The cider thread

[rcubed1]

I've been making cider with Costco juice up until this past weekend and got some local fresh pressed juice from a blend of four varieties. OG is 1.080!!!! Added some yeast nutrient and I'm just letting it ferment wild.

 

[Lutter]

Put together a cider today with 3/4 honey crisp organic apple juice (pasteurized, no preservatives) and 1/4 Apple concentrate.

OG was 1.082 so it should come out to ~9.5% ABV (champagne yeast so I expect it to get dry af).

Last cider is ready to go but I have no idea where my bottles went. Will have to locate some and hopefully bottle tomorrow.

Was just gonna sanitize some Grolshlager bottles but the ones at the supermarket aren’t swing tops anymore. Grr.

 

[Lutter]

Surprising amount of activity still in the fermenter on Saturday's brew.

Trying to decide if I want to try to backsweeten the ~5% ABV cider I made last month. I've never tried doing it.

From what I've read (and spoken to my homebrew pal about) I can add juice concentrate or honey as well as priming sugar and pasteurize as soon as the bottles are ready co2-wise (so as to kill whatever yeast are left). It's been in the fermenter a good month now, so it's dying to be bottled.

 

[rcubed1]

Surprising amount of activity still in the fermenter on Saturday's brew.

Trying to decide if I want to try to backsweeten the ~5% ABV cider I made last month. I've never tried doing it.

From what I've read (and spoken to my homebrew pal about) I can add juice concentrate or honey as well as priming sugar and pasteurize as soon as the bottles are ready co2-wise (so as to kill whatever yeast are left). It's been in the fermenter a good month now, so it's dying to be bottled.

Usually you'll want to kill the yeast, keg, force carbonate, and then bottle with a beer gun or counter pressure filler.

 

[Lutter]

Usually you'll want to kill the yeast, keg, force carbonate, and then bottle with a beer gun or counter pressure filler.

Unfortunately I don't have kegging equipment.

Will probably just bottle dry or add some non-fermenting sugars at bottling. My wife just likes it a little sweet.

 

[Lutter]

Unfortunately I don't have kegging equipment.

Will probably just bottle dry or add some non-fermenting sugars at bottling. My wife just likes it a little sweet.

So I’ve been reading a lot about this and I can overdo the priming phase with too much sugar, check a sample in a plastic bottle for when it is done carbing. Then murder all the yeast with a 10 minute pasteurization at 180 degrees to end the carb and keep residual backsweetening. I’ll do that with apple juice concentrate.

My strong cider has gone from 1.082 to 1.02 in a week (8.4% ABV) I’m gonna let that complete fermenting out for another 2 weeks and I created a tincture of key lime and will add lactose to create a strong key lime cider.

Got another gallon of cider for to start another batch when I bottle sometime this week. (Gotta finish a 12-pack of bottles first, lol). That’s gonna be finished with cherry concentrate at bottling.

Also bought pectin enzyme for future batches. I’m just too impatient to wait for this stuff to clear.

 

[Phischy1]

I have a 4.5 gallon batch going now. Organic juice from Sprouts. Added pectic enzyme and just letting it go on dry yeast. Plan to keg this batch and then bottle it off in Yellow Rose bottles (those labels are insanely hard to remove).

Should be about 5%.

Next I want to do a tart cherry small batch.

I need to learn more about acid blending. Don't even know where to start.

 

[rcubed1]

I need to learn more about acid blending. Don't even know where to start.

Hit up Trout on the QUAFF list. You'll likely get an essay on it as a response.

 

[Phischy1]

Hit up Trout on the QUAFF list. You'll likely get an essay on it as a response.

I have no need for a lecture in hipsterbonics. I can barely comprehend his stream of thought postings as is. His posts give me dyslexia, I ask myself if i got kicked in the head or if his words are actually in the correct order.

That being said I do wish I had taken one of his classes before I left. He's much easier to understand in person.

 

[Lutter]

Bottled my first cider finally. Strong cider is still bubbling a lot.

Bottled with apple juice concentrate. Put the first pour in a plastic soda bottle so I can test when to pasteurize.

I really need to get a couple of these going at once... I only got about 10 bottles of beer from 1 gallon, lol. They’re gonna be gone in ~ half a second after my wife gets ahold of them.

 

[Lutter]

Started a new cider today with some Walmart branded honeycrisp juice as an experiment (it costs literally as much for 128 oz as 32oz of the organic stuff)

Man they water that **** down a lot compared to the organic stuff (obviously that’s how they get the price down) OG rating was 1.042 compared to 1.054 from the organic stuff. Brought it up to 1.052 with some brown sugar. Gonna add some cinnamon and vanilla to the secondary for Thanksgiving. Whewboy.

The strong cider I made 2 weeks ago still has active fermentation going on. It’s gonna be huge. Tasted delicious last week... I’ll start taking more readings this week to see how big it’ll get.

 

[Lutter]

My wife said it wasn’t sweet enough.

Lady, I carbed with an entire 12oz can of apple concentrate on 128oz of cider after you said you wanted it real sweet... you cray. Carbed up in 4 days.

My first experience pasteurizing and backsweetening so I’ll let ya know if anything splodes, lol.

Next time around the only sweetening agent will be lactose cause this stuff is sickeningly sweet to me. My wife can add agave syrup if she wants a Riesling-like cider, lol.

 

[Lutter]

LOL. I sometimes feel like I'm talking to myself in this thread.

I bottled up the 12.5% ABV cider I made... more like an apfelwein really. Gallon batch. I added in 1/2lb of lactose in the bottling bucket I use (put with the least amount of water possible microwaved till clear) as well as the key lime tincture that I've had in the fridge for about 6 weeks (~4-5oz of vodka infused with key lime zest).

