want to brew a series of 1-gallon test batches

[twd000]

About 6 months ago, I bought a gallon of Sunflower Markets apple cider (unfiltered juice was 1.060 by itself). I pitched some liquid Wyeast cider yeast and let it ferment at room temp. At the end of fermentation, it tasted pretty "hooch-y" which was expected. I racked it off the yeast into a clean vessel about once a month for the next 5 months. I ended up with a very tasty product, dry and tart at 0.990 but with plenty of apple flavor remaining.

So I want to branch out and experiment with some variations on this simple recipe. I'm planning on several 1-gallon test batches. I'll probably use Nottingham yeast for all batches, since so many here have had good success with it. All will be aged 4-6 months or until they taste "done".

Batch 1: plain apple juice, dry-hop with a couple grams of Cascade hops one week before serving.

Batch 2: plain apple juice fermented out completely, then add raisins and let that finish fermenting. How many raisins should I add per gallon? How long should I let them sit in the primary?

Batch 3: apple juice with 1/4 cup of brown sugar added at the end of primary. Add a cinnamon stick (how much/how long?) for flavoring?

Batch 4: apple juice with 1/4 cup of brown sugar added at the end of primary. Add a cinnamon stick (how much/how long?) for flavoring. What about other spices like allspice to get a "Winter-Seasonal" type flavor?

Batch 5: plain apple juice fermented out, then add vanilla bean (how much/ how long?

Batch 6: plain apple juice fermented out, then add oak chips (how much/ how long?

Should I consolidate any of these combos to a single batch?

Any tips on best-practices for adding these flavorings and extra fermentables? Should I count the timeline back from the anticipated consumption date? I know with hops that the flavor really fades quickly with time, so I usually dry hop 7 days before packaging. Does this hold true for other spices and oak-aging?

 

[NiteBeest]

Batch 1: Never dry-hopped before, but if 7 days prior to packaging works for you, then go for it.

Batch 2: Add the raisins at beginning of ferment. It'll add some nutrients and some extra sugar. Add about a handful and chop them up prior to putting in primary.

Batch 3 and 4: Make a 2 gal batch and add 1/2 cup brown sugar to primary at beginning of ferment. Might want to make it 1-2 cups total (1/2 - 1 cup per gal). Add the cinnamon in the secondary to one half and cinnamon and whatever else to the other half. Cloves work well (don't use too many though). Cinnamon, clove, and all spice work pretty well together. I'd add about 1 cinnamon stick, 2-3 cloves, and a couple all spice berries per gallon. Taste periodically for how much spice flavor you want.

Batch 5 and 6: Make a 2 gallon batch, let it ferment out. Add 1 vanilla bean split to one gallon. Taste periodically til you get the flavor you want. Add the oak chips (for one gallon maybe 1/2 oz) to the other gallon. Taste monthly til you get the oaky flavor you want. Will probably take 2-3 months for the oak to start coming through. If you want it a bit oakier just age on the oak for longer.

Hope this helps. A lot of stuff you want to do in secondary (spices, sometimes fruit, oak, etc.) you can just make a larger primary batch and then split it off. That way you get one main batch that you can just rack into 1 gal containers and then add flavorings there.

 

[twd000]

OK, I like the idea of splitting a couple larger batches.

In the past, I aged the plain cider for 6 months to smooth out the hot alcohol flavors. If I use Nottingham yeast and ferment at 65 (rather than 75 as before) do you think it will reach that same maturity sooner?

The reason I ask is that many added flavors drops off quickly with time - hops for one. Do cinnamon, vanilla, oak exhibit similar decreases, or do they stay mainly the same? I will taste the test batches and rack them off of the spices when the flavors reach the level I want, but I'm concerned that the aging of the alcohol/apple flavors may not coincide with the spice flavors if I wait another couple months to mellow.

 

[NiteBeest]

Nottingham has a recommended temp range of 57º - 70ºF. So if you stay in that range you really shouldn't get too many hot alcohol flavors. Some people like to drink the cider straight out of primary or secondary. Some like to age it for a while. Do whatever suits you best. The fact that you're going to be adding the cinnamon, winter spice, and oak to the batches after fermentation, you can just let those age for a few months with the flavorings. Plus sometimes it takes a few months after for the spices to really start getting good in a cider. All personal preference though. You may try it right out of the secondary and think it's drinkable then. I know some people like to stash a couple bottles of each batch away so that way they can drink it down the line after it's aged. You can always try that so that way when you open up a couple bottles down the line you can say "Hey... this winter spiced cider really gets good 18 months down the line".

 

[twd000]

for those who have tried raisins, would you say they add anything to the mouthfeel or body of the cider, or it is just another sugar source that ferments out completely without leaving any flavors behind?

 

[DoctorWho]

Raisins add tannins, which helps mouthfeel, adds some flavors and also is a source of nutrients for the yeast. I have done 1 to 1 comparisons with and without, where raisins were the only ingredient changed, and while it isn't night and day, the cider WITH raisins tastes better.

So now I always add raisins.

 

[RobWalker]

Oak chips will deliver a great taste if you soak them in some bourbon for a few weeks before - if you do this when you put your gallon batches on, they'll absorb plenty of the liquid by the time they're needed in secondary. When distillers make rum, the only flavor in the rum comes from the fact that it's aged in oak barrels that used to be used to make bourbon. I can't imagine oak alone would deliver much.

Your standard winter spice for mulling is cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cloves. If it's ever boiled up to drink warm, you'll almost always have citrus in it, so you could add orange peel/lemon peel too. I just spiced a ginger ale using a simple method - wait until clear, syphon into another carboy the same (or just cycle it between a bucket and back into the carboy or something,) and put your ingredients in a small muslin bag - tie the bag to some fishing line, and just let it hang in the cider until it's got enough flavor - then you can easily take it back out. perfect spicing! make sure you sterilize the muslin and fishing line though...

For the record, any sort of spices added in primary will pretty much taste rubbish, or not at all.

 

[dinnerstick]

Oak chips will deliver a great taste if you soak them in some bourbon for a few weeks before - if you do this when you put your gallon batches on, they'll absorb plenty of the liquid by the time they're needed in secondary. When distillers make rum, the only flavor in the rum comes from the fact that it's aged in oak barrels that used to be used to make bourbon. I can't imagine oak alone would deliver much.

may i respectfully suggest, admittedly as someone who has never oak-matured a cider, that this is crazy talk? are you suggesting all heavily oaked red wines get that strong woody vanilla flavor from thin air?? where does all the buttery nuttiness in an oaky chardonnay come from?
it is clear that a lot of the flavor in rum and whisky comes from the previous occupant of the barrel, that is true indeed, i have been to islay and tasted the raw spirit going in compared to the same stuff after 10 years (at ardbeg no less), and have samped the delights of whisky matured in just about every type of barrel going,,,, delicious... where was i... but these people are talking about new oak which on its own delivers a very woody punch!

 

[RobWalker]

Yup, but how long would that take? I'm not being rhetorical by the way, purely asking.

I've never done it at home, but I'd imagine you'd get a much tastier result quickly from bourbon soaked chips...

 

[NiteBeest]

You might get some notes from the bourbon. I have 3 gallons of cider aging on 1 oz hungarian med plus oak cubes. Didn't soak them in anything before I racked onto them. It's been about 3 weeks so far. I haven't tried it yet, but will give it til about 1 1/2 - 2 months before I try it. When I take a little taste I'll let you all know how it is.