Your favorite 1 gallon cider/apfelwein recipes?

[Resortcarabel]

I want to experiment with the ciders I am making by introducing other ingredients (berries, cinnamon, herbs, etc.) while also ensuring that I don't ruin 5 gallons of perfectly fine apple juice. I have some extra space in the apartment, so I'm planning to line one short wall with a few one-gallon apple juice bottles and just let them do their thing.

Do you have a favorite recipe or two to share?

 

[balrog]

EdWort

 

[z-bob]

I've made some pretty good wine and cider by adding a small jar of jelly to a gallon of juice. (Homemade jellies that are several years old and turning brown but still taste good) The best so far were apple juice plus crabapple jelly, and white grape juice plus plum jelly.

All the brown settles out with the yeast when it clears. You would think the cooked pectin would make it hazy, but it doesn't, that settles out too.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

z-bob - that's a great idea, and I'll probably give it a try, sometime. When you say "small jar," are you talking about the half-pint canning jars (8 ounces), or something else?

Resortcarabel - as balrog notes, Edwort's apfelwein is possibly the best way to start with a first cider...or even a 10th or 15th cider. If you need assistance with scaling it down, let me know as I have converted the recipe to 1 gallon, but it's pretty bloody easy. The best advice I can give is don't mess with it; don't try to "improve" it or modify it...at least at first. Learn some fundamentals, trust the process and enjoy some great stuff.

Good luck!

Ron

 

[z-bob]

Yes, a half-pint canning jar. And I don't add any pectic enzymes, just a little yeast nutrient.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Thanks, z - that's is a pretty cool idea, and a great way to experiment with different flavours.

Considering the amount of sugar involved in making jellies, I am guessing that no added sugar necessary? What ABV do you shoot for?

 

[z-bob]

I just dump it in. Shoot for whatever ABV I get. I don't even check with a hydrometer because so much sugar is trapped at the bottom in the jelly it would give a false reading.

It's mostly an exercise in using up old jelly that I can't bring myself to throw away.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I like that - a lot!

Thank you, z ~