Pappy`s Pub Cider - Award Winner!

[TGFV]

Had the batches stay at .030 and.032 respectively (could have been worse I guess) and divided one up into 5 1G containers for flavouring for 2 weeks while bulk aging the other carboy for now.

Flavours i did were:
Blackberry
Blueberry
Cinnamon and vanilla
Oak cinnamon and vanilla
Winter spice (cinn, van, cloves, nutmeg, allspice)

Blueberry turned out dwcent, but not great. The cloves in the winter spice were mildly overpowering but hopefully it ages out (only used 1/2 of a clove for 6 days too). The oak and reg Conn/vanilla turned out great, with the 1L mason jars of dunno man vanilla I brought disappearing in seconds, and so far the black seems to be damn amazing.

 

[globell]

So how did you flavour your blackberry? Bet it was magic

I've tried cinnamon and oak a few times and it's horrible on my tongue. Almost undrinkable. Love cinnamon and love oak but not concurrently!

 

[TGFV]

1/2 lb frozen black berries in a 1 gal container and racked ~1gal of the cider on top. Let it age two weeks until the berries went grey and turned out pretty damn good, even better on ice.

I only used a small amount of oak and extended the aging time and it seems good so far, not as good as the unoaked that had more cinn and vanilla.

And just realized how many autocorrect typos I had in my last post, wow.

 

[globell]

Awesome. Thanks.
I'll have to try!!

Personally liked "I dunno man vanilla" version

 

[z-bob]

The batch I made a few months ago has an odd banana taste to it. I thought it would go away a few weeks after bottling, but it's not. It's still drinkable, but not all that good. It has surprisingly more body to it than I expected (that's probably good)

I think I'll back-off the sugar next time, and go back to using regular wine yeast (maybe Vintner's Harvest AW4) instead of champagne yeast.

 

[globell]

Paps - Just started another batch. Just realized I pitched 71b-1122 instead of ec1118. Do you think I can let this do it's thing and then follow up with the ec1118 when 71b starts to hit its alcohol tolerance? 71b is 14% but may push through to 17 or so from what I have read. Thoughts appreciated.

 

[manderson706]

Hi All,
Started a batch of this August 26th. I followed the recipe exactly, but I added 2 bananas cut into medallions for yeast nutrients and added 7 organic cinnamon sticks. OG was 1.110 and checked the SG last night and it is now at 1.060. ABV is currently ~6.5% I'm thinking about letting it get to 7% or 8% then bottling it and letting it carbonate. Then doing the stove top 190* pasteurizing technique I read on here. I'm going for a semi-sweet cider with just the right amount of carbonation, but I don't want it to get past 9%.

I also gave it a taste and it is amazing right now!

 

[BILTIT]

Finally able to juice my own apples! Doing pappys recipe with half brown suger, excited to see how it turns out! This will then be turned into applejack.

 

[globell]

So the 71b got really sulfury around 11%. Nutrient didn't help either....the yeast was stressed....so I pitched ec-118
Have to say that the 71b sure reduced the acid in the juice though to the point I had to add some acid blend to blaring the ph down.
All good now. Still fermenting and at 1.002

 

[globell]

Good
For
You!!!! That's awesome.
Congrats. Big things ahead. What did you end up bruising for a press and scratter. It's addictive. You'll be foraging for apples in no time after you realize what you can accomplish!

I just planted 77 trees and grafted another 250.

 

[BILTIT]

Thanks!

This is the grinder i used, need to automate it for next year otherwise it works pretty well. I was in a bit of a pinch for a grinder and wanted stainless, otherwise i would have built a garburator style grinder.

I built a press based on the Whizbang press, modified slightly.

We have 2 trees like the one i posted a pic of above, got 10 gallons of juice with about 30lbs of apples still in the freezer, i will juice them later. I want to see the difference between frozen and not once i press them.

I will be foraging next year big time, i wouldn't be surprised if i could find 1000lbs of apples rather easily, downside is most easy to get apples are crabs and i don't want too many of them i think.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HI6RAD8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTxv6M9IuXY&t=1425s[/ame]

 

[BILTIT]

Apples are rather tart and not alot of sugar, OG was 1.032.

 

[BILTIT]

Some action! I used kv1116 yeast this time as they were out of ec1118.

 

[tomchukj]

So I am at a loss and hoping someone can help shed some light...

First cider I have done. Went with 4 gallons of cider, 8lbs of sugar and wyeast cider yeast. Did this 3 weeks ago and it tastes sweet but hydrometer shows .997. I did this with 2 since I couldn’t believe it dropped that much. Is this normal with cider?

Also was thinking of taking a gallon out and doing adding a fruit. Any recommendations of type and how much ?

 

[globell]

Which wyeast yeast?
Yes I've seen my ciders with this recipe go that low or even lower. Depends on many things but yeast health is key. Guess yours are happy.
Did you do an SG at beginning?

