Hard Cider

[Direwolf]

Hi all,
I have an apple grinder and press, access to a LOT of apples, and someone gave me a complete wine making kit a few years ago that had just sat in the garage holding the shelf down. So, after making much apple cider over the past two years I am thinking of making some hard cider. I have three 5 gallon carboys with plugs and the vents for the tops... can someone guide me?

Here are my initial questions:

What sugar content (Brix) should I be looking for in the cider coming off the press?
Do I need to pasteurize the cider off the press before making hard cider?
How much filtering of the cider off the press should I do before fermenting it?
How long should I ferment it? (i.e. how do I know when it is done?)

That should get me started if anyone can offer some info, or links to info on the web.


Thanks!

[pescadero]

Hi all,
I have an apple grinder and press, access to a LOT of apples, and someone gave me a complete wine making kit a few years ago that had just sat in the garage holding the shelf down. So, after making much apple cider over the past two years I am thinking of making some hard cider. I have three 5 gallon carboys with plugs and the vents for the tops... can someone guide me?

Here are my initial questions:

What sugar content (Brix) should I be looking for in the cider coming off the press?
Do I need to pasteurize the cider off the press before making hard cider?

You can, but I wouldn't recommend it.

How much filtering of the cider off the press should I do before fermenting it?

IMO, not at all.

How long should I ferment it? (i.e. how do I know when it is done?)

How strong/dry do you want your cider? Do you want a "flat" cider, or a sparkling cider?

[Direwolf]

How strong/dry do you want your cider? Do you want a "flat" cider, or a sparkling cider?

I guess I don't know the answer to this... maybe %5 or %6 ... somewhere in the area of beer seems appropriate. I hadn't considered making sparkling cider... since I have three of the carboys I could try both and see what we like the best. I suppose I would want it to be somewhat sweet as well but I don't recall having "dry" cider so I will have to find and try some to know that as well.


Thanks

[pescadero]

I guess I don't know the answer to this... maybe %5 or %6 ... somewhere in the area of beer seems appropriate.

Depending on your sugar content/OG you may have to use Sodium Bisulfite to stop fermentation to keep alcohol content down, although odds are even a full fermentation should be below 10%.

I hadn't considered making sparkling cider... since I have three of the carboys I could try both and see what we like the best. I suppose I would want it to be somewhat sweet as well but I don't recall having "dry" cider so I will have to find and try some to know that as well.



It's easy to make sweet cider that is flat, and it's easy to make dry cider that is carbonated - but if you want a sweeter carbonated cider you have to use a non-fermentable sugar for sweetening when you add your priming sugar for bottling/carbonation. Some folks use Splenda, but I can't stnad the taste of fake sugar myself, so I used lactose.

[Direwolf]

Less than %10 is just fine... and flat sweet cider is the direction I think I want to head for the first round.

[tangleknot]

Unpasturized cider is better for hard cider. If you do get into sparkling hard cider, you'll need a heavier duty bottle. Have fun!

Might want to check out the hard cider class on Dec 10th. Plus Uncle John's orchard has a hard cider club if you look them up.

http://www.glexpo.com/highlights.php

[Direwolf]

Unpasturized cider is better for hard cider. If you do get into sparkling hard cider, you'll need a heavier duty bottle. Have fun!

Might want to check out the hard cider class on Dec 10th. Plus Uncle John's orchard has a hard cider club if you look them up.

http://www.glexpo.com/highlights.php


So here is what I gather I need to do (please guide me if I am off)

1. I plan on taking two carboys and filling them with 5 gallons of cider off the press
2. Adding 1 1/2 pounds of sugar per gallon of cider
3. Let it sit for two months
4. Siphon off (trying to leave sediment), clean carboy, put the cider back in.
5. Let it sit for a few more months to age. (wish I had something other than the carboys to do this part in though)
6. Drink while bottling the remainder.

Is that about it?


Thanks!

[pescadero]

So here is what I gather I need to do (please guide me if I am off)

1. I plan on taking two carboys and filling them with 5 gallons of cider off the press
2. Adding 1 1/2 pounds of sugar per gallon of cider

You're definitely going to have a very alcoholic cider if you do that... and very, very dry.


