Homebrew cider. Yum!

[sciphi]

Long story short, my lovely wife decides that she's tired of paying a lot of money for a six-pack of hard cider. Especially the smaller craft ciders that aren't as sickeningly sweet as Woodchuck Amber. So we started brewing our own in 5-gallon batches. We have one batch bottled, and a second in primary fermentation. Hopefully the second batch will be ready by the time we have finished the first!

Here's a picture of our first batch a month after bottling. We used local cider and English dry cider yeast. No fining agent or filtration was used. It's still, dry, and a bit acidic. There's a slight whiff of apple on the nose and on the finish. I rather like it with a bit of sugar stirred in, as that balances out the acid and brings out more apple notes. Still, it's quite good for our first attempt, and should get better with aging.

 

[JHZR2]

yum is right!

 

[cjcride]

Looks refreshing.

Made some batches decades ago. Had to search high and low for a someone who would press the apples. They were concerned the apples were too hard compared to the grapes they were pressing and might cause damage to press or motor.

Was worth it though. Bulmers Strongbow Cider from Scotland was what got me trying pressing apples instead of grapes.

 

[hotwheels]

I love cider. I had some really good pear cider last month. And I also love mead.

hotwheels

 

[Food Scientist]

For your sugar source try melted, but still cold apple juice concentrate. That way you maintain an apple flavor with the sweetness.

Also maybe try Splenda. I haven't tried it myself but a friend has and you can use it during bottling without worrying if the bottles are going to blow up.

 

[Rolla07]

I love angry orchard, every time down south i get some. It has a dry finish but not more than 2..otherwise it does get sweet.

Yours looks good! Like brewing beer, you get better with more brews!

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: SVTCobra
For your sugar source try melted, but still cold apple juice concentrate. That way you maintain an apple flavor with the sweetness.

Also maybe try Splenda. I haven't tried it myself but a friend has and you can use it during bottling without worrying if the bottles are going to blow up.


We're going to try sulfite and sorbate in the next batch so we can back-sweeten without kicking off fermentation again.

I like Angry Orchard as well, but it has to be ice-cold. Otherwise it gets cloying.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Very nice. I've about given up on home brewing. Glad to see people are successful with it.

 

[A_Harman]

I also think that Woodchuck Amber is too sweet.
But I do like Woodchuck Granny Smith.

 

[stephen9666]

I've made this several times.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/edworts-apfelwein-33986/

 

[suspiciousmind]

I did a small batch years ago as an experiment using local winesap apples and champagne yeast. I fed it cane sugar about three times to get the alchohol content up there and bottled it in beer bottles.

Success! The guy at the brewing supply place recommended the champagne yeast due to its high alcohol tolerance. Nice bubbles too.

 

[rslifkin]

That sounds awesome! My personal favorites for cider include the slightly strange Woodchuck Hopsation, Angry Orchard Traditional Dry and the notably apple pie flavored McKenzie's Seasonal (let this warm up a little above fridge temp and pour into a glass so it mixes, it settles a little in the bottle).

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
I've made this several times.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/edworts-apfelwein-33986/


That sounds really yummy! Something for the summertime when our basement warms up.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Nicely done.