Saturday, June 18, 2011

Hard Cider

I "brewed" (not really sure this term applies here) this cider over a month ago and am bottling it today. There are so many ways to make cider,  and there are tons of recipes out there. This is my first attempt at making cider, so I decided to take an easy route.

Ingredients:

  • 5 gallons Apple Juice
  • 2 lbs Honey
  • 1 lb Brown Sugar
  • 1 package Champagne Yeast
  • 3/8 or 3/4 cup corn sugar

Instructions:
  • Heat one gallon of juice on stove.
  • Add honey and brown sugar. Stir until completely mixed together.
  • Add to fermenter with remaining 4 gallons.
  • Pitch yeast.
  • Ferment in primary for 2 weeks.
  • Ferment in secondary for 2 weeks.
  • Bottle with corn sugar for carbonated cider, or without for flat cider.
My plan is to carbonate half of the batch, which is why I have 3/8 cup of sugar listed (you will use 3/4 cup if you plan to carbonate the entire batch). I will transfer the cider to the bottling bucket and bottle half the batch into wine bottles. Then I will add the solution, stir, and let sit for about 15-20 minutes. Then I will bottle the rest into beer bottles. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Until Next Time,
RHSC

1 comment:

  1. I bottled some of mine over a year ago (maybe even two), and just tried it last night. I'm glad I used the Grolsch bottles, as they have continued to ferment, and thus carbonate themselves.

    I like the idea of priming the cider (as it will be a little sweeter), but I wouldn't let any of primed batch age too long, as they might get too fizzy a dry. (well, it *is* champagne yeast)

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