3. Let it sit for two months

Yeast? Airlock?

It'll should only take a week or two to fully ferment.

4. Siphon off (trying to leave sediment), clean carboy, put the cider back in.

Secondary fermentation.

5. Let it sit for a few more months to age. (wish I had something other than the carboys to do this part in though)
6. Drink while bottling the remainder.

Definitely age in the bottle.




Here is what I do:

Day 1:
1) Make yeast starter

a) Heat 1 cup of cider to 120-130 degrees
b) cool to <100 degrees
c) mix in yeast (usually a Champagne yeast is used) and put in sterilized two liter bottle/milk jug overnight in a warm, relatively dark location (with some sort of airlock/loose cop on it).

Day 2:
1) Sterilize carboy (and airlock, and any utensils you plan to use) with bleach water/iodophor/etc/

2) Heat 5 gallons of unpasteurized cider to about 120-130 degrees (kills wild yeasts and bacteria) - do not boil

3) Put cider into sterilized carboy, aerate.

4) When cider cools below 100 degrees pour in starter.

5) Measure specific gravity (this is known as "original gravity")

6) Put airlock on carboy.

7) Put carboy somewhere with temps between 65 and 80 degrees and no sunlight.

Day 3-end of first ferment (about 1-2 weeks):

1) Watch airlock bubble as yeast turn sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol.

2a) For sweet, flat cider - every few days use a "sample thief" (sterilized of course) to pull a sample and measure specific gravity. When you reach the alcohol content you desire, stop fermentation with Sodium Bisulfite or Campden tablets.

2b) For a dry cider (flat or carbonated) or sweet carbonated cider - just let fermentation continue until bubbling of airlock stops/slows dramatically.

End of first ferment - end of second ferment (1-2 weeks):

1) Sterilize carboy (and tools) for secondary fermentation.

2) Siphon off cider into clean carboy, leaving as much sediment as possible in bottom of first carboy.

3) Put airlock on carboy and put carboy somewhere with temps between 65 and 80 degrees and no sunlight. Let sit for 1-3 weeks. note: in the sweet cider case where you have stopped fermentation this isn't a secondary fermentation, just a settling/clarifying phase.

Bottling day:

1) Sterilize everything you're going to use. Buckets, bottles, bottle caps, bottle filler, hose, everything.

2a) For flat cider - Bottle it. Any old bottle/jug/anything will do, as fermentation has ceased.

2b) For carbonated dry cider:

a) Mix 3/4 cup dextrose (priming sugar, 3/4 cup per 5 gallon batch) with some distilled water, bring to a boil, allow to cool to room temp.

b) Mix priming sugar mixture with cider from carboy.

c) Bottle. Must use bottles which can withstand pressure - either pop top beer bottles, or Grolsch type. If pop top - you need a capper and make sure to sterilize your bottle caps. If Grolsch, make sure the rubber seals are good and make sure to sterilize them.

2c) For carbonated sweet cider:

a) Mix 3/4 cup dextrose (priming sugar, 3/4 cup per 5 gallon batch) with some distilled water, bring to a boil, allow to cool to room temp.

b) Mix ??? cup non-fermentable sugar (lactose, Splenda, etc. - quantity depends on sweetness desired) with some distilled water, bring to a boil, allow to cool to room temp.

c) Mix priming sugar mixture and sweetener mix with cider from carboy.

d) Bottle. Must use bottles which can withstand pressure - either pop top beer bottles, or Grolsch type. If pop top - you need a capper and make sure to sterilize your bottle caps. If Grolsch, make sure the rubber seals are good and make sure to sterilize them.

Bottling day-drinking:

It will be drinkable immediately, but taste will continue to improve with aging for about a year. If you're going carbonated, a good fizz level won't form until about 3-4 weeks in the bottle.

[Direwolf]

Thanks for the guide, we pressed 3 gallons weekend before last, and 22 last Saturday. I have enough to press another 20 gallons or so. Once the wife is done getting her pie apples and apple sauce made... and enough cider in the freezer to get us through till next year, the rest goes to hard cider :)

[oldforester]

See if this works for you:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/