Ingredients to 'Tweak' Cider

[tokerlund]

I was drinking at a buddies house and he had added Coriander to his cider. It got me thinking about all of the various additions that can be made and their outcomes.

If you're interested, please share your additions and the outcomes.

Hops :

Spices:
Vanilla bean: honestly, not much came through.


Fruit/Veg:
Pumpkin pie filling, racked finished cider on top and added lots of pumpkin pie spice.

Thawed frozen fruit; blackberries, raspberries, rhubarb, grapes. All added a nice twist on a traditional cider


Other:
Essence of Pear: I tried to make a perry, but it had no pear flavor. I added two 4oz bottles of essence of pear and it was perfect.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Caraway seed rocks in cider, I've got a batch going now with juniper berries. Malt extract, most malted grain, raisins, brown sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg all work well with cider. Just use whole/cracked/sliced spices instead of the powdered; powdered spices make a real mess & cannot be removed without filtration.
Regards, GF.

 

[mikerlynch26]

How about using fruit purees instead of sliced/whole fruit? I'm looking at Oregon Fruit and I'm wondering about amount/contact time effects on flavor. Obviously the surface area of the fruit is greater, but I'm wondering about the need for pectinase or if old fashioned cold crashing will work.

Back in the day I made some pretty awesome hooch with Welches White Grape Peach concentrate, but I can't find it at my local grocery store. Do they still make it?

 

[TheMadKing]

I'm making my first cider right now and I was amazed at the difference that acid blend and wine tannins made when I added a small amount to a sample and tasted it side by side with the original.

 

[MindenMan]

Welches still make the White Grape Peach concentrate, but it is only carried by one store I know of and that is 45 minutes from my house.
I too am a big fan of the WGP flavor. Wally world sells their brand on the juice Isle; it tastes the same to me.

 

[mikerlynch26]

Thanks, MindenMan good to know, I was going to hit up Walmart for some Musselman's cider anyway, I'll keep my eye out for that.

I've fruited some of my ciders/wines in the past, but just be careful to leave enough head room. If a little bit of those macerated fruits gets stuck in the airlock.....

 

[globell]

I'm making my first cider right now and I was amazed at the difference that acid blend and wine tannins made when I added a small amount to a sample and tasted it side by side with the original.

Just did this. Amazing the difference and for so little added!

 

[Maylar]

Just did this. Amazing the difference and for so little added!

How much are you using?

 

[TheMadKing]

How much are you using?

in my 3 oz sample, I added about 1/8th of a tsp, basically just to taste.

in my cider, I added about 1/2 tsp per gallon of acid blend, and 1/4 tsp per gallon of wine tannin. The wine tannin clumps though, so sprinkle it and stir well!

 

[MindenMan]

I agree 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of acid blend is a good place to start. I use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon before I freeze concentrate my ciders so if you're not going to freeze concentrated there might still be a little room left there 4 adjustment but it's also Personal Taste anyway. I have not yet experimenting with adding tannins as I use frozen apple juice concentrate to fortify my cider and there's plenty of tannin in the concentrate

 

[HopNutz]

I have juiced .5 lb ginger root in an apple cider and it was amazing.

 

[globell]

I added about 3tsp of acid complex and maybe 1/2 tsp tannin per 5 gallons. Made a huge difference. Going to check it again in a few days when I feel that it's a good integration and take another sample. I've added too much previously so I'm taking it slow!

Using juice not from concentrate and previously I've only used fresh pressed so I'm in unfamiliar territory.

 

[globell]

Adding a little cinnamon and cardamom to some vodka and letting it infuse is a great way to get flavours into a cider. I leave a few days to a week then just drain and strain off the liquid. Better than extract!