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NineHundred

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Ingredients
  • 5lbs Caramel 60 Malt
  • 3 Bushels of Crabapples
  • 6 Campden Tablets
  • 1 Teaspoon Pectic Enzyme
  • 1 Packs White Labs English Cider Yeast

Materials
  • 1 Air Lock
  • 1 Six Gallon Carboy
  • 1 One Gallon Carboy
  • 1 Six Gallon Aging Cask
  • 1 One Gallon Stainless Steel Pot

Instructions
  • Pour one gallon of freshly pressed Crabapple cider into the six gallon carboy.
  • Pour five gallons of freshly pressed Crabapple cider into the six gallon carboy.
  • Add one crushed Campden tablets to the one gallon carboy.
  • Add four crushed Campden tablets to the six gallon carboy.
  • Stir or shake both carboys until all Campden tablets have dissolved completely.
  • Allow both carboys to sit for at least 12 hours.
  • Pour one teaspoon Pectic Enzyme to the six gallon carboy.
  • Add five pounds of Caramel Malt to the six gallon carboy.
  • Pour the cider from the one gallon carboy into a one gallon Stainless Steel pot and heat to approximately 90F.
  • Pitch one pack of White Labs English Cider Yeast to the heated cider and stir until the majority of the yeast has been absorbed.
  • Pour the heated cider into the one gallon carboy.
  • Allow the heated cider and yeast solution to sit for 24 hours.
  • Pour the Crabapple cider and yeast solution into the six gallon carboy.
  • Securely attach an air lock to the six gallon carboy.
  • Allow the six gallon carboy to ferment for 10-15 days.
  • Rack the fermented cider and return it to the six gallon carboy.
  • Allow the six gallon carboy to ferment for 10-15 days.
  • Rack the fermented cider once more and transfer it to a six gallon aging cask.
  • Allow the fermented cider to age for 8-12 months.
  • Keg aged cider and carbonate.
 
I see a trend also, and I'm a bit perplexed. Are these recipes tried and true, or are they shots in the dark? Why are you heating the cider before pitching? What, exactly, is Caramel Malt (LME, perhaps)?
 
These recipes belong to a good friend of mine (the one who first introduced me to brewing) and I asked if I could post them here. This one in particular is absolutely divine! And it is Caramel 60.
 
So you add Caramel 60 straight to the fermenter? Interesting. Post some tasting notes, please. We strive only to include proven recipes in the database.
 
I'm not following the recipe. Put one gallon of cider in the fermenter, then put another 5 gallons in it? You end up with 6 gallons of liquid in the 6 gallon fermenter, then add grain? Doesn't it overflow? Or are you using 2 6-gallon carboys and calling them by the same name? Which one do I add what to?
 
I think those first two instructions are supposed to say

Pour one gallon of freshly pressed Crabapple cider into the one gallon carboy.
Pour five gallons of freshly pressed Crabapple cider into the six gallon carboy.

Caramel malt in cider? Hmmm....
 
I think those first two instructions are supposed to say

Pour one gallon of freshly pressed Crabapple cider into the one gallon carboy.
Pour five gallons of freshly pressed Crabapple cider into the six gallon carboy.

Caramel malt in cider? Hmmm....

Caramel apple flavor maybe? I was thinking about doing something like this with regular apple cider. Be curious to see tasting notes.
 
I would think it owuld have to be either DME or LME. I looked at the Midwest site and found a traditional dark DME, but it's only a 30*L, and an extra dark DME, but that one is only a 35-45*L. There is also a Briess dark LME, but it doesn't have an actual rating other than it creates a wort typically 25*L to 45*L.

Either way, I believe you need to add these sugars to bump the SG, and using either of these malt extracts, you would probably want to slightly heat some of the cider in order to disolve these for easier incorporation into the cider.

I just put ~100 pounds of crabapples in the freezer, and plan on trying something like this soon.
 
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