Brought it to a party last night (I decided to serve it still, although I kept a few bottles outside the fridge and unpasteurized to see if they actually carb up, which could be interesting) and it was a big hit. Gonna need to make that one again, although it took about 2 months to ferment and mellow out a bit.

Got my brown sugar cider ready to go, just not sure what I want to do with it yet. Will probably spice and serve with thankgiving dinner.

 

[Phischy1]

I'd start making larger batches. I still need to keg mine. Maybe today.

 

[Skittle34]

I really have to bottle my 3 gallons, like today. It's been sitting in the carboy for about a month now...

 

[Lutter]

I'd start making larger batches. I still need to keg mine. Maybe today.

1 gallon is about all my wife will tolerate. We're in an apt. I like that I can cold crash in the fridge pretty easily at that size.

Might move to 3 gallon sometime. I need more damn room though.

 

[Phischy1]

Our house was bought with an eye for brewing. So I totally get it.

 

[Lutter]

Just put together a tincture of vodka, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and allspice to marinate in the fridge. Figure I’ll heat that up in a pan with some brown sugar and serve with the cider I’ve got ready that was fermented partly with brown sugar for thanksgiving.

Gonna be a total panty dropper for sure.

 

[rcubed1]

Checked on the gravity of the cider made with fresh pressed local apples and it's sitting at 9.99%. A beast!

 

[Espeer]

Checked on the gravity of the cider made with fresh pressed local apples and it's sitting at 9.99%. A beast!

Just pure juice? Didn't know apples ever had that much sugar.

 

[rcubed1]

Just pure juice? Didn't know apples ever had that much sugar.

Yep, pure juice. Locally in the mountains we have the town of Julian that is at perfect elevation for the trees to get a ton of sun. I was told the apples that grow there can get the highest sugar in the country. I couldn't believe how high the ABV was of the ciders from the local cidery up there.

 

[Lutter]

Checked on the gravity of the cider made with fresh pressed local apples and it's sitting at 9.99%. A beast!

I just tested some Whole Foods juice and was ecstatic when I saw it was 0.057 OG. Prolly be ~6.5% ABV.

That’s nuts to get that much sugar with no adjuncts!

Nothing added this time but I’m using pectic enzyme to clarify (it’s very clear now... added before I left for my trip) as well as yeast starter for the first time. Need to bottle my Christmas cider tomorrow.

 

[PrinceCasual]

This is only semi-cider related, but I have long enjoyed the Eric Bordelet cidres/sidres, although quite pricy. I was in a liquor store the other day and they had this, an 18yr cask strength Calvados. They (not the link I am posting) had it for $139/375ml.

Want, but ouch

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/s...-Single-Cask-18-Year-Calvados-1998-w3962134kz

 

[Lutter]

Don’t use Walmart “Organic” Apple juice in cider making. This stuff came out like ass. Way too watered down... I compensated for the low OG with brown sugar and it just came out way too boozy with a weird astringency in the back of the taste.

Took about 32oz and stuck it in my cold brew pot to infuse coffee to try to save it. Prolly will just toss it. Ah well... at least it was a cheap $4 test, lol.

 

[Lutter]

Don’t use Walmart “Organic” Apple juice in cider making. This stuff came out like ass. Way too watered down... I compensated for the low OG with brown sugar and it just came out way too boozy with a weird astringency in the back of the taste.

Took about 32oz and stuck it in my cold brew pot to infuse coffee to try to save it. Prolly will just toss it. Ah well... at least it was a cheap $4 test, lol.

... ... .... well **** me. I blended that 1/4 that I coldbrewed for 24 hours back in and that astringency is completely gone.

It’s literally the best cider I’ve made now. The cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice are now popping and now amaretto from the coffee.

Thanks adjuncts!

I really need to start brewing bigger batches. It hurts to only get 4.5 750ml bottles outta this (lost some cider from coffee absorption)

ULTRA LIMITED RELEASE.

 

[Lutter]

I really need to start brewing bigger batches. It hurts to only get 4.5 750ml bottles outta this (lost some cider from coffee absorption)

I guess churning out so few bottles must've annoyed her so she picked me up a Big Bubbler 6.5 gallon fermenter for my birthday.

Woo.

Gonna stop at the supermarket and start a big batch going tonight. Got another gallon in the fridge cold crashing but I'm probably just gonna start using wine finings with the big batches because I'm apparently not patient enough to get these things clear naturally, lol.

 

[rcubed1]

I've been making cider with Costco juice up until this past weekend and got some local fresh pressed juice from a blend of four varieties. OG is 1.080!!!! Added some yeast nutrient and I'm just letting it ferment wild.

This is back sweetened and kegged. A touch booziness to it but still fantastic. Those that got the same juice and naturally fermented got the best results fermenting at low temps around 60F. I went with mid 60s early and then let it ramp up.

I ended up with cider left in the fermenter and just got another batch going with Kirkland juice and a bag of frozen cherries added.

 

[Lutter]

My homebrew club went absolutely ape tit about that key lime/lactose cider I made ~2 months ago this weekend for our monthly meeting. It's really hit it's stride.... which is perfect now that it's completely gone, lol.

Got a 6 gallon batch churning. Will probably finish 1/2 as dry, untouched cider for me, 1/4 key lime/lactose & 1/4 backsweetened for my wife. 1.054 OG... so it should be around 6.5-7% ABV depending on how much it dries out (I used champagne yeast, so probably pretty close to the top).