Making Cider - A Beginner's Adventure

[Travis K. Jansen]

Hey folks, for my second concoction I wanted to make a cider. I followed BrewTV's video and wrote down everything I needed and then stopped into the store to pick up all the ingredients. However, their video didn't provide amounts, so I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or a more defined recipe for making cider. Since it's Winter in Wisconsin, I'm stuck with store-bought juice for my first batch. Here are the notes I jotted down with questions in red:



Ingredients
Preservative-free Apple Juice
Campden tablets
Wine conditioner
Potassium Sorbate
White 775 Cider Yeast
Yeast Nutrients

1. Pour juice in carboy and add Campden tablets to kill bacteria and suppress wild yeast and let sit for 24 hours
2. No need for pectic enzymes since not using fresh apples (normally used for clarifying)
3. If desired, add brown sugar now. Raises ABV 1% per 1 lb of sugar
4. Pitch yeast (room temperature?)
5. Add yeast nutrients. How much?
6. Primary fermentation takes about a week
7. Secondary? Or, as with beer, recommended to keep in primary? Clarification can take 4-8 weeks?
8. When it tastes good and gravity is at or below 1.000, use a fining agent for clarifying. Is Knox gelatin still good for Cider as it is for beer?
9. Siphon into keg
10. Add potassium sorbate stabilizer to prevent refermentation and sit for 24 hours
11. Backsweeten with concentrated juice and wine conditioner, maybe oak cubes at this point, cinnamon, etc.

Should I go for 5 gallons or halve it to start? Did I miss anything, or do you have any more insight into my little adventure here? If my steps look good, I think I just need to figure out how much of each ingredient to use. Your help is appreciated!

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

Actually, found a really simple recipe here too:
https://www.mnbrewers.com/getting-started-making-hard-cider/

 

[dmtaylor]

In 'Sconsin, eh? Me too. Costco still has great unsulfited juice, FYI, for the time being anyway.

My advice:

Pitch and ferment cool. In your basement around 60 F or whatever would be great if you can find a cool spot like that.

Yeast nutrients are not necessary. I don't use any ever and my ciders turn out great.

Secondary, and maybe even tertiary are recommended to remove much of the yeast after fermentation takes off well and specific gravity approaches like 1.015-1.020. Yes, clarification should take several weeks.

Gelatin is fantastic at clarifying and I use it on almost every batch.

Sorbate is not necessary unless you want to backsweeten. If you don't mind a dry tart cider you can skip it. You can also cheat with xylitol for backsweetening and then you can skip sorbate.

ABV will be around 6-6.5% without added sugar. I don't add any.

Cheers.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

In 'Sconsin, eh? Me too. Costco still has great unsulfited juice, FYI, for the time being anyway.

I saw a post you made while searching through some old threads and saw you were a Sconnie too! I'm Milwaukee (more specifically, Mukwonago). I am about 30 minutes from Northern Brewer, which is awesome. Ever brew a cider?

 

[dmtaylor]

I grew up on 98th & Lisbon in MKE.

I've made probably 20 ciders.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

I grew up on 98th & Lisbon in MKE.

I've made probably 20 ciders.

Awesome!! I would appreciate any other tips or feedback on my OP as I've never done one, and I'm sure to make some mistakes. Seems easy enough, though...

 

[dmtaylor]

There ain't no alcoholic beverage on the whole planet that is easier to make, and excellent on your very first try, than cider. You'll be just fine.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

Also, another question...I'm kegging, but if i wanted to give a bottle or two away, how do you do this in the bottle? Potassium Sorbate will kill the fermenting process so that you can back-sweeten. How could I save a few bottles of it and carbonate it considering there'd be nothing to create CO2?

 

[dmtaylor]

I'd cheat with xylitol, an unfermentable sweetener that tastes exactly like sugar, and NOT use any sorbate in the bottles. Then you can use priming sugar along with it and it will carbonate naturally. Takes a good month to carbonate that way though, just so you know.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

Here's a crazy idea, would it be bad to carbonate in the keg and pour it from keg into a bottle and cap it? Seems like the quality wouldn't be as fresh since it's exposed to air before bottling...

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

And, I just found this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun.24678/

 

[r4dyce]

I'd cheat with xylitol, an unfermentable sweetener that tastes exactly like sugar, and NOT use any sorbate in the bottles. Then you can use priming sugar along with it and it will carbonate naturally. Takes a good month to carbonate that way though, just so you know.

To the OP, there is a great article in the cider thread about back sweetening and pasteurizing filled and carbonated bottles. There is some inherent danger to this process, but I've used it twice with perfect results and 0 broken bottles. There's also many people who haven't been so lucky . Just food for thought if you want to look into it .

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

To the OP, there is a great article in the cider thread about back sweetening and pasteurizing filled and carbonated bottles. There is some inherent danger to this process, but I've used it twice with perfect results and 0 broken bottles. There's also many people who haven't been so lucky . Just food for thought if you want to look into it .

I shall look for this cider thread.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

I added potassium sorbate to my fermented cider yesterday because I am ready to kick it. Should I have stirred or aerated that or is it okay to just drop it in and let it be while it dissolves? I would hate to sweeten and have that eaten by the yeast

 

[dmtaylor]

A good stir or at least a swirl would be advised to mix it in.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

A good stir or at least a swirl would be advised to mix it in.

If I do that now after it sat for 24 hours would that be ok? I couldn't stir caus it was still in the carboy so I haven't dumped it in the keg yet. Planned on that tonight.

 

[dmtaylor]

I don't know. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't. My guess is it will turn out fine either way.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

I don't know. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't. My guess is it will turn out fine either way.

Yah. Added a bit more, sweetened it up, stirred it, and kegged it. We shall see!

 

[zonkman]

I do beer and mead mostly. If there's one thing I've learnt about cider: give it time. It gets way better with age.

 

[Travis K. Jansen]

I do beer and mead mostly. If there's one thing I've learnt about cider: give it time. It gets way better with age.

We did a blind taste test last night with angry orchard vs ours. Ours won [emoji2]

 

[dmtaylor]

Angry Orchard is okay as a bastardized version of "cider", but NOT as a REAL cider.