Bottling applejack

[justoned707]

Who has done this? How would you bottle freeze consentrated hard cider? Any thing can help

 

[phug]

It won't be carbonated so just syphon it into your favourite glass bottle(sanitized) and seal. Wine bottle, beer bottle, Belgian, whiskey bottle, vodka bottle, anything


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[justoned707]

Amazing!! Thank you!!!!

 

[Randzor]

Yea I just capped mine in a bottle like normal cider

 

[MindenMan]

The hardest part of making great AJ, is the wait it takes before drinking. Granted, you could drink it today or tomorrow, and it will be very tasty I am sure, but the wait, is worth the wait. I have some I bottled Sept. of 2013, and last month when we tasted it, the flavor and mouth feel were spectacular.
I could hardly believe the boozy cider I bottled last year, was perfectly smooth, no alcohol burn or anything.
I recommend when bottling AJ, there be a little noticeable sweetness left for two reasons, one being a little sweetness will have more flavor, and the other being for a silky mouth feel. Apple-Cranberry makes a really flavorful AJ, Apple-Apricot is probably my favorite, but sourcing the right apricot product to blend with can be difficult.

 

[MarkKF]

Two questions:

Since the alcohol is so high can u back sweeten without a chance of fermentation resuming?

Has anyone keg force carbed Apple Jack before bottling?

 

[ericbw]

Applejack is like a hard liquor, so i wouldn't keg it. I think wine bottle or screw cap bottles so you can drink a little at a time. You shouldn't drink 12 oz in one go.

Also, if you let it clear properly then freeze, you SHOULD be clear to sweeten and bottle without problems.

 

[GrogNerd]

Apple-Cranberry makes a really flavorful AJ

Grog intrigued!

care to share your recipe? dying to try some Apple-Cranberry Jack

 

[domingo]

Two questions:

Since the alcohol is so high can u back sweeten without a chance of fermentation resuming?

Has anyone keg force carbed Apple Jack before bottling?

It needs to be at least 18% ABV to minimize risk of spoilage. Vinegar bacteria and other nasties can infect it up that ABV. You can backsweeten with pasteurized honey/simple syrup/etc. or you can backsweeten with prepackaged, commercially available juices (which are pasteurized per regulation).

That said, juice-mixed wines start to develop off flavors (sort of raisin-y in my experience) after five or six months or so of sitting on the shelf, so unless you repasteurize after mixing and/or keep it cold you might not want to mix anything until you actually want to drink it.

 

[MindenMan]

GrogNerd, thanks for asking. I can only speak from my experience, so here it is: well aged Apple Jack is a major panty dropper. I learned the hard way on my first time-lapse consumed bottle of A-J, (no, smart a$$, not about panty dropping) I cannot say how long it was from the opening of the flask I aged it in until it was consumed, a month maybe, it could have been longer. The person I gave a sample to was nothing short of amazed, honestly, and wanted the recipe. Please forgive my ADHD, I get lost sometimes...
I suggest putting it into as small of bottles that are practical for you to use, as it will oxidize and no longer be nectar of the gods quality. Granted, if a 12 oz bottle will get killed in a week or so, I wouldn't worry about oxidation.
As far as back sweetening goes, based on the potential ABV after freezing, with proper sanitation I don't believe there would be a big chance of an infection with adding bottled juices. I generally ferment in the one gallon jugs the juice comes in for my experiments.
Recipe sort-of, pour 16 oz of juice out of jug and into container of your choice.
Pour 1 can of cranberry/apple frozen concentrate into jug, add 1/4 tsp of boiled nutrient, mix well and pitch yeast. I don't hydro my ciders, so I can't give you specific numbers regarding the gravity. I have tried many yeast varieties over the last couple of years, and my solid favorite is Red Star Pasteur Red. If you want high ABV% ciders, this yeast will do it. I like the strong flavor of fruit up front at the end of fermentation, and it is very forgiving during fermentation if temperatures fluctuate slightly. I always have 1 or 2 empty sterile jugs on hand from previous batches of cider, so I have somewhere to put the 16 oz pour off from the multiple jugs. Four one-gallon jugs give 1/2 gallon in jug #5, so I add 1/2 the regular dose of frozen concentrate. By adding nutrient, fermentation may only last 4 or 5 days. Then pour off 12 oz into jug #5, and add a 12 oz can of frozen apple juice concentrate, shake well, and wait another 4-6 days (estimated) until time to add can #3. Same deal, pour out 12 oz into jug #5, but this time, sample the cider at day three or so, and when just slightly sweet, place in freezer, and wait for separation of ice and alcohol.

 

[hitthewall79]

I know I'm going to get run up and down the wall for this, but I bottle in mason jars, and throw them straight into my fridge.


Colorblind brewing

Flavor beats color every time

 

[MindenMan]

There is nothing wrong with bottling in mason jars; as long as it is still cider and kept in the fridge, there should be no associated problems.

 

[Schott703]

Freeze 5 gallons in a plastic Carboy in a deep freeze 3 days. Turn over in a 5 gallon bucket until you get 1 gallon of product. Add 1 can of concentrated frozen apple juice. Temperature / sugar content play a factor but this will get you close. Perfect flavor

 

[MindenMan]

Schott703, your method will get pretty close I believe if your ABV is at least 10%. I don't know what kind of freezer you have, but mine hardly gets one gallon icy enough to separate in three days. I guess this is going to be a YMMV kind of thing depending on what your freezer is set at, how full it is, etc., If you are new at making hard cider to be "jacked" I recommend you start out with a 1 gallon batch and go from there. If you over freeze it, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw completely, and then re freeze it, and try again. A 1 gallon batch of 10% ABV hard cider will make 8 oz of very high proof cider, and, of course, how high proof you want your final product to be, is all upon your personal taste.

 

[MindenMan]

I bottled a batch of apple-apricot apple jack two months ago, and decided to sample it. I can't really describe the flavor. Earlier today, it had been in the fridge for a few days before it was opened; there was a tiny bit of noticeable alcohol with a silky sort of mouth feel. A few minutes ago, after being taken out of the fridge all day, the flavor was the same, but the alcohol was very noticeable, warming all the way down. It is definitely fruity, and even 10 minutes later there is still a lingering flavor of fruit in my mouth. I don't know if this bottle is going to last another 3 or 4 months, ( for various reasons) but there are others bottled the same week, to compare to.