new to cider

[The_Dutch]

new to cider looking for a simple spiced cider recipe. I do not know much about the process. I have made a few beers, but i am wondering about how long i am looking at from start to finish. I do not want to rush it, so i want to have enough time to make some before fall comes around. thank you guys for any input

 

[tmendick]

Are there any commercial examples you want to emulate?

Simple Dry Cider Recipe
5 Gallons Store bought Apple Juice (I like Costco's Not from Concentrate, its cheap and good enough)
1 pack of Nottingham yeast (S04 also makes a good cider)
1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient

Pour ingredients into fermenter.
Shake it up.
Put on an airlock.
Ferment just like you would if it was a beer.
?
Profit.

 

[jcoates]

I have been batching cider with 50% apple and 50% other juices... pear, blackberry, cherry, (also grown sugar, honey, etc).
Would I be just as well off to make a 5 gal batch of high abv apple and then mix 50/50 with berry juices when bottling?
Would this retain more of the berry flavor?
If so... is there a better high abv yeast for this purpose? I'm using Nottingham yeast currently which I think will go as high at 10% abv.
Any help is appreciated.

 

[ericbw]

For the OP - it ferments pretty fast, but you need to let it sit a while to clear some more. Time helps dissipate some of the funky smells, too. If you do it now, you can definitely drink it in the fall.

You can add spices during fermentation or at the end, or when bottling.

There are lots of threads to read here, depending on if you use orchard cider or from the grocery store. Fresh cider will need pectic enzyme and campden to kill the wild yeast.

Add sugar to make the OG about 1.050. Ferment it for about 2 weeks, then add spices (whole cinnamon and allspice berries?) for a week or two. Then bottle. OR move to secondary with less airspace and let it sit for a month to mellow.

My usual method is fermenting for a couple of weeks. Letting it sit for a few more weeks in secondary. Adding fresh juice to sweeten it and then kegging.

Look at Pappy's Pub Cider or Graham's English Cider on here.

 

[ericbw]

I have been batching cider with 50% apple and 50% other juices... pear, blackberry, cherry, (also grown sugar, honey, etc).
Would I be just as well off to make a 5 gal batch of high abv apple and then mix 50/50 with berry juices when bottling?
Would this retain more of the berry flavor?
If so... is there a better high abv yeast for this purpose? I'm using Nottingham yeast currently which I think will go as high at 10% abv.
Any help is appreciated.

Yes, you'll get more berry flavor that way. But it will also ferment more - depends on your method for bottling.

 

[jcoates]

so... if I ferment 1/2 gallon of apple juice for a week and then add 1/2 gallon berry juice... will I retain more berry flavor? Will the whole 1 gallon mix (apple + berries) end at the same abv either way?

 

[ericbw]

All the juice will eventually ferment out to the same abv. It doesn't matter if you add it all at once or later.

But if you add some juice at the end, then bottle, let it carbonate, then pasteurize, it will retain berry flavor and sweetness.

PLEASE READ ALL ABOUT carbonating and adding fresh juice first. It is tricky and can cause explosions. You have to pasteurize or filter to really get it right.