Port style cider?
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MindenMan
Well-Known Member
I believe the product named "Pommeau" is hard cider fortified with apple brandy, so the idea has been done before. How about you make a batch of high-proof cider and freeze concentrate it; then you will have the apple brandy you seek.
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
If you don't let the sugar ferment all the way out there will some sweetness available. I always make sure my applejack starter (my hard cider) has just the tinyest bit of sweetness left before it goes into the freezer; I have found through trial and error that applejack is much smoother after aging with a bit of residual sweetness left in. I am talking about bottle aging the a/j for at least 9 months, but preferably twice that or longer. The hard part is letting it age without drinking it too young. If you cold ferment your hard cider you can drink the a/j right out of the freezer and it is very tasty with no aging, but with aging it is a completely different thing altogether.
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
The old New England way of making applejack included adding activated charcoal (1 Tbl.) and white sugar (4Tbl.) in a 16 oz bottle and then they aged each bottle 2 years before drinking. I have some applejack that I added white sugar to and it does have a bit of a "port" character to it, although it was completely unexpected. Just an idea for you if you enjoy a "good port" now and then.
Any concern for methyl alcohol in the freezer method?
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
A96G, nope. I have been making applejack for years and have never had any methanol side effects. One night I drank a 12 oz bottle of my a/j and had no side effects whatsoever. I do not recommend doing this by the way, that is a lot of alcohol. Yes, there may be the slightest, and I mean the slightest amount of methanol due to the pectin content of the apples and or juice but there is not enough to harm you. If you were to go to the hospital for methanol poisoning guess what they give you? Ethanol, yes ethanol is the binder/cure for methanol poisoning. If you ferment too warm the result will not be higher levels of methanol, it will be fusel alcohols that smell and or taste awful; one that comes to mind is the "nail polish remover" smell that sometimes happens with a too hot-too fast fermentation. A long time ago I had the acetone smell in a batch of cider, as at the time I did not know that cider likes cool fermenting like beer does. I now use gentle yeast and cool fermentations and make some really great tasting hard cider, ice cider, apple wine and of course applejack; sometimes I ferment for months at 40F and my yeast is still busy; the final stone fruit notes in my pure apple cider are worth the wait every time.
I've had better results freeze-concentrating the apple juice prior to fermentation, then fermenting to make ice cider. The flavors of applejack are just not as "appley" for a lack of a better descriptor.
Weezy
Well-Known Member
Another way is to use a super high gravity yeast and keep dosing the fermenter with more and more juice until the yeast gives up. (You need to follow SG reading to do it right )
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
I apologize for waiting so long to reply, I haven't visited this site in a while. Hey, ten80, adding more juice will add more fermentables, not just increase the volume. Weezy, if I want to fortify my must/cider I use FAJC; that way I get more sugar and flavor all in one addition. I am not sure why anyone's applejack would not taste very "apple-y" the freezing concentrates the flavor in all of my experiences making applejack. If the cider were fermented bone-dry first, then I could see how the "apple-ness" could be lacking. If I have a batch of applejack that does not taste apple forward, I will add FAJC to the bottle before I fill it with the applejack; after 9 months or longer in the bottle the apple flavor is fantastic. Yes it does lower the ABV by 10% or so, but my starting ABV % is high enough that "diluting" my applejack is not an issue.
As to making a "port cider", I have accidentally made a batch and I don't know what I did to cause it. The flavor is amazing at 6 months, and I cannot wait to see what my "apple-port" will taste like. I will say what started out to be ice cider is what became the "port-cider."
As to making a "port cider", I have accidentally made a batch and I don't know what I did to cause it. The flavor is amazing at 6 months, and I cannot wait to see what my "apple-port" will taste like. I will say what started out to be ice cider is what became the "port-cider."
bmd2k1
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What constitutes the tipping point between ice & "port" cider? ABV?
I used "Turbo Yeast" once to make applejack. I just kept feeding them FAJC until it quit bubbling. Froze and skimmed of the ice until it wouldn't freeze anymore. I was left with a very hot and sweet syrup. I didn't share any 
OP
OP
MarkKF
Well-Known Member
No. Adding a neutral spirit to an actively fermenting wine stops fermentation and boosts ABV but still retains sweetness and flavor. Letting it finish and jacking it makes a very dry low flavor higher ABV product. Compare Port Wine to Grappa.
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
If you can't access inexpensive apple brandy and you plan on aging before drinking, you can always add a bit of FAJC for flavor and Everclear to boost the ABV. For me personally, I like store bought corn squeezin's to boost ABV and also to make Limoncello with. Vodka always leaves a tell-tale flavor in my opinion.
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
The cider I have that tastes like port probably stayed in the fermention bottle too long and some oxygen got to it. I does taste very similar to a brandy fortified wine, but with the only juice/alcohol in it being made from 100% apples, there is a different flavor, but a great flavor none the less. Looking back, I really have no idea how to replicate the apple port again, so I will sit on the rest of the accidental port for another year or so to see how it tastes then.
Hey Mark, Great post! Very informative! Quick question - I thought hard cider is often made by adding alcohol to the cider to get a higher ABV. Isn't this how the big guys do it (Angry Orchard, Smith & Forge etc.)?
MindenMan
Well-Known Member
Alan, the way that Angry Orchard and Smith and Forge make hard cider is sketchy at best; the A-O commercials show "two whole apples" in every bottle of cider. Two apples is generally around four ounces of juice, so the rest is water, sugars and flavoring: not really a high quality juice product. The surprise (shame) is A-O holds a 60% plus share of the hard cider market at this time.
