Has anyone brewed cider?

[Tip Top]

I was thinking about brewing a batch since it sort of seems to fit the season.  Wondering how difficult this is.  In info/input would be great.

[Jaysus]

I have not done it, but I have a buddy who has... it seems to be quite easy if you can get good cider.

[Tip Top]

I have not done it, but I have a buddy who has... it seems to be quite easy if you can get good cider.

Cider is easy.  It's all over the orchards this time of year.

[wisconsinbeer1]

I havent but I plan on doing one this fall with some fresh cider. BrewingTVs latest video looks at making cider and is pretty helpful and makes it seem fairly easy. http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewingtv/. Hoping the price of fresh cider hasnt gone up too much with the shortage of apples. Havent been to any orchards yet to see.

[Tip Top]

I havent but I plan on doing one this fall with some fresh cider. BrewingTVs latest video looks at making cider and is pretty helpful and makes it seem fairly easy. http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewingtv/. Hoping the price of fresh cider hasnt gone up too much with the shortage of apples. Havent been to any orchards yet to see.

Hadn't checked there yet.  Thanks.

[chi_dave]

Cider is ridiculous this year. I was talking to the owner of a cidermill near Detroit and he said the cost of apples has gone up something like 500% from last year because of the bad crops.

[smellysell]

Have a ton of cider sitting in fermenters that needs bottled, just can't find the motivation.  One of them I made with a lambic culture.

[rhoadsrage]

Really in the mood to brew (and drink come ciders)  I was reading about great results from using Weihnstephan weizen yeast.  and I have wanted to try this Graff recipe for a while.


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). I don't care about clarity so I just let the AJ do the cooling, but if you stick your pot in the freezer and let this get down to 70 degrees or so your cider will clear fairly easy. Pour the wort and apple juice into your carboy and pitch yeast.

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.

[Tip Top]

Thanks.

[HornyDevil]

One of them I made with a lambic culture.

Going to do one with a starter of a mixed "spontaneous" culture from a wood spiral that I took from a sour beer that I  just bottled.

It'll be more of a 1/2 beer 1/2 cider type of thing with a pale ale base, but no hops so as not to inhibit the lactobacillus.

[skinnyguy]

Don't be afraid to make cider other times of the year as well. Indian Summer and Roundy's brand work really well, because they don't have preservatives. I like to use beer yeast, as it leaves behind a lot more apple character.

My favorite recipe is:

4gal cider
4lb brown sugar
1lb Grade B Maple Syrup
.5 oz Hungarian Medium Oak (in primary)
.5 oz French Heavy oak (in primary)
Safale US-05

Turns out stronger though, around 10%.

The clubs around here often do group buys on the orchard cider, so not everyone has to drive out there.

[Tip Top]

5 gallons of cider all ready to go.  Went with 2 lbs brown sugar and Wyeast Cider yeast.

[Ratchet]

I just wanted to make a note. Last time I brewed cider, I pasteurized the bottles after a week. This won't affect the flavor (unless you do something crazy like use hops- yeeech!) but it will keep you from having bottle bombs. There is a ton of info online on how to do this. Good luck.

[skinnyguy]

I just wanted to make a note. Last time I brewed cider, I pasteurized the bottles after a week. This won't affect the flavor (unless you do something crazy like use hops- yeeech!) but it will keep you from having bottle bombs. There is a ton of info online on how to do this. Good luck.

If you have a kegging system, you can bottle from the keg as well.

[JerseyToughGuys]

5 gallons of cider all ready to go.  Went with 2 lbs brown sugar and Wyeast Cider yeast.

I believe this will be my first home brewing adventure this weekend.

Bought a starter kit from Midwest and off I go...

[Tip Top]

5 gallons of cider all ready to go.  Went with 2 lbs brown sugar and Wyeast Cider yeast.

I believe this will be my first home brewing adventure this weekend.

Bought a starter kit from Midwest and off I go...

