Help on hard apple cider ingredients

Grains, malts, hops, yeast, water and other ingredients used to brew. Recipe reviews and suggestions.

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xxxx
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:03 am

Help on hard apple cider ingredients

Post by xxxx »

Hello all,

It's getting closer to fall, and i've decided it might be time to try making a hard apple cider. I've done some research on some recipes, and I did have a question or two.

I've noticed that people generally use either apple juice or apple cider in their recipes. Should I be using a generic Mott's apple juice that you can buy year round, or actual apple cider thats only really available in the fall as the base? Is there a difference between "juice" and "cider", or am i reading into it too much?

Also, for clarification, does the 5 gallons of juice/cider needs to be boiled before adding yeast, just like in a regular brew?
littlehop
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Post by littlehop »

Im also interested in making some hard cider.From what ive read cider is unfiltered juice ,still cloudy.Cider always has a more complex flavor than applejuice,so id go with the cider.As for boiling it would depend on your source,If you get cider directly from someone with a cider press and it hasn't been pasturized then it would be a good idea to pasturize it before fermenting.You wouldn't need to boil it though just bring it to 180 degrees and hold it there for a short period,say ten minutes.This should kill most all of the nasties,don't forget that fruit has pectin and if full boiled the pectin will set and you'll make jelly.Also some of the delcate flavors will be driven off.If you used canned juice that was pasturized I would go directly to the fermentor,but as you mentioned you could do this anytime of the year so why not take advantage of availability of cider when you have the urge to make hard cider.
Yeast: make a starter, and use a yeast designed for cider making,these yeasts control sulpher production better leaving a cleaner taste.
I hope this info helps and doesn't make it sound to complicated,cider falls more towards wine/mead making more info may be found in those kinds of sources. :wink: good luck
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