

Thanks for the applejack feedback...plan to give it a shot in the next week or so.

Do you find any benefit in aging ur cider before jacking?

How can ya tell if there's still alcohol in the ice?

Cheers! [emoji111]

 

[MindenMan]

1) Aging cider before jacking? I ferment all of my ciders very cold so fermentation can last up to three months before it sees the freezer and there is a definite difference in the way the cider tastes compared to three weeks or a month of fermentation/aging.
2) Alcohol in the ice? You can taste it or more like feel it when you go to swallow it. There will always be alcohol left in the ice so getting creative on how to use/save it is the trick.

 

[MindenMan]

I want to throw this out there: if you have a "snobby" whiskey drinker friend or family member, make the strongest/best tasting batch of applejack you can, age it as long as you can, and give them a sample without telling them (exactly) what you just served them. I can almost bet they will be blown away.
Here is a true story: my brewing partner is a former wine merchant with an incredible set of taste buds and when he first tasted my applejack, his eyes got big, he whispered something to his wife, and then he wanted to know how soon I could start making this amazing liquor in large batches and what the ingredients would cost. Since that day I always have a batch of applejack going at one stage or another so we won't run out. My point is this: great applejack is not hard to make but the time spent aging is the most important part of the whole process.

 

[bmd2k1]

I want to throw this out there: if you have a "snobby" whiskey drinker friend or family member, make the strongest/best tasting batch of applejack you can, age it as long as you can, and give them a sample without telling them (exactly) what you just served them. I can almost bet they will be blown away.
Here is a true story: my brewing partner is a former wine merchant with an incredible set of taste buds and when he first tasted my applejack, his eyes got big, he whispered something to his wife, and then he wanted to know how soon I could start making this amazing liquor in large batches and what the ingredients would cost. Since that day I always have a batch of applejack going at one stage or another so we won't run out. My point is this: great applejack is not hard to make but the time spent aging is the most important part of the whole process.

...what yeast are u using for a 3-month ferment?

...and you age it at what temp range?

 

[bmd2k1]

I want to throw this out there: if you have a "snobby" whiskey drinker friend or family member, make the strongest/best tasting batch of applejack you can, age it as long as you can, and give them a sample without telling them (exactly) what you just served them. I can almost bet they will be blown away.
Here is a true story: my brewing partner is a former wine merchant with an incredible set of taste buds and when he first tasted my applejack, his eyes got big, he whispered something to his wife, and then he wanted to know how soon I could start making this amazing liquor in large batches and what the ingredients would cost. Since that day I always have a batch of applejack going at one stage or another so we won't run out. My point is this: great applejack is not hard to make but the time spent aging is the most important part of the whole process.

When freezing 1gal of cider is there any preference to orientation of bottle...ie) right side up, upside down or on side....

...when it comes time to thaw?

 

[MindenMan]

In some of my older threads I used to use Red Pasteur Wine yeast, but now I use Wyeast 4184 and I ferment my applejack below 55*F. I also use staggered additions of FAJC and this is one of the reasons it takes so long. With the staggered additions and the long cool ferment, this yeast produces great stone fruit flavors in the cider/applejack. I age in a cool 65F-70F-ish dark closet. I transfer my cider into either 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon jugs and I always freeze them in the normal "upright" position. Over the course of a week or so the applejack and the ice seem to naturally separate with the alcohol floating on the top and the lightly colored ice on the bottom and the first few ounces that pour off of the top.

 

[bmd2k1]

In some of my older threads I used to use Red Pasteur Wine yeast, but now I use Wyeast 4184 and I ferment my applejack below 55*F. I also use staggered additions of FAJC and this is one of the reasons it takes so long. With the staggered additions and the long cool ferment, this yeast produces great stone fruit flavors in the cider/applejack. I age in a cool 65F-70F-ish dark closet. I transfer my cider into either 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon jugs and I always freeze them in the normal "upright" position. Over the course of a week or so the applejack and the ice seem to naturally separate with the alcohol floating on the top and the lightly colored ice on the bottom and the first few ounces that pour off of the top.

Great info....thanks for sharing!

What ABV cider do you typically start with prior to freezing?

