UpstateMike
Well-Known Member
Citron is a fancy French word that means lemon. 
Ingredients:
1.5 cups warm water
1 package Safale S-04
1.5 pounds + 2 tablespoons corn sugar
6 x 1 gal Wegmans 100% Apple Juice, with Calcium. (Filtered Water, Apple Juice Concentrate, Calcium Gluconate, Calcium Lactate, Ascorbic Acid, Malic Acid)
6 teaspoons Yeast Nutrient (Follow directions on your bottle)
3 teaspoons Yeast Energizer (Follow directions on your bottle)
2 - 4 ounces Liquid Lemon Extract (I used Watkins Pure Lemon Extract, available at WalMart)
What I Did:
5/12/13, Make a yeast starter (This step is optional)
Day 1 ingredients:
1.5 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
2 tablespoons corn sugar
1 package Safale S-04
Add warm water to Erlenmeyer flask, set on stir plate and turn on to medium low speed. Mix in sugar. Once dissolved, add yeast. Let mix for 30 minutes, then remove from stir plate. Cover flask mouth with a paper towel, secure towel around flask with a rubber band. Set flask on top of refrigerator or another warm out of the way area until the next day (12 - 18 hours).
5/13/13, Start the cider
Open bottle #1 of cider. Take a gravity reading, got 1.050. Pour half of the apple juice into a suitable size carboy, (6 or 6.5 gallon). do the same with bottle #2 and #3. You should now be left with 3 half gallons and 3 full gallons. add half a pound of corn sugar to each of the three opened bottles. Seal the bottles and shake shake shake to mix. Let sit for a couple minutes and then shake shake shake again. Pour sugar mixed cider from bottles #1, #2, and #3 into carboy.
Open bottles #4, #5, and #6. Pour half of each bottle into bottles #1, #2, and #3. Shake bottles #1, #2, and #3, and pour them into the carboy. This is to rinse out any remaining corn sugar.
In bottle #4, add 6 teaspoons (2 Tablespoons) of yeast nutrient. Shake to mix, and pour into carboy.
In bottle #5, add 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon) of yeast energizer. Shake to mix, and pour into carboy.
Pour your yeast starter into carboy. Use the remaining juice in bottle #6 to rinse out Erlenmeyer flask and pour into carboy. If you didn’t make a yeast starter, add dry yeast to carboy, and use the remaining juice in bottle #6 into the carboy.
Use the handle end of a sanitized brew paddle or spoon and give the contents of the carboy a good stir. Take a starting gravity reading, I got 1.062. Put in the airlock. Juice is about an inch above the top shoulder of the carboy. Concerned about potential blowoff, but I will worry about that if / when that happens.
5/14/13
Airlock is bubbling, all looks well. Smell is fruity.
5/15/13
Airlock is bubbling 2 – 3 times a second. Not much of a krausen, but sediment is noticeable.
5/16/13
Airlock activity is still about 2 bubbles per second. Lots of sediment in the carboy. Chunks are being lifted and dropped by the CO2 bubbles. It’s like watching a huge LavaLamp.
5/17/13
Sediment is up to the bottom rib of the 6 gallon carboy, about 2 inches. Airlock activity has not slowed, and the LavaLamp effect is continuing.
5/18/13
Sediment is above the bottom rib of the carboy now, and airlock activity is steady. Take a gravity reading, got 1.024. Close to where I want it. Rack off the yeast / sediment into a clean carboy. I figure I may have lost about ½ a gallon or less.
5/19/13
More sediment has fallen, bubbling has slowed significantly. Take a gravity reading, 1.020. This is my target for now.
Bottle this batch. I added ¼ teaspoon of Lemon Extract to each individual bottle before filling the bottle. I got 57 bottles, including my 2 plastic test bottles. I used 4.75 Tablespoons of Lemon Extract, or 2.375 fluid ounces total for the batch
I will let this slightly carb up over the next 2-3 days, then stovetop pasteurize. I’m planning on taking some of this camping over the weekend, will let you know how it goes.