Good luck.  Cider seems pretty hard to mess up, but hard to make just right if that makes any sense.  Even my first batch was very drinkable, but I haven't gotten anything that makes me say wow yet either.

[JerseyToughGuys]

5 gallons of cider all ready to go.  Went with 2 lbs brown sugar and Wyeast Cider yeast.

I believe this will be my first home brewing adventure this weekend.

Bought a starter kit from Midwest and off I go...

Good luck.  Cider seems pretty hard to mess up, but hard to make just right if that makes any sense.  Even my first batch was very drinkable, but I haven't gotten anything that makes me say wow yet either.

my wife drinks the stuff, so it was my way of justifying the purchase/hobby. Just needed to get my foot wedged in the door...

I predict she won't like it, won't drink it and I will never do cider again.

[JerseyToughGuys]

So my first cider adventure was a bit of a bumpy ride.  It started off terrible w/ Mrs. JTG buying cider that had P-sorbate. 5 gallons worth. Shit. But I didn't let that get me down. I read a little and saw that you sometimes can overcome the p-sorbate if you get your yeast working overtime.

So, I get a good starter going with some straight apple juice. I let it prime for a day. After 24 hours there was some foam and some pressure release when I cracked it open to pitch. Chuck that in, and off we go.

Now, I also did a double IPA kit the same day. So, I've got the two of them fermenting together and I can't help but notice the DIPA airlock is going absolutely nuts and the cider airlock is 

 

Yes, I know airlock activity isn't the best indication of active fermentation (I broke my hyrdometer the very first day - so, checking the gravity wasn't an option).

After a week, the cider still hadn't picked up so I pitched more yeast on Saturday. There was some foam on the top at that point, which was encouraging. Sunday I head to the brew store and grab a new hydrometer and some yeast nutrient (just in case).

Pulled a sample and tested it and by golly it had fermented, quite a bit apparently. Tasted good too, but it looks like it still has a long way to go (very clouded, more like spiked cider than a typical hard cider).

We'll see how things turn out in a few weeks.

Should I transfer to a secondary soon?

[Tip Top]

So my first cider adventure was a bit of a bumpy ride.  It started off terrible w/ Mrs. JTG buying cider that had P-sorbate. 5 gallons worth. Shit. But I didn't let that get me down. I read a little and saw that you sometimes can overcome the p-sorbate if you get your yeast working overtime.

So, I get a good starter going with some straight apple juice. I let it prime for a day. After 24 hours there was some foam and some pressure release when I cracked it open to pitch. Chuck that in, and off we go.

Now, I also did a double IPA kit the same day. So, I've got the two of them fermenting together and I can't help but notice the DIPA airlock is going absolutely nuts and the cider airlock is 

 

Yes, I know airlock activity isn't the best indication of active fermentation (I broke my hyrdometer the very first day - so, checking the gravity wasn't an option).

After a week, the cider still hadn't picked up so I pitched more yeast on Saturday. There was some foam on the top at that point, which was encouraging. Sunday I head to the brew store and grab a new hydrometer and some yeast nutrient (just in case).

Pulled a sample and tested it and by golly it had fermented, quite a bit apparently. Tasted good too, but it looks like it still has a long way to go (very clouded, more like spiked cider than a typical hard cider).

We'll see how things turn out in a few weeks.

Should I transfer to a secondary soon?

Transfer to secondary once you've reached the flavor you like.  If you let it go all the way, you may lose some flavor as the yeast can strip it a bit at full fermentation (cider can go all the way down to 1.00).

[JerseyToughGuys]

So my first cider adventure was a bit of a bumpy ride.  It started off terrible w/ Mrs. JTG buying cider that had P-sorbate. 5 gallons worth. Shit. But I didn't let that get me down. I read a little and saw that you sometimes can overcome the p-sorbate if you get your yeast working overtime.

So, I get a good starter going with some straight apple juice. I let it prime for a day. After 24 hours there was some foam and some pressure release when I cracked it open to pitch. Chuck that in, and off we go.

