Vanity: I need a hard cider recipe

10-9-2015 | goodwithagun

[goodwithagun]

I'm going to a festival Saturday at which I will purchase fresh, preservative-free apple cider. I'd like to brew a five gallon batch. I've found a few interesting recipes, but I'd like info from the best people on the inner webs! Do you have a recipe you'd like to share?

[goodwithagun]

I'm looking for your sweetener of choice and at what ratio, as well as your yeast of choice. I've only made wine so this will be my first attempt at secondary fermentation. Any thoughts on the preformed sucrose drops? Thanks FRiends!

[knarf]

I always just discovered a forgotten gallan a few months later ... worksh fi ...

[Fungi]

You really don’t need a recipe. A five gallon jug of apple juice, in or out of the fridge will ferment just fine.

[Bullish]

Hard cider is one of the easiest brews to make. Hundreds of recipes for it on the net. Do some research and take your pick. You could also find a brew store and ask the clerk there they are usually very knowledgeable about ciders and beers. My son and I brew beer on a regular basis but haven't done any cider in many years. Like I said it's very easy to brew and hard to screw up.

Have fun and enjoy your cider.

[Lurker]

Here’s my recipe. I have five gallons fermenting right now.

5 gallons unpasteurized apple cider.
1 sanitized carboy
1 airlock.

Pour fresh cider into sanitized carboy. Apply airlock.

Walk away for 7-10 days. When the fermentation stops you are ready to bottle.

I like mine sparkling so I add 1/2 cup of any fermentable sugar before I bottle it. EZ caps work well. Let bottled cider sit for 2 more weeks. There’s enough yeast left that it will carbonate naturally.

It’s nice and crisp this way, not very sweet at all. I prefer mine that way.

Should end up at about 4-1/2 to 5 percent ABV.

L

[Oratam]

So no pitching yeast as with beer? I had no idea. What the hell have I been waiting for?

[two23]

Free Brew Software
http://www.brewtarget.org

[Georgia Girl 2]

I make a dry cider so I put 2.5 gallons of fresh apple juice in my Mr. Beer fermentation tank with a quarter of a cup of brown sugar and one packet of champagne yeast. Then I let it sit for about 2 weeks. Then I bottle it up with 1 tsp of sugar in each bottle. Cap and then turn bottle upside down and back several times then store in a dark place for about 6 weeks. Its usually pretty effervescent.

[goodwithagun]

All the recipes I find add sugar. I like a more crisp cider. I can get that without the added sweetener?

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

Depends on how sweet you want it.

My personal fav is to go dry cider and use champagne yeast.

When you talk sweetener for a dry cider, stevia seemed to work best for my “victims” but I like it dry. Avoid the raisins and other fruits they suggest adding. Disasters every time I tried. If you want stronger than 5 to 8 % abv, apple jack it. (Freezer distillation)

Re: sucrose drops... only for carbonation in bottle. No real benefit to the flavor profile other than a bit of co2 in the bottle. Better to keg it and carbonate that way.

[SpaceBar]

It is said that the existance of beer is proof God wants us to be happy.

[goodwithagun]

Thanks! Am I overthinking the secondary fermentation? I thought the sugar was a precise thing, having to be weighed precisely. You just toss in a measured tsp?

[Red_Devil 232]

You don’t add any yeast to your cider?

[goodwithagun]

Yeah, I’ve ruled out the fruit. In the future, I would like to try some from a flavor perspective: cranberry Apple cider, ginger (I know it’s not a fruit) Apple cider, etc.

[SpaceBar]

Using a wild yeast is a gamble. As a poster said above, pasteur champagne or similar is best. A sulfite salt will inhibit bad yeasts.

[Mr. K]

if you added yeast and boiled it in a still would you get alcohol?

[Bullish]

The cider itself has plenty of fructose from the apple (natural sugar) I would think but I’m not positive. Sugars are necessary for the yeast to “eat” and thereby expel the alcohol. Like I said I haven’t done cider in many years so I would recommend doing a little more research and calling a brew store if you can’t find the answer to your questions. They probably know every answer to any of your questions. I’m sure the research you need is on the net if you want to search for it.

Hope that helps a little.

[Larry Lucido]

This farmer makes a good hard cider. He'll even give you a good meal. He's somewhere between New York and Michigan. Just keep your hands off his daughter.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I did the second fermentation last year and it was too dry. We didn’t like it. I just use a measuring spoon and pour 1 tsp of white sugar in each bottle and cap it then turn it back and forth a couple of time to get the sugar circulated and then store it away. We get a pretty good carbonation out of it. This year I may use honey instead of white sugar. Just to see what it tastes like.

[CrazyIvan]

TTIMMT (This thread is making me thirsty)