Toffee Apple Cider Recipe (UPDATED!)

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RobWalker

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Toffee Apple Cider

14/07/2012 - I've updated this with two versions of the recipe and clearer instructions.


So here's my simple recipe for a special occasion Toffee Apple Cider/Wine.

It's especially suited to the autumn, particularly during halloween or round a bonfire, but goes well in the summer too. It can be warmed on the hob with fruit and spices to make a cracking mulled cider too. This cider requires a good degree of ageing, as it's very raw to start off with, particularly due to the high amount of fermentables. It's extremely strong, so drink it out of a wine glass!

The basic taste is of Turbo Cider, like a dry tart cider, but round off the farmhouse flavour and add a little toffee, caramel and sherry, and you're somewhere on the way to what it tastes like. It's not sweet, but has a weird sweetness and fruitiness to it. It's a real treat and not very expensive to make, but you need some serious patience!

Ingredients.

Ingredients v1: Strong/Wine type. Approx 10%

4.5L 100% Organic Apple Juice
500g Honey
Water to top
1 pack yeast of your choice. Popular choices are Montrachet, Champagne, Safale S-04 and Nottingham.
1 14oz tin Pear Halves
1tsp Yeast Nutrient
1tsp Malic Acid
1 Vanilla Pod or Vanilla Extract

Ingredients 2: More drinkable type. Approx 7.5%

4L 100% Organic Apple Juice
250g Honey
Water to top
1 pack yeast of your choice. Popular choices are Montrachet, Champagne, Safale S-04 and Nottingham.
1 14oz tin Pear Halves
1tsp Malic Acid
1tsp Yeast Nutrient
1 Vanilla Pod or Vanilla Extract

How to make it.

- Mash the pears and pour boiling water over to sanitize. Mix with 3L apple juice and add to sanitized Demi John.

- Heat the honey on a medium heat in a normal sized saucepan. Keep it very hot, but don't allow it to boil until it's dark in colour. This will take some time, you will notice a smell of burning marshmellows/candy floss when it's ready. If you can still smell a lot of sweet honey, it's not ready, keep going! It will froth up quite a lot, and for the love of god, do NOT touch it!

- When Honey is successfully "burnt," take off the heat and allow to cool. Add 1 carton of Apple Juice, mix, and pour into demi john, mixing the chemicals and yeast at the same time. Ferment at room temperature, it's likely to take 2-3 weeks at least.

- After fermentation, rack into a second demi john, top up with water or cider to reduce the headroom. Wrap Vanilla in a small muslin bag, and suspend in the cider using fishing line. Check taste every few days until you're happy - then remove the bag. Alternatively, skip this stage and add vanilla extract when priming.

- Bulk age for at least 2 months, anywhere up to a year.

- Bottle into pint or wine bottles, I like mine sparkling so add 0.5tsp/pint when bottling, or 1tsp/pint for a very fizzy cider. Keep at room temperature for 2 weeks, then into the cool for a further week before drinking. Serve cool.

My 1 year vintage. Tastes awesome! I have only 7 bottles, so it's for special occasions...

26dd3fc2cdd011e1b62322000a1e8a75_7.jpg


FAQ!

- It has a weird lava lamp type effect when fermenting. Is this normal?

Yes, this is entirely normal. I've no idea why, but the ingredients will swirl and seperate when it's fermenting. It's really weird, but makes this a really fun cider to make!

- What's the minimum time before drinking?

Ciders will always get better with age, but once fermentation is completed, you can bottle and expect it to be carbonated and clear in two weeks. It will be very sharp at that point, but that's the bare minimum.

It's got a weird white fatty layer on tpp after fermenting. What is this?

Malo-lactic fermentation from the added Malic Acid. This is a secondary fermentation that rounds off the harsher flavours in cider. It's beneficial, so relax!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Think I have found my next brew idea :thumb:

How similar is it to brothers?
 
Well this looks the business. i going to make a batch in a 18.9ltr water bottle ive converted. just wanted to know peoples thoughts on the quantities im thinking

4 tins pear halves

1.5kg honey

2 tspn vanilla extract

2 tspn gylcerine

youngs Champagne yeast (i like it nice and fizzy)

Yeast nutrient

topped up with apple juice 17ltrs or so

Feedback welcome. im wanting around 6% so ill check the SG and sugar content accordingly
 
Noob question alert :hmm:
I'm going to make up a five litre batch tomo.....
Do I add a whole packet of yeast (s-04) or just enough for 5 litres (quarter of packet).

Cheers :drink:
PJ
 
Monkeybob

Just go for the full pack.

I'm assuming it is a 5g pack?

Question for anyone else...
How long does this take to ferment out? (approx)

:wha:
 
Well I've been and bought some honey and just this minute set it on the go. The only thing I did different is I forgot to buy some pears so didnt use any. Also the nice smell described with the simmering honey isn't what I got, it smelt not wry nice but I did use cheap honey. But I'm still excited for the results.
 
Mine is bubbling steadily at about a bubble a second now.....

Starting to cloud up a treat as well

Smelling great in there :whistle:
 
Wel mine has started bubbling regularly now. And I have topped it up with aj now. Looking forward to the end result. If its good I'll make a bigger batch
 
Been wanting to get this going for a while, but every supermarket i have been in does not seam to have organic apple juice. Any suggestions folks?

Cheers
 
As I couldn't find the organic stuff, I have used Tesco 100% concentrate juice at 74p a litre :thumb:

I think the only real criteria is ensuring it is nothing but juice, certainly smells alright in there ;)
 
I make tc with any old **** apple juice, only reason for premium juice is I like to keep this as a special occasion brew. Both are fine, as said just make sure there's no preservatives.
 
This could be a stupid question but (here goes) would it be possibe to up size RW's recipe to say 20litres then split it between two cornies and then add bottles of lemonade (to make it sweet enough) and force carbonate again so it could be served through my new dispensing tap on my home bar?
If it was a stupid one could someone point a newbie in the right direction, as having a bbq party for a family members birthday in the end of July and would love to have 2 or 3 cornies of this stuff for the none ale drinkers to get stuck into.
Thanks in advance for any help
 
If you are force carbing you can kill it with k sorbate and sweeten all you like with whatever you want. It deactivatesd the yeast and then you carbonate with co2 :)
 
Iv just started this brew 6 days ago and it's going like mad. Smells wonderful carnt wait for a taste :)
 

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