I am the expectant papa of a 1-1/2 gal. batch of my first hard apple cider.
Recipe: 1 gal. fresh pressed juice from MN Sweet Tango apples
(no additives or preservatives)
1/2 gal. Great Value 100% apple juice
1-1/2 cups light brown sugar
Yeast: 1/2 packet Lavlin EC-1118 champagne yeast
Additions: yeast nutrient, yeast energizer,
1-1/2 crushed campden tabs
1/2 tsp. pectic enzyme
Fermentation at: 68 f. Starting OG: 1.065
How am I doing so far ?
Sounds great! You’re going to love it. If you want to maintain a little sweetness then be sure to rack it once per week and when it tastes right, add sorbate and Campden to slow down the yeast. Otherwise you will have a bone dry white wine kind of cider.
Sounds great Dave, I will do that.
I want to say thanks to you and all the others that give knowledgeable advice on the forum ! In doing research for this, I watched so much incompetent crap on YouTube, it is not funny !
Ron
Update: After a 10 day fermentation, I racked the cider to secondary.
I was happy to see that the cider had cleared some, recently.
I checked the hydrometer and as predicted, it was about .0996.
I did get my first taste and I was happy with it ! I just need to decide what to do with it now. Kill the yeast and back sweeten ? Or just bottle ? These bottle bomb stories scare me a bit.
Kill the yeast then let it rest for another week or two before bottling.
Are you suggesting racking once a week after pitching or after fermentation is complete?
I used to make cyser w/4 gals fresh cider and 11 lbs of honey. It was dry, highly carbonated, high ABV and great.
I would like to make a more traditional (and drinkable) cider.
Thanks
Rack the cider often from the date of pitching. The slower the fermentation the better IMHO. Personally I prefer not to add any sugar to my ciders, just ferment the straight juice. Now that’s traditional.
Thanks, that’s also what I’m going for.
Well, for my first time making Hard Cider, I am very happy with the results. After sitting in secondary for a few weeks, I racked it to my bottling bucket then mixed in some Diet Ginger Ale to back-sweeten and add a little carbonation. It is a little thin on apple flavor but, pretty tasty.
In future batches, I can begin to try different yeasts and other variations, using the information and knowledge from others on this forum. Thanks again to Dave and others on this forum !