 

[Illbebock]

Back sweetening is not needed for this recipe.
There is 2 whole pounds of sugar per gallon here.
The yeast cannot convert all of that to alcohol.
So there is plenty of sugar left over for anyones sweet tooth.
Cinamon in the secondary is absolutely amazing.

I have a question about the too much sugar for the yeast to eat all of it. I'm on my second batch of this, doing the cinnamon version. Anyways my OG was 1.120-1.122. after a month in primary my FG was 0.99. So it would appear almost all the sugar if not all of it was consumed? It also tasted a bit tart which would make sense with no sugar left? Only change to OP recipe was I cut it down to 4 gallons of juice and 8lbs of sugar. And used some different brands of apple juice. Did cutting down the recipe allow for all the sugar to be eaten? Didn't have my first batch go this far (that batch I followed the OP to the letter).

 

[globell]

It does happen! I've had it happen. You had happy and healthy yeast!

I bet it tastes a bit tart.

I've heard of ec-1118 hitting 21% under the right conditions or much less than expected.

What was your fermenting temp?

 

[Illbebock]

Just wondering how that happens? I thought part of the concept of this recipe was there was too much sugar too eat. I'm going to keg this batch, however the first batch I bottled. looks like you could bottle carb this like you would any beer(if you get a strong fermentation like this?) Wondering if I should back sweeten with some concentrate, the concern there is i would probably restart fermentation?

Guess I can see the benefit of yeast nutrients, first time I've used it.

My fermentation temp varied a little, it got as cold as 64 degrees for a short time. The rest of the time it was between 66 and 68.

 

[globell]

Well you are pretty close to 18%. Hard to say if it will carb or not.

How long has it been stable at .99

 

[TGFV]

Different juice brands can change the recipes results for ciders.

That was how I ended up having rather sweet cider instead of semi sweet (my juice was roughly .20 or .30 higher than the oneused in the recipient and I never bothered to check before subbing them) it's also why my regular cider ends up closer to apfrlwein instead of cider flavour (8.5% with no sugar added, started doing Graf's to simply keep some flavour lol).

If you want it sweeter you can always sugarfeed your fermentation until it quits being able to eat anymore.


Also a quick update on my batch since I finally tried the winter spice ones, they turned out amazing! Definitely a bit sweet but I use them for a great mulled cider, just half a bottle and third of a bottle of either whisky or rum and you have the most delicious semisweet hot mulled cider you ever tasted.

 

[Illbebock]

Well you are pretty close to 18%. Hard to say if it will carb or not.

How long has it been stable at .99

I didn't check the gravity of it until it had been in the primary a month. That's when it was at the. 99. And I had stopped seeing any signs of fermentation for about a week previous.

 

[Racer07]

Just bottled my 1st batch ITS Excellent thanks for recipe

 

[JuiceyJay]

What is the average final gravity?!
Mine is at 1.020 and still too sweet

 

[Mobio]

I just moved mine to secondary after 50 days in primary. Down to 1.016. Dropped in 3 sticks. Drank my sample from reading and Whoa! Tastes great but is strong. Plan on letting her set for 2 to 3 months at 62 degrees. Thanks for the recipe.

 

[ChipWaState]

I am a newbie so not sure how long these threads stay active. I made my first batch and it is very dry so now I am looking for something sweeter. Found this recipe so will give it a try. I have a few questions. Sounds like this recipe finishes sweet which will make the Mrs. happy but how about tasting like apple? Should I add frozen concentrate when bottling? I don't have a keg system and I want it to carb up before I bottle. Not planning on adding priming sugar as this appears to be plenty sweet enough to carb without. I am well aware of the "bottle bomb" situation so will watch daily after bottling. If I add the concentrate, will it be "cloudy"? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[JDWebb]

I got 2 quarts of bourbon barrel aged maple syrup I was thinking of backsweetening a bit to a cider I'll have brewing soon. Follows pappy's recipe replacing the sugar with enough honey to 1.070 or so. Anyone ever use the syrup to backsweeten a tad?

 

[Catherine A Libor]

5 gals of tree top apple juice (sometimes Motts if the store is out of tree top)
10 LBS table sugar (wal mart brand cheap stuff)
1 packet Lalvin EC-1118 yeast
1 tablespoon yeast nutrient (wyeast beer nutrient blend)

No rocket science here, just dump everything in the carboy and let the champagne yeast do it's thing.Primary till all bubbling of the air lock stops then wait a week.After the week is up rack to 2ndary (optional)
I used "super-kleer K.C."{kieselsol-chitosan} in 2ndary (optional) to clear the cider and the stuff is amazing.Cold crash in the freezer for an hour and bottle.

Do not attempt to drive,operate heavy machinery,or anything requiring coordination or basic motor skills after drinking this.

