Simple Hard Cider, Bottle Carbed and back sweetened with xylitol.

[atmfuge]

This was my first adventure in making cider. I wasn't planning on posting the recipe but I gave a couple of bottles away as Christmas gifts and they received good reviews so here it is.

Brew Day Ingredients
5x Gallons Musselman's Apple cider ($4.98/gal @ Walmart)
1x pkg Nottingham yeast
1x lbs. Domino Brown Sugar
5x tsp. yeast nutrient
2.5x tsp. pectic enzyme

Brew Day Instructions
1)Dissolve 1 lb. brown sugar into .5 gal of cider in a pot on the stove. (do not boil the cider just light heat in order to allow the sugar to dissolve)
2) Add the pectic enzyme and yeast nutrient to the jug of cider used to dissolve the sugar
3) Pour the remaining 4 gal. of cider into your fermenter. Pour the cider 1/2 gallon at a time making sure to shake the jugs between pours to allow the cider to aerate.
4) Add portions of the cider/nutrient/enzyme mixture and the dissolved sugar solution into the fermenter between each gallon of cider.
5) Pitch the package of Nottingham on top of the cider and stir.
6) Cover the fermenter and let ferment for 10 days at 60-65 degrees (or until you reach your desired FG. 1.001 for us)

rack to secondary
After 10 days in primary we racked to secondary and topped off the carboy with about a half gallon of fresh cider. I know that the extra cider caused fermentation to start back up but we were concerned with the amount of headspace we had and the possibility of our cider oxidizing. Luckily it all worked out fine.
The Cider cleared after about 2 weeks in secondary but was still a little harsh and dry so we left it in for another 2 weeks before bottling

Bottling
Bottling ingredients
~ 3 Tbs/ gal xylitol sweetener
~ 1 tsp of Apple Extract
5 oz. Priming sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.

On bottling day we racked the cider into our bottling bucket before adding the priming sugar so that we could sweeten and flavor it as desired. Once we reached the desired flavor we then mixed the priming solution in and ensured that it was fully mixed into the cider while minimizing the chances of oxidation. From there we bottled as normal into a mix of 12 and 22 oz. bottles.

We let the cider condition for 3 weeks before drinking. (I did test 2 bottles along the way) It has been a huge hit with family and friends throughout the holidays.

Hopefully this has been helpful. It was super simple and smooth drinking.
In the future I am hoping to experiment with some different tea infusions, we'll see how that goes.

 

[caseymac91]

Xylitol is definitely the best tasting artificial sweetener.

 

[RobbaryCider]

What was the flavor like after 2nd racking? Mine still tastes a little bitter with a fuel like aftertaste.

 

[atmfuge]

What was the flavor like after 2nd racking? Mine still tastes a little bitter with a fuel like aftertaste.

RibbaryCider,
I never got any real fuel like tastes, but I will say that the alcohol was at the very front until it was probably 2 months old. It has since started to mellow out nicely but the alcohol is still there. I can only think that maybe the fermentation temps were a little high. I'm going to try and drop the temps on my next batch and keep them around 60.

 

[RobbaryCider]

RibbaryCider,
I never got any real fuel like tastes, but I will say that the alcohol was at the very front until it was probably 2 months old. It has since started to mellow out nicely but the alcohol is still there. I can only think that maybe the fermentation temps were a little high. I'm going to try and drop the temps on my next batch and keep them around 60.

I have bottle therms on all my brew bottles. I brew between 63-65 degrees and then rack in storage at 60 degrees. I did just finish a 6 day stage 1 and 45 day stage 2 of a S-04 yeast...and it tastes like juice. I'd tested it and should be right around 5% so it...simply put is delicious.

 

[atmfuge]

My next batch is going to be with S-04. I'm hoping for exactly that, about 5% and lots of juice flavor. Any tips with S-04 or sweetening and flavoring?

 

[RobbaryCider]

My next batch is going to be with S-04. I'm hoping for exactly that, about 5% and lots of juice flavor. Any tips with S-04 or sweetening and flavoring?

Hey,

So I used 1 gallon of Whole Foods 365 Apple Juice. I used just a teaspoon of Yeast and a 1/4 teaspoon of nutrient and 1/3 teaspoon of Pectic Enzyme (to help with color).

I calculated and my finished cider after 5 weeks was just above 5%.

I racked my cider on day 6 and re-racked on day 14. I used no extra sweetners. The S-04 is a sweet producing yeast. And this cider continues to get more robust and "apple-y"

Enjoy! I'm setting up to duplicate this into 5 gallons

 

[globell]

Hey,

So I used 1 gallon of Whole Foods 365 Apple Juice. I used just a teaspoon of Yeast and a 1/4 teaspoon of nutrient and 1/3 teaspoon of Pectic Enzyme (to help with color).

I calculated and my finished cider after 5 weeks was just above 5%.

I racked my cider on day 6 and re-racked on day 14. I used no extra sweetners. The S-04 is a sweet producing yeast. And this cider continues to get more robust and "apple-y"

Enjoy! I'm setting up to duplicate this into 5 gallons

I'd like to try s-04! I like your review! Question - Does it taste like an ale or beer? I'm not a fan of either....

 

[MindenMan]

Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead yeast makes amazing cider, especially when fermented below 60F. I currently have some fermenting at 35F, yes it is still actively fermenting. It is a yeast that leaves residual sweetness, so depending on your which level of sweetness you want (or not) you can control it by modifying the O.G.

 

[dereese2a]

In your directions for bottling you say Bottling
Bottling ingredients
~ 3 Tbs/ gal xylitol sweetener
~ 1 tsp of Apple Extract
5 oz. Priming sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.
Is that 1 tsp of apple extract per 5 gallons or per gallon and 5 oz priming sugar per 5 gallons or per gallon?

Also, doesn't Musslemans had preservatives in it? Or is that what the yeast nutrient if for?

 

[triethylborane]

In your directions for bottling you say Bottling
Bottling ingredients
~ 3 Tbs/ gal xylitol sweetener
~ 1 tsp of Apple Extract
5 oz. Priming sugar dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.
Is that 1 tsp of apple extract per 5 gallons or per gallon and 5 oz priming sugar per 5 gallons or per gallon?

Also, doesn't Musslemans had preservatives in it? Or is that what the yeast nutrient if for?

Reasonable guess is that the bottling procedure calls for

1 tsp AE per 5 gallons

5 oz priming sugar per 5 gallons.


5oz priming sugar per 5 gallons is kind of the benchmark for bottle carbing beer and cider, can't imagine 5oz per gallon being anything but a good way to create bottle bombs.

 

[dereese2a]

Thanks so much.