Special-B in cider?

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I've really enjoyed using Special-B malt in my stouts + porters, I like the raisin/plum (almost licorice) flavors that it creates..

I've been thinking that it might be quite tasty in cider at the right proportions.

I've been doing 8oz in 12-gallon batches of beer, and it seems to be the right amount. However, if I scale that to a 5-gallon batch, I'm wondering if it might be too much for the delicate flavor of cider. Scaling down 5/12gallons * 8 oz = 3.33oz (probably round up to 4oz).

Has anybody done this?

M_C

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Well I didn't hear back from anyone, so I went ahead and put it together...

5-gallons of apple juice
8 oz of Special-B, that I "mini mashed" in 1 quart of 165F apple juice, then "sparged" with 1 quart of 165F apple juice.
20oz of light brown sugar.
Nottingham yeast.

Here's the color it looks like:

Fermenting @ 68F right now.

M_C

 

[RobWalker]

Ciders with malt are becoming really popular on here, so why not could have been a good idea to add some wheat for a head though. let us know how it goes!

 

[seabass07]

Sounds good to me. It seems like it would leave a good amount of residual sweetness instead of finishing dry like ciders normally do.

In for results!

 

[RobWalker]

Oh, what was your OG out of interest?

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I didn't take an OG reading. Since I was adding brown sugar in each gallon of apple juice, I would have had to use a wine thief or a use my refractometer and steal some with a racking cane. I was pretty beat up after a long day of brewing yesterday and didn't want to add to it any more than I had to!

Assuming apple juice @ 1.046, and 1.25 lbs of brown sugar, and 8oz of Special B, Beersmith gives me an OG of 1.060, and an SRM of 12.8.

I wasn't interested in doing a wheat mash.. Just wanted to get some plum/raisin/licorice flavor from the Special-B. (personal preference).

I will definitely post updates.

M_C

 

[RobWalker]

Fair do's. 1.060 is the OG I always aim for roughly so it's worked out well anyway! Good luck old chap.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Fair do's. 1.060 is the OG I always aim for roughly so it's worked out well anyway! Good luck old chap.

Any good ciders/real ale to be had around B'ham these days? I was in B'ham in the spring of '2010, had a hard time finding any decent places for a decent pint of real ale! I ended up in Solihull on a late Saturday night...

M_C

 

[shanecb]

Really interested to see how this comes out!

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Edited the recipe, I forgot to write down that I put in 20 oz (1lb 4 oz) of light brown sugar.

M_C

 

[RobWalker]

Any good ciders/real ale to be had around B'ham these days? I was in B'ham in the spring of '2010, had a hard time finding any decent places for a decent pint of real ale! I ended up in Solihull on a late Saturday night...

M_C

Sorry to hear that - solihull is so pretentious it's untrue! I spent my 22nd there being turned away from nightclubs and wishing i'd just stayed in TGI Fridays instead...but our cocktail bill was about £50 each :s

Not sure if you popped into Wetherspoons at any point, but they always have 3 real ales on tap, and almost every town has at least one. It's a chain pub, but they're always quite local ales and fantastic! Many other chains do them too now - Ember Inns etc. It's worth a look!

Also, you totally missed out. This is 3-4 miles away from me (i'm on the border of south birmingham) and it was CAMRA Pub of the Year...they also have a beer festival twice a year with 40+ kegs of real ale, cider and perry.

http://www.the-weighbridge.co.uk/

This place is great city centre wise;

http://www.thelordclifden.com/index.html

other than that i'm sorta stuck! But let me know if you're around again, and we'll have a pint

 

[JLem]

Well I didn't hear back from anyone, so I went ahead and put it together...

5-gallons of apple juice
8 oz of Special-B, that I "mini mashed" in 1 quart of 165F apple juice, then "sparged" with 1 quart of 165F apple juice.
20oz of light brown sugar.
Nottingham yeast.

Here's the color it looks like:

Fermenting @ 68F right now.

M_C

Just curious why you decided to go with 8oz of Special-B for the 5 gallons - you're original post suggested you were going to scale down and even then you were afraid it might be too much.

 

[RobWalker]

Also, won't boiling the apple juice activate the pectins and make it cloudy? I'm not very technical, but this same thing happened to me just by boiling 1/2 carton of apple juice out of 5 litres...

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Both are valid questions.