Cheers [emoji111]

 

[MindenMan]

I usually start with at least 12-14% ABV hard cider (apfelwine) before freezing as I like to leave a bit of residual sweetness, but if I get busy doing other things an ABV of 18-20% may occur due to a longer ferment and I will then add FAJC to each bottle before I cap it.

 

[bmd2k1]

...1st attempt underway [emoji41]

After 1hr...

 

[bmd2k1]

After 2hrs

 

[MindenMan]

Your picture looks good and the color of your a/j looks good too. What you may want to do next time is to split your draining containers to separate the high proof stuff from the lessor proof stuff. If I am using 1/2 gallon jugs, I thaw two at the same time, and usually split the collection three times; the first 6 ounces out of each jar get combined into one 12oz bottle, the second collected 12oz go into another bottle, and the third 12oz go into a third bottle. Depending on my starting ABV% three bottles may be all I collect at that time. I will defrost the "ice" and refreeze to collect the alcohol that is hidden in the leftover ice; I generally put that "washed out ice water" into a 12oz bottle with 3oz of FAJC and cap for aging. After a few months of aging, the "wash" cider tastes very nice and has plenty of alcohol too.

 

[bmd2k1]

3hrs thaw...

 

[bmd2k1]

Hrs 4&5...

 

[bmd2k1]

Thru 6hrs...

 

[bmd2k1]

Yield from my 1st AppleJack adventure...doing a single freeze/thaw... Plus took the left-over ice & any residual alcohol etc & mixed with some FAJC. Those are 16oz bottles.

Next step will be to make a higher ABV cider specifically for jacking [emoji111]

 

[James0816]

Not that I plan on making any as it's too high ABV for my liking but, how is the flavor after the jacking process? Do you still get the apple taste just with more puckering and burning? =)

And for those that are making five gallon hard ciders just to jack, what is your yield after? cost effective? I'm just curious.

I'm still researching making ciders and love reading all kinds of stuffs about it and recipes to try. That's how I found out this "jacking" stuff.

 

[MakeLemonade]

I've step-fed apple wine (not cider) before. Kept alternating between frozen apple juice concentrate, then sugar, then concentrate. Any thoughts on doing this? Seems like it'd be a good way to get more apple jack from carboys.

I always have 6+ carboys full. It gets annoying because I have to bottle it to start anything new or step down a gallon in size (6 gallon strawberry chocolate with 3" lees to 5 gallon)

 

[bmd2k1]

Not that I plan on making any as it's too high ABV for my liking but, how is the flavor after the jacking process? Do you still get the apple taste just with more puckering and burning? =)

And for those that are making five gallon hard ciders just to jack, what is your yield after? cost effective? I'm just curious.

I'm still researching making ciders and love reading all kinds of stuffs about it and recipes to try. That's how I found out this "jacking" stuff.

I've only made a couple AJs from 1gal containers....and my yield is about 1/3rd gal both times.....so I'm sure that would scale up accordingly.

Cheers & good luck [emoji111]

 

[BILTIT]

Yield from my 1st AppleJack adventure...doing a single freeze/thaw... Plus took the left-over ice & any residual alcohol etc & mixed with some FAJC. Those are 16oz bottles.

Next step will be to make a higher ABV cider specifically for jacking [emoji111]

View attachment 562273

Now take all that you took from the 1st freeze/thaw and keep freeze/thawing it until it wont freeze solid anymore. I do 4 freeze/thaws and my freezer is at -23C, the 4th freeze cycle is a firm slush when i thaw it. I then put my freezer back to -18C and none of my AJ will freeze while stored in it.

 

[bmd2k1]

Now take all that you took from the 1st freeze/thaw and keep freeze/thawing it until it wont freeze solid anymore. I do 4 freeze/thaws and my freezer is at -23C, the 4th freeze cycle is a firm slush when i thaw it. I then put my freezer back to -18C and none of my AJ will freeze while stored in it.

