My GF likes Foxbarrel cider (especially the pear one) and has been bugging me to make one for her. So I bought another carboy to get one going and I have not been able to find much for a good recipe. She wants it to be more sweet than dry but not too sweet like Woodchuck. I bought a few safale-04 yeasts as I heard those would work well. So besides getting 5 gallons of fresh apple juice and then pouring in the yeast anyone have a good recipe I can just follow. Also for the pear flavor has anyone tried just using the Carlson extracts with a cider? I used a watermelon one for beer and was very pleased with it.
Damn really? Nothin?
It can be hard to get a sweet cider as homebrewers don’t have the same control over when the yeast stops. It will end up on the dry side, S-04 may leave some sweetness. You’d have to do some things to stop the fermentation, but that will leave you with still cider. You can’t prime it and make it sparkling so kegging with CO2 has to be done if you want it sweet and bubbly.
That said, you don’t have to make a full 5 gallon batch, you could make 2+ gallons and that would be a case of bottles. Good luck!
Just made a killer cider for my wife. A recipe I got from a friend from school. Basically started with 5 gallons of Motts Apple juice from the local Sams Club. Put 3.5 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy. Then with one of the remaining gallons I brought just to a boil and added 3 pounds of California Orange Blossom Honey. Stirred until it was combined then added to the carboy. qs’ed to 5 gallons and after after a couple shakes of the carboy and about 15 minutes later the carboy was about 70 degrees. Pitched my Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead Yeast smack pack threw in a bung and fermentation lock.
Allowed to sit for about 2-3 months at an ambient temperature of 64 degrees. Racked to a keg and added 1 tsp of both potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfate and threw it into my keezer at 33 degrees. The next day I added 3 cans frozen apple juice concentrate and carbonated at 21 psi for 10 days.
My wife loves it-its not too sweek and not too dry.