The Special-B amount. I used 8oz of Special-B in a 10-gallon batch of beer and I liked the flavor. That being said, the beer also had quite a few other grains - chocolate, roasted barley, Biscuit, etc. According to my own words, I should have used 4oz of 'B, and go at that.

But I also realized that the 'B by itself might be underwhelming at such a low amount and I wanted it to shine through. And... I also wasn't 100% certain how much I should use! I figured a bit more might be OK, so I decided to go with 8oz.

As far as the mini-mash, well it was just that, a mini-mash. I did not boil the apple juice, instead I used a mini-mash temp of 165F. And it was only 2 quarts total out of 5 gallons, and was NOT brought to a boil.

In the picture it looks a bit murky, but I really think it might be grain dust that's in there, and it should (hopefully) clarify nicely.

I checked on it yesterday, it's almost done fermenting, still at 68F (in my 100F garage in SC...) in the fermenting fridge. I'll prob take a reading tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

M_C

 

[seabass07]

I hope this turns out ok. I just realized that you mashed the grains without boiling. I'd be concerned about an infection from the grains since they are covered in bacteria. Did you use campden or anything?

 

[RobWalker]

Both are valid questions.

The Special-B amount. I used 8oz of Special-B in a 10-gallon batch of beer and I liked the flavor. That being said, the beer also had quite a few other grains - chocolate, roasted barley, Biscuit, etc. According to my own words, I should have used 4oz of 'B, and go at that.

But I also realized that the 'B by itself might be underwhelming at such a low amount and I wanted it to shine through. And... I also wasn't 100% certain how much I should use! I figured a bit more might be OK, so I decided to go with 8oz.

As far as the mini-mash, well it was just that, a mini-mash. I did not boil the apple juice, instead I used a mini-mash temp of 165F. And it was only 2 quarts total out of 5 gallons, and was NOT brought to a boil.

In the picture it looks a bit murky, but I really think it might be grain dust that's in there, and it should (hopefully) clarify nicely.

I checked on it yesterday, it's almost done fermenting, still at 68F (in my 100F garage in SC...) in the fermenting fridge. I'll prob take a reading tomorrow.

Stay tuned!

M_C

This is true, but mine too was a small ratio and it's resulted in a lot of cloud. I don't mind though, as I take a holiday in somerset/devon every year or two just something to bear in mind though! Apparently one way to avoid this (if you choose to boil) is to add Pectin Enzyme - which works better if added at the start, but also works to some degree if you add it after fermentation. Just something to bear in mind, of course. Hopefully it will clear fine if not boiled

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

The mini-mash probably resulted in 170-175F max temp overall. This kills most bacteria (but not all). I'm not overly concerned about it.

If it doesn't clarify naturally (read: at cold temps), I'll give it a shot with unflavored gelatin when I transfer to secondary.

Edit: I found some interesting info here: http://www.windyhillorchard.com/everythingapples/article.htm

M_C

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

This is true, but mine too was a small ratio and it's resulted in a lot of cloud. I don't mind though, as I take a holiday in somerset/devon every year or two

That took me 2 re-reads to figure out! Good one!

M_C

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Update. Just transferred it to the keg (skipping secondary). Here's what it looks like, a little yeast in flotation.

Tastes and smells a bit of raisins and plums. Very promising!

M_C

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I did use 1 teaspoon of diluted, then warmed (but not boiled) gelatin when I transferred it to the keg for secondary + carbonation.

It'll take me a little while to get to drinking this, as cider #1 is still on draft, cider #2 is ready to tap, and the Special-B cider is #3.

M_C

 

[RobWalker]

i'm confusing at the best of times. hahah.

looks beautiful mate! gorgeous colour.

 

[staggerlee]

I love Special B and I love cider - I'll be trying this when the neighbourhood apples are ready! Thanks for the idea.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I'm still drinking the prior batch of cider. At a rate of one-a-night, it's not going fast. On the up-side, I'm sure this cider will be crystal clear by the time I get to it!

M_C

 

[JerzBrew]

Very curious as to how this turns out, great idea.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Very curious as to how this turns out, great idea.

It's still in the proverbial pipeline

M_C

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

FINALLY got a chance to try this Special-B cider a couple days ago. It's turned out quite nice! It has a moderate hint of special-B "rain/plum" flavors, and it turned out quite clear. I would say that it's not quite as a clear as cider I usually make but it's still clear.

Here's a picture:

I've entered it in a competition in a "all other ciders" category, we'll see how it does.

M_C

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

About 6 pints into it:

M_C