Now, I also did a double IPA kit the same day. So, I've got the two of them fermenting together and I can't help but notice the DIPA airlock is going absolutely nuts and the cider airlock is 

 

Yes, I know airlock activity isn't the best indication of active fermentation (I broke my hyrdometer the very first day - so, checking the gravity wasn't an option).

After a week, the cider still hadn't picked up so I pitched more yeast on Saturday. There was some foam on the top at that point, which was encouraging. Sunday I head to the brew store and grab a new hydrometer and some yeast nutrient (just in case).

Pulled a sample and tested it and by golly it had fermented, quite a bit apparently. Tasted good too, but it looks like it still has a long way to go (very clouded, more like spiked cider than a typical hard cider).

We'll see how things turn out in a few weeks.

Should I transfer to a secondary soon?

Transfer to secondary once you've reached the flavor you like.  If you let it go all the way, you may lose some flavor as the yeast can strip it a bit at full fermentation (cider can go all the way down to 1.00).

Thanks.

It was A LOT sweeter than I thought which is a good thing (the Mrs. likes it sweeter). I will check it mid-week and probably shoot for next week for the transfer.

[EskimoDave]

Drinking some Cider I made currently.

20l of Sun Cider apple juice (100% juice and not from concentrate)
150g of molasses
71b or d47 wine yeast.

[JerseyToughGuys]

Drinking some Cider I made currently.

20l of Sun Cider apple juice (100% juice and not from concentrate)
150g of molasses
71b or d47 wine yeast.

how'd the molasses go? I used a bit in the batch i've got going.

[Tip Top]

Eileen had the first bottle of the latest batch of cider I made on Saturday.  It's dangerous.  Drinks super easy, but clocks in at 9%.

Nottingham ale yeast along with 16oz Grade A Maple Syrup, cinnamon sticks, 4?lbs of dark brown sugar.

[JerseyToughGuys]

Eileen had the first bottle of the latest batch of cider I made on Saturday.  It's dangerous.  Drinks super easy, but clocks in at 9%.

Nottingham ale yeast along with 16oz Grade A Maple Syrup, cinnamon sticks, 4?lbs of dark brown sugar.

how long did it take?

I'm at 5 weeks. Checked it last weekend and it still had a way to go imo.

[Tip Top]

Eileen had the first bottle of the latest batch of cider I made on Saturday.  It's dangerous.  Drinks super easy, but clocks in at 9%.

Nottingham ale yeast along with 16oz Grade A Maple Syrup, cinnamon sticks, 4?lbs of dark brown sugar.

how long did it take?

I'm at 5 weeks. Checked it last weekend and it still had a way to go imo.

Around 7 weeks including 2 weeks bottle conditioning.

[JerseyToughGuys]

Cider still slowing fermenting away. at 6.5 weeks. Based on a taste and test this past weekend, it still has a way to go.

In hindsight, my temperature was too low for the yeast.

[JerseyToughGuys]

Thinking about pitching more yeast to finish this out. There's plenty of sugar left to ferment. I've grown impatient.

Drawbacks?

[coldchill]

Just picked up 5 gallons of cider from a local orchard.  1 gallon to drink now and 4 for the yeasties.  Those of you who have added brown sugar, do you dissolve it in some boiled water first and then add it?

[wisconsinbeer1]

Was going to pick up some cider today to brew up and apple ale and noticed that the ingredients stated it contains less than .001% or .01% (cant remember which percentage now) sodium benzoate. Will this small amount make a difference or will it still work?

[emerge]

I made tepache this weekend, a spontaneously fermented pineapple "cider".

[emerge]

I made tepache this weekend, a spontaneously fermented pineapple "cider".

Update: people didn't like it. it has the same sterile gauze Brett funk aroma that some Basque/French ciders do. After 6 days it had a nice tartness, though the funk was fairly strong. I liked it, and made a gin & tonic with it using Hendricks and lime tonic.