2012 Fall Cider Recipe

cider.md

Hard Cider (10.13.2012)

Style: Cider

Description:

This is a common fall hard cider. Best when apples are in season and you can find fresh pressed, unpasteurized apple cider. If you can't get your hands on fresh pressed cider, any store bought cider that is 100% juice and has no preservatives will also work, but you will lose a little flavor from the pasteurization process

Ingredients:

I am going to get ingredient from Brew & Grow in Chicago. Links provided so you can substitute appropriately.

• Pectic Enzyme
  • http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/pectic-enzyme-dry-1-oz.html
• Potassium Sorbate
  • http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/potassium-sorbate-1-oz.html
• Yeast nutrients
  • http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/ingredients/additives/yeast-nutrient/yeast-nutrient-2-oz.html
• Wine conditioner
  • http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/wine-conditioner-500-ml.html
• Wyeast 3766
  • http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/ingredients/yeast/cider/cider-xl-wine-yeast.html
• Campden tablets
  • http://www.brewandgrow.com/brew/campden-tablets-1-oz.html
• Light brown sugar (4 lbs)
• 6 gallons fresh pressed cider (unpasteurized)

OG: 1.050 - 1.060 (Estimate)
FG: 0.996 - 0.998 (Estimate)
Primary Fermentation: 1 Week
Secondary Fermentation: 3 - 8 Weeks

Procedure:

• Add brown sugar and cider to primary fermentation container and mix
  • Use 1 lb at a time until desired original gravity is achieved
  • You should have some left over cider, freeze it
• Dose cider with campden tablets and let sit for 24 hours before pitching yeast
• Add pectic enzymes 12 hours after campden tablets
• Pitch yeast and nutrients
• Transfer to secondary (5-7 days usually)
• Let things condition in secondary until everything clears. The rest of the time is about getting the flavor you want. Let it sit until you are happy. If it is still cloudy after you have the flavor you want, use a clearing agent.
• Siphon into keg
• Add potassium sorbate and let sit overnight

Back Sweetening

• Create a concentrate from the frozen cider
• Mix wine conditioner with a small amount of distilled water
• Take a sample of the cider from the keg
• Slowly add cider concentrate and wine conditioner to your sample until you get the desired flavor
  • Keep track of how you are mixing so you can reproduce
• Once you get the flavor you want, take a gravity reading
• Add wine conditioner and concentrate to keg until you match the gravity of your sample. Try to reproduce the mixture from the sample as best as possible. Feel free to take more samples to make sure you got what you wanted. Go slowly. You can't undo what you have done.