ayupbrewing said:Not much action here. Was hoping to find a good simple cider recipe to try one for the first time....
What kind of commercial cider do you like?
Albionwood said:Yesterday I counted kegs and realized I have nearly 70 gallons of finished ciders!
My "recipe": Grind apples, press juice, add a little (about 50 ppm) sulfite, wait a couple days, pitch yeast. Ferment cold until finished, usually 3 to 6 months. Rack whenever a good blanket of sediment appears. Keg when fermentation stops. Bulk age for a few months, then taste, and blend different batches to achieve a balanced final product.
The apples come from my orchard, mostly from trees we planted here between 8 and 12 years ago. I guess that is our real accomplishment!
Albionwood said:None of them. At least not any of the ones you find on most store shelves; all of those are too sweet and have that fakey "Jolly Rancher" flavor. The only commercial ciders I like are from a few craft cideries that make the real stuff, using 100% juice from true cider apples.
Yesterday I counted kegs and realized I have nearly 70 gallons of finished ciders!
My "recipe": Grind apples, press juice, add a little (about 50 ppm) sulfite, wait a couple days, pitch yeast. Ferment cold until finished, usually 3 to 6 months. Rack whenever a good blanket of sediment appears. Keg when fermentation stops. Bulk age for a few months, then taste, and blend different batches to achieve a balanced final product.
The apples come from my orchard, mostly from trees we planted here between 8 and 12 years ago. I guess that is our real accomplishment!
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Here's mine. See the recipe in the "Better than apfelwein" thread. I used the 3068 yeast, and it came out great. Until my cat dumped 4 gallons of it onto the floor...
Is that cat still alive? I'll be furious if my cats do that but they're good and i wont leave 4gallons unattendent.
Its days are numbered.
I thought my cider was safe and sound in my kegerator, but it turns out that my cat likes to play with tap handles....
What varieties are you growing Albionwood?
I've got access to a neglected orchard of ~200 dwarf EU Bittersharps and Bittersweets this year. Trying to bring it back into the fold.
Definitely prefer the ciders made from classic varieties, but don't exclude US antique sharps and multi-purpose apples.
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