newb from alaska

[cwiese]

just geting into brewing, bottled one small batch of huckleberry mead and have 6 gallons of cyser in the primary now (hopefully not vinegar but well see.)
thanks for all the good info in the library so far.

 

[WestEggBrew]

Welcome to the most rewarding and most taxing endeavor your patience will undergo. Are you interested in other brewing styles or are you primarily looking to brew high grav beers?

 

[Decarazor]

Hey there! Welcome from Wisconsin

 

[cwiese]

Im interested in all of it, just trying to fiqure out the stuff that i like and cant find at the store easily first. I love the jk scrumpy cider but at $9 a bottle i would like to make some alittle cheaper myself.

 

[WestEggBrew]

Here is a cider recipe I've been working on for my wife. It's taken fro. The recipe section of this forum, but I've have tweaked it some as well. For what sits worth you may find it interesting.


Materials needed for a 5 Gallon Batch

Clean fermenting yeast I have used Nottinham and Safale-05, both are good

.5 lbs of Crystal 60L If you use cheap store brand juice, I reccomend 120L. Cheap juice tends to turn out a tad tart and this will balance it.

1 oz of torrified wheat ( head retention, I've never used more than 2oz)

4 Gallons of apple juice.

1 gallon of water

2 lbs of DME ( I use 1 lb. amber and 1 lb. light DME)

0.5 oz of you favorite hops ( right around 6% AA, I have used 18.5% AA summit hops before and it took a month after kegging for strong bitterness to blend nicely)

WARNING! IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF HOPS USED, MAKE IT LESS NOT MORE, it's really just too bitter with any more.

Directions for brewing

Steep the 60L and torrified wheat in .75 gallons of water @ 155 degrees for 30 mins.
Sparge with .25 gallons 170 degree water and throw away grains.
Add DME and bring to a boil.
Add hops when boiling starts and boil for 30 mins.

Cool down the wort (if you choose not to cool the wort and just let the AJ do the cooling then your cider won't be as clear).

Ferment 2 weeks at 64-68 degrees then keg or bottle.

I keg, and this stuff is VERY drinkable as soon as it is carbonated.
SUPERB taste and drinkability after 2-3 weeks of aging.

People bottling, it will have SUPERB taste and drinkability after the standard 3 week bottling period for carbonating.

Treat it like beer... somewhere between 4 1/2 and 5 oz of corn sugar per 5 gallons has worked for me...

Additional notes:

Add up to 6 oz. Of Clementine orange peel at the beginning of boil.
Torrified wheat may not be necessary
Although initial thoughts indicate that saaz hops may be ideal, any domestic hop will suffice, so long as it is low in alpha acids ( galena, Golding etc.)

 

[gregpio85]

Cheers and welcome!

 

[cwiese]

thanks for the recipe. I know its really early but i tried some of the huckleberry mead that i started on 1-17-11 and has been bottled arround a week and a half, i think its pretty good already. Almost tempted to start drinking it.

 

[WestEggBrew]

Yeah, we all were/are tempted to start cracking into am brew early. Still, if it's good now, it'll be awesome later