Hard cider recipie needed

Alcoholic beverages which are not classified as spirits.

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Jaxom
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Hard cider recipie needed

Post by Jaxom »

Few days ago the other half sent me over to Sam's club for milk, butter and eggs, while getting those I passed by the fresh fruit and veggie area, and once agian, Sam's is selling gallon bottles of fresh pure apple juice. Although they call it cider, I don't recall tasting any cinnomon or clove in it. But as a juice it's really top notch! Although, unlike Juicy Juice brand or other bottled juices this apple juice is still brownish and cloudy. Does this mean it wasn't pasturized?

I've done several google searches for hard apple cider and I can't find exactilly what I'm looking for. Perhaps I'm asking too much? What I want the cider to be, of course hard, for nice kick. But I still want that spiced flavor. I'm not interested in anything dry or bubbly either.

If I found a recipie for "cider" it says to simmer with the spice for an hour or more. If I find a recipie for "hard cider" they all want me to add more sugar at bottling time to prime the bottles (I know this will cause it to be bubbly though) and there's no mention of spice.

tia,

Jaxx
Yttrium
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Post by Yttrium »

Before trying to ferment it, check the ingredients label. If you see stuff like Sodium Benzoate just give up now cause that stuff won't ferment.
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Grayson_Stewart
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Post by Grayson_Stewart »

Not sure of the spelling, but if its Mussleman's brand it will work fine. I bought 15 gallons at Sam's once and fermented it out and I believe it has preservatives in it. This is the brand that I prefer to drink rather than that washed out, watered down apple juice made from concentrate. It made a great wine as well as an apple brandy.

I go to Sam's once a week to see if they have the Mango juice back in. It was on sale there a year ago for $1.90 for two 96 ounce bottles. I should have bought all they had then.
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Jaxom
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Post by Jaxom »

Thanks folks for the kind replies. Just one question, when do I add the spices? Should I add them, simmer as if to make a non alcohol cider, cool, then ferment? Or should I add the spice during or after fermenting?

I know most things are take patients, but I'd really like to have some ready for xmas time that's why I wanna do this now, what can I expect with a 3-3 1/2 month aging?

Jaxx
Jaxom
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Post by Jaxom »

After I posted, I had to run out for a bit, while out I stopped by my local wine and beer supply shop. Just to check and see if he had a good recipie. Next thing I know I'm getting bombarded by "protiens this" and "sulfieds that", see this is what happens when a chemical engineer changes professions! I hate when he does that to me.

Anyways, all I need is yeast and apple juice, eh? No candom tablets or sulfides...ect?

Jaxx
The Chemist
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Post by The Chemist »

Jaxom wrote:After I posted, I had to run out for a bit, while out I stopped by my local wine and beer supply shop. Just to check and see if he had a good recipie. Next thing I know I'm getting bombarded by "protiens this" and "sulfieds that", see this is what happens when a chemical engineer changes professions! I hate when he does that to me.

Anyways, all I need is yeast and apple juice, eh? No candom tablets or sulfides...ect?

Jaxx
:lol: My beer guy used to work in the aerospace industry. Don't know what he did, just that he had to have "clearance".

Campdens are used to kill wild bugs when you start with actual fruit (or juice). If you're starting with commercial juice, you shouldn't need them. If you're waiting for Christmas, you probably won't have to worry about proteins. They can cause cloudiness, and you can use various finings to clarify, but it sounds like you have plenty of time to let that happen naturally. If, after a couple of months, it's still cloudy, you can add finings.
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