Reconstituting FCAJ

[theinterneti]

I'm thinking of switching from bottled juice to concentrate.

I did a bit of searching and the consensus seems to be that tap water is fine for reconstituting frozen apple juice concentrate. Is that correct?

I've read very little about water conditioning for beer. Are there any suggestions/concerns in regard to conditioning water for cider?

I've been reading about suggestions to increase the body of cider. They are all over the map from using better juice, to non-fermentable sweetners like maltodextrin, and adjunct grains (instant oats?!?). It's all a little confusing. I love oaty beers (mmm oatmeal stout) and so I was curious about using some instant oats to increase body. Any thoughts? (beyond how hazy it might make the cider)

 

[wasully]

If you drink your tap water, it's probably fine. I don't think there is a consensus* on the ideal juice chemistry to that level like there is for water chemistry in beer.

I don't think there's a lot of info on adding grains/non-fermentables for body in cider because that's a beer thing, not a wine thing. And cidermaking is a lot closer to winemaking than beer brewing. Not to say beer methods for manipulating body won't work or won't be suitable, just that it hasn't traditionally been done and there isn't much info about it. With wine(cider) making, you get what the grapes(apples) and barrels give you.

So basically you're on your own: Keep this thread updated with your experiments and conclusions?

*lol, like we can form a consensus on anything.

 

[madscientist451]

Use cheap apple juice from Walmart to reconstitute?
Or get juice from trader Joe's and use that?

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

better the juice, better the resulting cider. So use the best juice you can reasonably afford.

 

[wasully]

You're probably not getting cider varieties either way, be it $4/g at walmart, $7 at trader joe's, $9 at whole foods or $13 at your local organic orchard. You're more likely to get multi purpose heirlooms at the last one, at least? Maybe?

(And if you are getting genuine cider fruit, you're probably not bothering with reconstituting concentrate. With apologies to ciderauction.com 's newtown pippin concentrate)

Variety is the difference in fermenting quality much more so sourcing industrial/organic or walmart/whole foods.