My freezer only goes down to -5F [emoji111]

 

[TDFbound]

Hello! I just had to sign up for this forum after finding this thread! I am in the middle of making my first batch of brewed anything, and it happens to be applejack. I used a 2 gallon bucket to ferment about 1 2/3 gallon of "organic unfiltered apple juice" with 5 1/4 cups of dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient, 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme, and one packet of Red Star champagne yeast. Let it sit in my basement stairwell at around 60-64 degrees for 25 days, siphoned it out to leave the sediment behind, sweetened with a couple cans of frozen apple juice concentrate and froze it in a bunch of Dasani water bottles down to around 0 degrees (Fahrenheit). Froze mostly solid, was easy to drain until left with mostly white ice which, much to the dismay of some of you, I tossed. Put what was left in the freezer last night and it's all slushy now. I'm hoping it will freeze solid again so I can easily thaw/drain it again- not sure what to do if it stays slushy. I tasted the brew directly after fermenting and it tasted extremely dry and smelled of strong wine- I'm guessing around 15% abv. First freeze and I'm at 3/4 of the total volume, so my apple slushy should be around 20% abv, but I would LOVE to get it closer to 40%. Any helpful hints or obvious errors in my ways so far? I will definitely be making another batch, probably starting a 5 gallon batch in about a week. May try to ferment it cooler and then let it age as some of you suggested- I would be super excited to be able to make a truly great drink to share with family. I'm sure I'll see some of you in other threads as I dive deeper into brewing and have more questions. Thanks for the great info!

 

[BILTIT]

You should get a hydrometer, then you know the alc. Content and dont have to guess. The only way to get a higher alc content is by freezing it at colder temp. I freeze mine to -23C and when comparing its freesing characteristics to commercial bought booze it ends up being ~35%. If you want stronger, you need colder freezes. I might try freezing some of mine when we hit -30C or colder outside to try and get mine up to 40% (although its plenty strong already). Dont forget, it will be hot. Aging helps this but its takes time. 6 months or more really helps. 1 year is a good start to help really tame the heat. Always put some away for aging from every batch.

 

[BILTIT]

I leave mine to freeze for about 4 days before thawing on each cycle. I also toss the white ice leftover, just dont have the time to try and deal with it. I am already getting plenty of booze for next to nothing, i can afford to throw out the ice lol.

 

[Miraculix]

What could be done with the white ice?

 

[BILTIT]

Some use it in drinks or reblend it with weaker stuff as it still has alcohol in it.

 

[TDFbound]

You should get a hydrometer, then you know the alc. Content and dont have to guess. The only way to get a higher alc content is by freezing it at colder temp. I freeze mine to -23C and when comparing its freesing characteristics to commercial bought booze it ends up being ~35%. If you want stronger, you need colder freezes. I might try freezing some of mine when we hit -30C or colder outside to try and get mine up to 40% (although its plenty strong already). Dont forget, it will be hot. Aging helps this but its takes time. 6 months or more really helps. 1 year is a good start to help really tame the heat. Always put some away for aging from every batch.

Thanks! I definitely plan on getting some actual brewing and testing equipment for my next batch- my plastic bucket didn't have a great seal on it, but thankfully it didn't cause any problems. I'll be using a large glass carboy next time, and take measurements before/during/after as well. I found a switch on my freezer and have managed to get it down to -10F (-23C), and it seems to be doing better, the slush is firming up and some liquid is already separating out. I'll go buy some smaller glass containers for bottling and aging (want small containers to give as gifts), and will definitely set some back for later. Thanks again!

 

[bmd2k1]

I've got two small batches of AJ currently aging...both with a cinnamon stick. Left is coming on 6months as of 12/13...right was just bottled 11/4.

I might jack up some of the D47 faux ice cider batch they are sitting next to...it will finish in the low 14% range early Dec.

Cheers! [emoji111]

 

[TDFbound]

UPDATE: Ok, so a couple months ago I experimented with my first batch of applejack. It ended up turning out quite nice! But, sadly it was only good for maybe a week or so after I had collected all my finished product. I believe it oxidized and turned quite bitter, even storing it in glass jars in the freezer. How can I avoid this for the next batch? If I can keep it from oxidizing like that, I'd be quite the happy person. Any suggestions to reduce air contact during the concentrating process, and maybe a good way to bottle and seal it when done? Starting a 6 gallon batch of the cider/wine today, so I've got a little while to figure it out, but not too long. Thanks!