Hard Apple Cider
This never turned out... It turned all to fizzz... so I tossed it. bummer. not sure I'll ever try it again.
NOTES : You will need to purchase 5 gallons of apple cider for the complete recipe. I have broken down the additions as needed in the recipe, for simpler instructions. If you are using local, unpasteurized, preservative free (as recommended) cider, you may want to wait to purchase the last gallon as close to bottling time as possible, to avoid spoilage.
turned out ok.
Ingredients
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 3 gallons | apple cider -- fresh, un-pasteurized, no preservatives |
| 1 gallon | apple cider -- fresh, un-pasteurized, no preservatives |
| 4 lbs | 4.5 lbs honey |
| 2 Cups | apple cider -- fresh, un-pasteurized, no preservatives |
| 4 ea | 140 degrees for 10 minutes to kill yeast |
| 1 tsp | |
| 1 tsp | |
| 2 ea | |
1 ea |
|
| 3 ea | |
| 1 ea | Danstar Nottingham Ale |
| 1/2 ea | |
| 38 oz | apple cider -- fresh, un-pasteurized, no preservatives |
Preparation
Thoroughly sanitize a 6 gallon plastic primary fermenter. Add the 3 gallons of cider to the fermenter. Combine the 1 gallon of apple cider to a large saucepot with the honey. Heat the mixture to approximately 160-165 degrees farenheit for 10 minutes to pasturise and the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add directly to the fermenter.
Take one cup of the cider into a glass bowl with the cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and cloves. Place the bowl in the microwave and nuke on high until it is at a rolling boil, about two minutes. Remove immediately from the microwave with oven mitts, and cover with plastic wrap or foil (sealed tightly) and leave on the counter for 10 minutes. Stir this mixture, spices and all into the fermenter. Allow mixture to "rest" overnight at approximately 72 degrees in the covered and sealed fermenter with a sanitized airlock affixed.
The next day, with a sanitized wire wisk, vigorously stir in (pitch) the liquid WYeast. Reseal the fermenter (minding your sanitation, of course), and allow to ferment, approximately 1 week, or until the bubbles in the airlock are very slow (>1/minute).
Rack the cider into a secondary fermenter, straining out the spices, and leaving the lees in the primary. Allow to ferment another week or so in the secondary, until the yeast settles out, leaving a clear, amber to yellow colored cider.
To bottle; Boil 1 cup of corn sugar with 1 cup of water. Add the mixture to a bottling bucket. Then rack the cider to a bottling bucket. Bottle per your bottling set-up and allow to age a minimum of 4 weeks. Should peak in 3-6 months.
