New England Cider Guidance

[Berlbrew]

Hi Everyone,

I am by all accounts very much a n00b, but I wanted to get a good cider going for wonderful consumption next fall. I live in Boston and have ready access to some of the best apples/fresh cider in the country, so with that in mind I'd like to brew a cider with an emphasis on New England ingredients.

I've been reading some different threads and recipes and from what I can tell there are a sh#t load of different ways to make a nice cider. I know that classic New England cider is dry, has a high FG, and is made with molasses and raisins so my question is this:

Does anyone know of a straightforward, reliable, and relatively n00b-friendly recipe for some delicious NE cider? If not a recipe, even some guidance to get me on the right track would be very helpful.

-Andrew

 

[Brandon O]

Hi Everyone,

I am by all accounts very much a n00b, but I wanted to get a good cider going for wonderful consumption next fall. I live in Boston and have ready access to some of the best apples/fresh cider in the country, so with that in mind I'd like to brew a cider with an emphasis on New England ingredients.

I've been reading some different threads and recipes and from what I can tell there are a sh#t load of different ways to make a nice cider. I know that classic New England cider is dry, has a high FG, and is made with molasses and raisins so my question is this:

Does anyone know of a straightforward, reliable, and relatively n00b-friendly recipe for some delicious NE cider? If not a recipe, even some guidance to get me on the right track would be very helpful.

-Andrew

Dry and High FG is fairly tricky.

Heres what I would do.

4 gallons of fresh pressed apple juice. 2 handfuls of raisins. 2 lbs molasses.

Add camden tablets to all that in the carboy and let it sit covered 48 hours or so.

Now to get a relatively High FG for what you are doing. Take 1 lb of crystal 10L and 2oz of torrified wheat and steep it for 30 mins in a half gallon of 160 degree water. You could even use a pound of cara-pils(dextrine) if you really wanted mouthfeel and a high FG but I wouldn't add it for my tastes.

Cool that down and add it to the carboy. Your wort will have enough oxygen in it so don't worry about that. Fresh pressed apple juice should have plenty of O2. We aren't wanting max attenuation anyway.

Pitch Nottingham or some safale-05. I believe safale-05 may have a tad bit lower attenuation than the notty.

If you keg you can stop at whatever FG you like. If you are bottling, let this ferment out atleast a month. Yeast that normally gets 75% attenuation can get a lot more than that in simple sugars and juice.

That's my crack at it. This will be pretty strong cider.

 

[Berlbrew]

Wow!

Thanks Brandon. This seems to be exactly what I was looking for.

Just to clarify- I'm pitching the yeast AFTER the 48-hours of apple juice/raisins/molasses/tablets sitting covered? I don't think I'll be using any dextrine.

I'm going to be bottling the cider so I figure I'll leave it in the carboy for about 6 weeks, then probably another 6 weeks in the bottles.

Would you move to a secondary at any point for clarity's sake?

Strong cider will help us keep warm on these cold New England nights!