Strawberry Cider

[Enkidu25]

So I want to make a sparkling strawberry cider and since I am new I am still trying to figure out how to do this. My ideas and options I can think of are as follows.

1. Add a pound of strawberry puree per gallon in primary. My concern is that most of the strawberry flavor will be gone but I will get a good color.

2. Even though most people suggest not doing a secondary anymore, add the puree during a secondary fermentation.

3. Back to adding to primary but when bottling, add a strawberry flavoring like Brewer's Best. That way I get some good red tones and get the strawberry flavor. My concern is my wife wants something natural and I have heard that the flavorings can be very chemical tasting.

Any ideas or help please?

 

[Enkidu25]

One more thing, LOL, would adding a sugary puree to a secondary just activate the yeast again and put me back into a primary stage?

 

[Enkidu25]

I forgot to mention that I will be bottling this. I thought about adding strawberry juice during bottling but I worry about making bottle bombs.

 

[madscientist451]

One thing to remember is that fermented fruit doesn't taste anything like the original fruit.
I've made cider with almost all varieties of berries I can get around here and the results are usually interesting, but there just isn't a whole lot of fruit flavor.
Is your goal to have a significant strawberry flavor?
Try making some tinctures. Get a quart jar and some decent vodka.
Cut up the strawberries, put them in the jar and pour in the vodka.
Let it sit a few weeks, then make a cocktail with carbonated water.
You can experiment with the flavors you get and then try adding the tincture to cider.

 

[Enkidu25]

I would like to have a distinctive strawberry taste. When are you adding the tincture to the process?

 

[bmd2k1]

I add 100% Strawberry juice concentrate Post Fermentation --- from www.brownwoodacres.com

I use a # of their concentrates and have been very happy with the results.

Cheers & Good Luck

 

[Enkidu25]

Awesome. Thank you. You added a pound but to how much cider? Did you let it sit in secondary after adding the concentrate?

 

[Redeemer]

Awesome. Thank you. You added a pound but to how much cider? Did you let it sit in secondary after adding the concentrate?

I know this is a few months old but what you mentioned about secondary falling out of favor applies more to beer than wine or cider. I have used fruit in the primary before and you do still get a fair amount of flavor depending on how long you let the ferment run, and how much fruit you use. For example I am currently running a strawberry cyser (4 gallons apple juice, 8 pounds of honey and 10 pounds of frozen strawberries). It is picking up nice color from the berries and a very pleasant strawberry aroma.

Adding berries to your secondary really makes the flavor pop though, because rather than fermenting the berries, you are performing more of a weak alcohol extraction. If you do both primary and secondary, you get the flavor on both ends and it is a fruit bomb for sure.

I'm considering adding another 10 pounds of strawberries to secondary, letting it sit for about 3 weeks, racking to tertiary and then priming with honey (if it is completely dry) for some mild carbonation.

Incidentally, I think most people would consider 20 lbs of fruit to a 5 gallon batch to be on the lighter side. It works for me and the flavor profile I am pursuing however.