Cheers.

oh my gosh, is it really that easy? no cooking, no nothing? I'm beyond excited if it's this easy -- lol -- I'm just boiling my first batch ever -- so I get excited just thinking I could do another batch quick -- lol, tx for sharing

 

[JDWebb]

It is THAT easy! I do cysers using honey instead, just cut down the sugar to about 2 pounds of honey, SG is about 1.070, I use Nottingham for a dry British-like cider. It's on tap at my house 24/7/365! I'll add anywhere from 1 can to 2 cans of apple juice concentrate to bump up the flavor after stabilizing, and thats it!

 

[ChipWaState]

It is THAT easy! I do cysers using honey instead, just cut down the sugar to about 2 pounds of honey, SG is about 1.070, I use Nottingham for a dry British-like cider. It's on tap at my house 24/7/365! I'll add anywhere from 1 can to 2 cans of apple juice concentrate to bump up the flavor after stabilizing, and thats it!

Does the K.C. have any affect on the remaining yeast? Does the apple juice concentrate that you added after the K.C. "cloud" the cider much? Thanks for any information you might have.

 

[JDWebb]

You can't kill yeast, only inhibit it's growth. So after stabilizing, I add the concentrate and I see no activity at all, and what little there might be is covered up by the fact that I carb my cider. And it's as clear as a plate glass window!

 

[ChipWaState]

You can't kill yeast, only inhibit it's growth. So after stabilizing, I add the concentrate and I see no activity at all, and what little there might be is covered up by the fact that I carb my cider. And it's as clear as a plate glass window!

The reason I ask about the yeast is I am planning on bottle carbing and I have seen reviews online which indicates that KC causes the yeast to "settle out of the liquid". I would rather have a cloudy carbed cider than a clear still cider. Sorry for the rookie questions.

 

[JDWebb]

The reason I ask about the yeast is I am planning on bottle carbing and I have seen reviews online which indicates that KC causes the yeast to "settle out of the liquid". I would rather have a cloudy carbed cider than a clear still cider. Sorry for the rookie questions.

Yep, then you certainly don't want to stabilize. You can use some concentrate for your sugar, just make sure and do the math. Personally, "cloudy" doesn't change the flavor, just the looks of it. Hell, I'd drink it cloudy!

 

[umphorever]

This is my first venture into cider making! I just started a 1 gallon batch. I used Indian Summer juice. This patience thing is going to be hard!!

 

[James0816]

Finally getting ready to fire up a batch of this. Quick question (i still have a few more pages to read) concerning the ABV. 14-18% might be a bit high for our standards. We absolutely love a good cider but don't wanna be tipsy after one drink.. =)

Can you tone this down any or that's just how this recipe come out?

Thanks

 

[globell]

The batch I made a few months ago has an odd banana taste to it. I thought it would go away a few weeks after bottling, but it's not. It's still drinkable, but not all that good. It has surprisingly more body to it than I expected (that's probably good)

I think I'll back-off the sugar next time, and go back to using regular wine yeast (maybe Vintner's Harvest AW4) instead of champagne yeast.

Sugar gives body!

 

[globell]

Finally getting ready to fire up a batch of this. Quick question (i still have a few more pages to read) concerning the ABV. 14-18% might be a bit high for our standards. We absolutely love a good cider but don't wanna be tipsy after one drink.. =)

Can you tone this down any or that's just how this recipe come out?

Thanks

I hope pappy rings in on this but he recipe and abv is what really makes this cider what it is. You can use less sugar but I doubt it will be the same. Perhaps similar but it will dry out and not have the body this cider does.
If it’s too much you can always cut it with soda water just a thought.

I’d played with the recipe but the original really is the best

 

[globell]

And if you make other cider you can always post blend and some of the flavour will cross over to the blend. I do this often.

Enjoy!

 

[TGFV]

You can tone down the recipie but if you use the same yeast it will be much drier (or completely dry) since the sweetness comes from the yeast not being ablr to eat any more sugar.

Try finding a lower abv neutral wine yeast and it should potentially work.

 

[James0816]

I went ahead and used the original recipe for one gallon test batches. With the second batch, I did reduce the sugar to 1.5lbs as i'm not using exactly one gallon of apple juice since of course one gallon carboys won't hold it with two pounds of sugar. =)

Activated the yeast and all mixed up last night. Got up this morning and both bottles were exploding with activity! Literally took off. I did try to get a hydro reading and if I read it correctly, the 1.5 sugar read at 1.120(ish). Funny as the hydro lists this in the Dessert Wine range. I forgot to get the reading for the first batch (2#) before adding the yeast but measured right after at 1.102(ish).

The plan is for the 2# being with cinnamon and the 1.5# with blackberry. We'll see how they go.

 

[James0816]

So much for head space! These guys have gone mad. They are foaming through the airlocks now. I'm using the double airlocks so not sure how I can rig up a blow off. hmmmmm