Tart Cherry Cider

[RolandD]

I just have to boast about my Tart Cherry Cider I have brewing. One week to Secondary and it already tastes amazing. Here's the recipe:

5.25 gallons Great Value Apple Juice
1 gallon Old Orchard Tart Cherry Juice
6 tsp Yeast Nutrient
3 tsp Yeast Energizer
1 packet Lavin D-47

Original gravity: 1.051

Pitched yeast dry at 69 degrees

I started this on 10/7, just racked to Secondary today 10/15. This recipe made enough that I was able to rack a full six gallons to Secondary and pull a sample for testing and tasting. After eight days, the SG was 1.002. The highest temp in my brew closet was 72 degree, this went up 74 degrees for two days. I sweetened the sample with simple syrup and the taste was incredible. The cherry flavor was subtle, but bright with just a hint of apple, If this finishes out as good as it is now it will be phenomenal.

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

Thanks for posting this! A few of my local orchards also press cherry juice and I've been wanting to buy some untreated cherry juice to add in with my cider but never end up pulling the trigger. I'll give it a go now, for sure. Do you plan on stabilizing and back sweetening? Be sure to upload some good ol' cider porn for the rest of us to oggle. Cheers!

 

[RolandD]

I plan to stabilize with K-meta and K-sorb, back sweeten with the tart cherry juice, keg and carbonate. I'll upload some pics when it's done.

 

[RolandD]

So, I made a simple syrup from 5 cups of Monera sugar and 2.5 cups of the Tart Cherry juice. This made about 7 cups of simple syrup. I used just over 6 cups of syrup to sweeten the 5 gallons as I kegged it. The remaining sugar was just enough to sweeten two 2L bottles of leftover cider. Once carbed, it was extremely good. Unfortunately, I drained the keg before I got any pictures.

I currently have 13.5 gallons of this fermenting, using apple juice from Aldi's.