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Cider Digest #0194
Subject: Cider Digest #193 Sat Oct 10 11:00:03 EDT 1992
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 92 14:52:12 EDT
From: aflent@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Arthur Lent)
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 92 22:31:08 CDT
From: Darren Evans-Young <DARREN@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Subject: Preservatives
I can get a hold of almost generic cider in the grocery store.
The label says it contains: Apple cider from concentrate.
Nowhere on the label does it mention preservatives.
Am I safe in using this stuff? Seems like if it contained
any kind of preservative, they'd have to put it on the label.
I was thinking of using this generic cider with some 100%
apple juice concentrate to get the gravity up. Maybe throw
in some brown sugar.
Ideas? Suggestions? (on the preservatives or recipe)
Darren
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I have made 2 batches of hard cider from cider labelled exactly
as you described. It definitely did not have any preservatives. I
don't have my notes with me right now, so this might not be
completely correct.
The first batch I fermented with a Red Star Champagne yeast. I
added some amount of citric acid to the full batch to give a
little more character to the brew. I also primed the full batch
with 3/4 cup sugar. I bottled half of the above in beer bottles.
To the other half I added another 2 cups or so of sugar; and I
also added a *small* amount of preservative in order to arrest the
fermentation, but not so much that I would not have a sparkling
product. I then bottled this half in beer bottles. Both batches
were ready to drink in about 2 weeks, but didn't really reach
their prime until about 1 month. At which time the first half was
an excellent crisp sparlking dry cider, and the second half an
even better, very sparkling sweet cider.
For my second batch of hard cider from this same kind of generic
stuff, I followed Jay Hersh's recipe (the one he sends out in his
welcome when you join the list). Specifically:
I added 2 cups cane sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1 lb of
unhopped light dry malt extract to 1 gallon of water. I
boiled this down for 30 minutes and added it to 3.5
gallons of cold unpreserved cider. The final temperature
was right around room temperature and I pitched the Ale
yeast right away. I let it ferment out and then racked it
into a Cornelius keg and dispensed with 10-12 lbs CO2
pressure. Oh yeah all the other ciders were bottled or
decanted back into the plastic jugs and drunnk from there.
I don't recall which ale yeast I used (I believe some standard
pale ale strain). The result of this, with 4 weeks of aging was a
very "beer like flavor." It had strong apple-like flavor, but it
was more of an apply flavored ale with a rough finish than a crisp
apply hard cider. Nevertheless, it was still a brew which my
friends who claim not to like beer (but want crazy over both the
dry and sweet in the first batch of cider) found drinkable.
- --Arthur.
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