I got this recipe passed down to me, so here it is:
Ingredients:
- 5 Gallons of Apple Juice (no preservatives)
- 2 Packets of Champagne Yeast
- 2 lbs Brown Sugar
- 2 lbs (about 2 cups) of Honey
- 2-3 Cinnamon sticks
Hardware
- 1 5-6 Gallon fermenting bucket (can get on-line from Northern Brewer, or if hard up, a Home Depot bucket can be used in a pinch)
- 1 Vapor Lock
- 1 Big ass spoon
Optional:
- Giant stock pot
- Keg system (CO2)
- Bottling Tap
- Bottle Capper
- Food Thermometer
Okay, so there are only a few basic steps to making cider - everything else is optional and should be seen as a personal touch type thing. What I am going to describe here will be a cider that turns out tasting like Dutch Apple Pie. Be warned - it'll sneak up on you as its ABV is round about 8-15% depending upon how long you let it ferment.
The Steps are:
- Preparation
- Fermentation
- Back Sweetening
Preparation
Again, check to make sure there are no preservatives (mainly you want to check that there is no Potassium Sorbate.) That kills the yeast. And, as you should know, yeast is our friend. It eats sugar, pisses alcohol and farts CO2. That is where the brown sugar and Honey come in - they are food for the Yeast. You prep the apple juice by dissolving the sugar and honey into the juice. You can do it while the cider is at room temperature, but it works a little better if you heat it up first.
Here's the catch - heating this up is basically pasteurizing the mix - this will kill any of the natural/wild yeasts in the cider while allowing new yeasts to still grow. Wild yeasts can yield some amazing and unexpected flavors, but for consistency of batch, I do recommend this preheating.
Once the juice has been heated - add in 1 1/2 lb of the Brown sugar and all of the honey. Then cool off the mixture. Alternatively you can heat up just 1-2 gallons of apple juice and dissolve the sugars there. Then add that to the rest of the (cold) apple juice inside the 5 gallon fermentation bucket. Once the juice is below 80 degrees, it is safe to add the yeast. Just dump the packets into the juice and stir it up . It should dissolve, but don't sweat it too much.
Put the lid on the bucket. In the small hole in the lid, insert the vapor lock. Be sure to pour a little water or whiskey into the lock. Basically this acts as a barrier for the gasses the yeast gives off. Its ready to start fermenting.
Fermentation
The fermentation process is easy, you really don't do anything. Find a cool (between 55-65 degrees) dark area to let the bucket sit. For exact temperature, ready up on the particular brand of yeast you are using.
Check back in a couple of days - if you used whiskey or bourbon like I do in the vapor lock, you may see some bubbles in it - that is a good thing. It means the yeast is active and having a feast! And the bubbles can be a good tell of when the fermentation process is nearing an end. When bubbles quit appearing the yeast has eaten all of the sugar - fermentation is done. I've found that about 2 weeks is all it takes.
Again, I can't stress enough the value of keeping this mix in a cool dark environment. it will greatly increase the fermentation.
Once you are satisfied that the fermentation is complete, it's time to kill off the yeast. You can cold crash it by putting it in a place below 45 degrees, or add in potassium sorbate.
Back Sweetening
At this point, the cider is ready to drink - kind of. If you do try it now, straight from the bucket - it will be closer to a very very dry apple wine and not carbonated at all. Carbonation actually adds more flavor than you might realize (proof of this is if you have ever drunken a flat mountain dew.) Also, because all of the sugars have been eaten by the yeast, this will be a very dry drink. To me, ciders are supposed to be a bit sweet. There are two different ways to back-sweeten (add sugar after the fermentation process is finished) and which choice you go with depends largely on how you intend to store the cider.
One method has you add sugar just before bottling. It assumes that you will not be using potassium sorbet to kill the yeast. This method is a bit more unstable and can cause some really weird results. Basically you add a bit of sugar to the batch just before bottling. Then let it is again in the cold dark place for at least 2-3 weeks before putting in a fridge. What happens here is that the yeast reactivates and begins eating the sugar again. But with no where for the CO2 to go, those gasses get mixed into the cider. To me, this is a bit too much guess work and unexpected results.
The other method involves a kegging system. Basically you pour the cider (but not the yeast that has now settled to the bottom) from the bucket into the keg. Heat up about 2 cups of water with the cinnamon sticks in it. Once it takes on a nice red hue, dissolve the remaining 1/2 of brown sugar. Dump this mix into the keg also. Close up the keg and pressurize to about 20-25 psi (tapping pressure is about 10-15 psi) pick up the keg and start shaking it. This helps the CO2 dissolve into the cider.
Now, you can either enjoy the cider directly from the tap, or you can bottle it up. the choice is yours.
Enjoy!
Edited by shosca, 03 November 2015 - 07:28 AM.
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