Oaked cider without a wood barrel

[Steven @ Home Make It]

Just thought i would share a simple recipe to make a cider
some recipes age the cider in barrels
here is one way to do without a barrel

ingredients

Apple juice
malic acid
Tannin TAF
pectic enzyme
yeast and nutrient
american oak chips
nylon hop bag
preserving tablet

Method
Step 1. Sterilize container and other components that will hold cider
Step 2. Once sterilized ,add box of juice to container
Step 3. At this point you can add a bit of mailc acid ( check dosage rate) to juice if you like it slightly tart
Step 4. Add some pectic enzyme( check dosage rate) if you like clear cider
Step 5. Add some tannin( check dosage rate) if you wish. This gives the cider a bit more "complexity."
Step 6. Pitch yeast and nutrient into fermenter( check dosage rate) .within 24 hours you should see bubbling.
Step 7. Add a bung and air lock to the top of the fermenter ,
Step 8. Keep a constant temperature of 18-24 degrees for about 10 days
Step 9. After 10 days measure with a hydrometer. For a still cider you want to get down to 1.000 SG
Step 10. Once happy with SG level Transfer cider to suitable demijohn and add preservative
Step 11 Add some oak to flavour. taste every few weeks.
Step 12 once happy with oak level remove oak form cider
Step 13 add clearing agent to cider as per packet instructions
Step 14 once cider is clear ,transfer cider to clean container for maturing
Step 15 once happy with maturity level of cider. prepare it for bottling
Step 16 bottle and enjoy


I made this with a 10L blended apple juice

shame i haven't got any bottles left
Anybody else got a cider recipe

 

[Airgead]

I have been using oak dominos (from a bulk buy) instead of chips in my meads. I was finding that the chips oaked things up very fast and it was easy to overdo the oaking with them. I find the dominoes much more controllable.

If you are going to add acid and tannin, I'd add after fermemntation as the flavour will change a bunch. As the fermentation removes sweetness, it will accentuate acidity and tannins. If you add before fermentation, what tastes right then may be too much after.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Steven @ Home Make It]

With regards to the oak the smaller the surface area the quicker the infusion
so cubes or domino's have a longer time to extract and more chance to control the end result

the trick with the acid and tannin with this recipe is not to add too much upfront
you can always add more later
but very hard to take out if too much

but fermentation is a bit like cooking a chook there are several ways to do it
as long as it taste good at the end
that the main thing

now where did i put that cider

 

[sp0rk]

The smaller the wood the quicker the infusion, buuuuut HBS chips are usually really old barrels that are passed their usefulness by the time they're chipped (and they're usually rather overpriced imho)
Something like a suber lefort mini stave or nice oak dominoes however are still small enough to to have a decent time for infusion and they still have lots of lovely sugars and vanillins in them to give the flavours you want
I bought 2.5kgs of the suber lefort medium toasted mini staves through another forums, I'm thinking about trying soaking them in some bourbon and then doing a bourbon oaked stout with them :icon_drool2:

 

[TheBlackAdder]

Im interested in trying something similar for my second attempt at a cider and have a quick question

In the last steps you transfer from the secondary vessel (demijohn) to a tertiary vessel for maturing

Given that it will be off the yeast cake after going to the demijohn, wouldnt it be ok to mature in there after removing the oak chips?

I'm going to have to buy a secondary vessel as is and I'm wondering about the benefits of your tertiary vessel vs. secondary, or even bottle conditioning

 

[Steven @ Home Make It]

The smaller the wood the quicker the infusion, buuuuut HBS chips are usually really old barrels that are passed their usefulness by the time they're chipped (and they're usually rather overpriced imho)
Something like a suber lefort mini stave or nice oak dominoes however are still small enough to to have a decent time for infusion and they still have lots of lovely sugars and vanillins in them to give the flavours you want
I bought 2.5kgs of the suber lefort medium toasted mini staves through another forums, I'm thinking about trying soaking them in some bourbon and then doing a bourbon oaked stout with them :icon_drool2:

depending on where your getting it form
french and american oak chips are not always form old barrels and can be seasoned oak that is not to grade for making a barrel
whisky,bourbon and rum soakers are normally form old barrels but not always

a good brew shop should have the whisky,bourbon and rum soakers for spirit infusion
and french and american oak chips for wine and cider making and for putting beer as well
french and american oak chips used in spirit will give it a brandy type quality
just to add to the conversation

 

[Steven @ Home Make It]

Im interested in trying something similar for my second attempt at a cider and have a quick question

In the last steps you transfer from the secondary vessel (demijohn) to a tertiary vessel for maturing

Given that it will be off the yeast cake after going to the demijohn, wouldnt it be ok to mature in there after removing the oak chips?

I'm going to have to buy a secondary vessel as is and I'm wondering about the benefits of your tertiary vessel vs. secondary, or even bottle conditioning

Just in the case that you are using a clearing agent
you will get a small cake develop at the bottom
so to save you sucking it up when bottling we move it to the next container
secondary or tertiary container is your personal preference
but i do find it easier in the long run with this method
bottle conditioning vs maturing is the preference of the cider maker
and what resources you have available at the time
i like to get some smoothness to product before bottling
but to each their own

just remember the first rule
DRINK MORE CIDER

 

[Mutaneer]

I purchased a 5L oak barrel from Barrel Barn

It's currently full of Bourbon to help extract some of the char from the barrel and to add some flavour and smooth out the cheap bourbon
Plus it should provide a sterilisation effect too.

Can't wait to dump some cider into it