Cider

My previous attempt at a cider wasn't bad, but it could have been better.  This time around, rather than making small incremental changes and seeing how they turn out, I'm going to fall back on my military training...specifically from the rifle range...and make  BOLD "dope" changes ("dope" referring to settings on the iron sights of the rifle).

A recent issue of Zymurgy had an article on malted cider that was interesting, but more importantly, I wanted to try something a bit different, and make a cider with a bit more body for my daughter's college graduation.  She's the cider drinker in the family, and I wanted to make something special.  NorthernBrewer had a recipe for a dry-hopped cider, so I thought I'd combine a couple of different aspects of the various recipes...organic brown sugar, frozen juice concentrate, and dry-hopping.  See what I mean by "bold dope changes"?

Brew Day: 15 March 2016

Yeast: SafCider

I picked up an 11.5 oz bottle of pasteurized Simply Apple juice and 4 qts of HT brand Gravenstein apple juice.  I poured the small bottle of juice into a pot, topped it off to two cups, and heated it to 170 deg F.  Once it reached that temperature, I dissolved 3.5 oz of organic brown sugar in the heated juice, and then added that to a fermenter.  I then topped the fermenter off to about a gallon, and pitched the yeast.

Addendum, 18 Mar: The cider is still fermenting away; the blow-off bottle is pretty clear, and the bubbles coming out of the tube make a steady "thump, thump" that's exciting to hear.

Addendum, 25 Mar: Dry hopped with 10 g Jarrylo; very apple-y smell during the transfer.  Looking to bottle on Monday.

Addendum, 29 Mar: Bottled tonight with 1 oz of table sugar dissolved in 1/2 cup of boiling water.  I got 9 good bottles and 1 partial fill, which I'll try around mid-April.

Addendum, 22 May: I had tried the partial fill of this cider a bit ago, and I didn't much care for it...but then, I'm not a cider drinker.  I'd decided to put a bottle in the fridge, and keep it for my daughter, and then empty out the rest of the bottles.  Well, she tried one tonight, and liked it!  Who knew?  In fact, she had a second one.

The juice I used this time included some apple material at the bottom of the bottle, and I went ahead and included that in the mix.  This, of course, settled out in the bottles, as well.

I do think that regardless of the yeast used, and in particular with this one, it might be a good idea to include some apple juice concentrate for extra sweetness.  I also tossed out the idea of soaking apple sticks (apples sliced up in sticks) in vodka for a day or two and then including several of them in the bottles.