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Author Topic: making first ciders  (Read 1250 times)

Offline csu007

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  • Littleton, CO
making first ciders
« on: March 02, 2019, 04:40:36 pm »
So i have been tasked by a friend to make 2 ciders for a baby shower. I have good grasp on making beer but less so on ciders.
here are all the details
cider one- "Rose style"
50%sweet. 35%sharp/crisp 15% bitter/tart
Apples to use in blend
Sweet- 25%honeycrisp, 10% ambrosia, 25%pear (anjou and bartlett)
Crisp 15%fuji, 10%gala
Bitter- 100% granny smith
For color add blend of grapes/red berries/blueberries/ rose pedals

cider two- 50%sweet. 35%sharp/crisp 15% bitter/tart
Apples to use in blend
Sweet- 25% honey crisp, 10% ambrosia, 10% autumn glory, crisp- fuji 15%, gala 10%, bitter 100% granny smith
Add salted caramel sauce, the sauce will be added to secondary after primary is done

both will be 5gal, bottled and carb'd
we plan fresh pressing as much as possible. herein lies my first question. I have looking at many different sources in trying to figure how many pounds of apples i need to make 5gals. i have seen between 10-20lbs for 1 gal, which would equal like 1.5-2bushels for 5gals correct?
second the the rose cider- i know that red flesh apples are available but not until the fall (in Colorado at least), so we were thinking of adding some red/pink fruit to give color but limited flavor. is there a good ratio for lbs of fruit to cider for color and not overwhelming flavor?
my biggest questions after the amount of apples needed, is bottling.
For the Rose cider we are looking for dry to semi-dry cider. from what i gather i can bottle like a normal beer?
the second cider is tricky- trying to make a caramel hard apple cider- so sweet and carb'd. what is the best process to to have sweetness with natural carbonation?
i know that on the pressing day i need to add Camden tablets and pectin enzyme and then wait a day the add yeast?
any and all suggestions and knowledge is greatly appreciated
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drank, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.

Offline csu007

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  • Posts: 304
  • Littleton, CO
Re: making first ciders
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2019, 05:55:15 pm »
So ended up getting 166lbs of apples. It yielded 10gal. We used a crusher and press from a local homebrew store took 3hrs. Added pectin and campden tablets day of and 1pkg each raspberry, strawberry and blueberries to those style. added yeast and nutrients. hopefully everything turns out well.
“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drank, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, “It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver.

Offline redgorillabreath

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  • Posts: 1
Re: making first ciders
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2019, 06:52:04 pm »
I'm just starting down that road.  I'd like to build a pulper and press in time for the next apple season.  In the meantime, I got some apple juice and cider, added some brown sugar syrup and yeast, and watching them go.

Good luck with your cidering! / Cheers!!!