Homebrewing

Any Homebrewers here? I've been working lazily over the years at perfecting my recipe for hard apple cider.


I'll share it below







Equipment:
One Gallon Glass Jug (www.amazon.com/North-Mountain-Supply-Fermenting-Stopper/dp/B09KNYXB2D)
Airlock (www.amazon.com/dp/B00IGXQ5I4)
Stopper (www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFD9VSE)
Large Stock Pot (www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Stainless-Steel-8-Quart-Silver/dp/B08B9H2ZYT)
Metal Long Handled Spoon (www.amazon.com/Winco-BSOT-15-Stainless-Basting-15-Inch/dp/B0029DPMJK)
Large Funnel (www.amazon.com/Winco-PF-32-Plastic-6-25-Inch-Diameter/dp/B001TA8UFC)
Glass Measuring cup (www.amazon.com/Pyrex-Measuring-Dishwasher-Microwave-Preheated/dp/B0BFSVKNHS)
Auto Siphon with Tubing (www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIXXM8O)
Flip Top Bottles (www.amazon.com/dp/B072Q2C9V7)
Star San Sanitizer (www.amazon.com/Star-San-B0064O7YFA-San-32/dp/B0064O7YFA)


Ingredients:
1 gallon organic apple juice (without preservatives)
1 pound brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
10 raisins
1/2 package champagne yeast or cote des blanc yeast (www.amazon.com/dp/B0BG3G246K)
1.5 floz Natural Apple Flavoring (www.amazon.com/dp/B0184Y1D68)
20 grams Dextrose/Corn Sugar (www.amazon.com/dp/B00L5FYDD4)
6 Tbsp Xylitol (www.amazon.com/dp/B07THKWZ6C)


Directions:

• In large stock pot, combine apple juice and brown sugar. Heat to almost boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue to heat for about 15 minutes, never allowing it to come to a boil. Remove from heat, cover with sanitized pot lid.
• Once mixture has cooled to room temperature, use a sanitized funnel to transfer cooled mixture to a sanitized 1 gallon jug. Using clean hands and sanitized utensils, add any flavoring ingredients such as spices. Go easy on the flavorings, you can always add more later, but cannot take it away if you overdo it.
• Sprinkle 1/2 a packet of yeast into a glass measuring cup, add 1/2 cup of warm water not exceeding 90*F. Let sit for 20 minutes before adding mixture into your 1 gallon jug.
• Fill airlock with water, insert into jug stopper, and place both onto the 1 gallon jug.
• Within 48 hours, you should notice fermentation activity, bubbles in the airlock, carbonation and/or swirling in the cider. This means you’re on your way! 
• Put the jug somewhere out of sunlight, and leave it alone for a 2-4 weeks.
• After the fermentation process has completed, no more bubbles, using sanitized equipment, transfer the clarified cider into a clean 1 gallon jug.
• Allow cider to settle and repeat the transfer process as needed to remove additional sediment.
  
  

When you’ve let it clarify as much as you have patience for, you can move on to bottling:


Bottling:
For uncarbonated cider:

• In a small pot, mix together 1/2 cup of water with 1.5 FL Oz of natural apple flavoring and 6 TBSPs of Xylitol. 
• Use a sanitized funnel to pour this into a sanitized gallon jug. 
• Transfer the cider over into this jug, swirling it as you go. 
• Using sanitized equipment, transfer the cider into clean, sanitized beer bottles, leaving 2 inches of headspace, and cap them. 
• Allow to age warm for 2 weeks before chilling and drinking.

For naturally carbonated cider:

• In a small pot, mix together 1 cup of water with 20grams of Dextrose corn sugar, 1.5 FL Oz of natural apple flavoring, and 6 TBSPs of Xylitol
• Use a sanitized funnel to pour this into a sanitized gallon jug. 
• Transfer the cider over into this jug, swirling it as you go. 
• Using sanitized equipment, transfer the cider into clean, sanitized beer bottles, leaving 2 inches of headspace, and cap them. 
• Allow to age warm for at least a 2 weeks as the residual yeast will ferment the added sugar, carbonating the cider. 
• The fermentation will stop once chilled.

Alternatively, you can transfer the cider, into a keg and force carbonate it, if you have the set up for that.