Ingredients:
1.5 cups warm water
1 package Safale S-04
1.5 pounds + 2 tablespoons corn sugar
6 x 1 gal Wegmans 100% Apple Juice, with Calcium. (Filtered Water, Apple Juice Concentrate, Calcium Gluconate, Calcium Lactate, Ascorbic Acid, Malic Acid)
6 teaspoons Yeast Nutrient (Follow directions on your bottle)
3 teaspoons Yeast Energizer (Follow directions on your bottle)
2 - 4 ounces Liquid Lemon Extract (I used Watkins Pure Lemon Extract, available at WalMart)
What I Did:
5/12/13, Make a yeast starter (This step is optional)
Day 1 ingredients:
1.5 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
2 tablespoons corn sugar
1 package Safale S-04
Add warm water to Erlenmeyer flask, set on stir plate and turn on to medium low speed. Mix in sugar. Once dissolved, add yeast. Let mix for 30 minutes, then remove from stir plate. Cover flask mouth with a paper towel, secure towel around flask with a rubber band. Set flask on top of refrigerator or another warm out of the way area until the next day (12 - 18 hours).
5/13/13, Start the cider
Open bottle #1 of cider. Take a gravity reading, got 1.050. Pour half of the apple juice into a suitable size carboy, (6 or 6.5 gallon). do the same with bottle #2 and #3. You should now be left with 3 half gallons and 3 full gallons. add half a pound of corn sugar to each of the three opened bottles. Seal the bottles and shake shake shake to mix. Let sit for a couple minutes and then shake shake shake again. Pour sugar mixed cider from bottles #1, #2, and #3 into carboy.
Open bottles #4, #5, and #6. Pour half of each bottle into bottles #1, #2, and #3. Shake bottles #1, #2, and #3, and pour them into the carboy. This is to rinse out any remaining corn sugar.
In bottle #4, add 6 teaspoons (2 Tablespoons) of yeast nutrient. Shake to mix, and pour into carboy.
In bottle #5, add 3 teaspoons (1 Tablespoon) of yeast energizer. Shake to mix, and pour into carboy.
Pour your yeast starter into carboy. Use the remaining juice in bottle #6 to rinse out Erlenmeyer flask and pour into carboy. If you didn’t make a yeast starter, add dry yeast to carboy, and use the remaining juice in bottle #6 into the carboy.
Use the handle end of a sanitized brew paddle or spoon and give the contents of the carboy a good stir. Take a starting gravity reading, I got 1.062. Put in the airlock. Juice is about an inch above the top shoulder of the carboy. Concerned about potential blowoff, but I will worry about that if / when that happens.
5/14/13
Airlock is bubbling, all looks well. Smell is fruity.
5/15/13
Airlock is bubbling 2 – 3 times a second. Not much of a krausen, but sediment is noticeable.
5/16/13
Airlock activity is still about 2 bubbles per second. Lots of sediment in the carboy. Chunks are being lifted and dropped by the CO2 bubbles. It’s like watching a huge LavaLamp.
5/17/13
Sediment is up to the bottom rib of the 6 gallon carboy, about 2 inches. Airlock activity has not slowed, and the LavaLamp effect is continuing.
5/18/13
Sediment is above the bottom rib of the carboy now, and airlock activity is steady. Take a gravity reading, got 1.024. Close to where I want it. Rack off the yeast / sediment into a clean carboy. I figure I may have lost about ½ a gallon or less.
5/19/13
More sediment has fallen, bubbling has slowed significantly. Take a gravity reading, 1.020. This is my target for now.
Bottle this batch. I added ¼ teaspoon of Lemon Extract to each individual bottle before filling the bottle. I got 57 bottles, including my 2 plastic test bottles. I used 4.75 Tablespoons of Lemon Extract, or 2.375 fluid ounces total for the batch
I will let this slightly carb up over the next 2-3 days, then stovetop pasteurize. I’m planning on taking some of this camping over the weekend, will let you know how it goes.
