Today we finish our three-part series on making cider at home. Two weeks ago we discussed gear and ingredients. Last week we covered the core process of fermentation. This week we finally get to bottle our cider and consider some variations on the theme of cider.
Getting to bottles
Some beer- and cider-makers keg their brews. The rest of us must deal with bottles. You will need about 48 12-ounce bottles for a 5-gallon batch of cider. For flexible and effective bottling, you will also want a bottling bucket and related gear. Homebrewing starter kits typically contain a bottling bucket with a spigot, a filling wand, and the hosing to connect the two. The wand, which may as well be magical, allows the cider to flow only when it is inserted down to the bottom of a bottle. As with every other stage of cider-making, sanitizing the bottling gear is key.
Assuming you want sparkling cider, you will need to prime it by adding sugar just ahead of bottling; the residual yeast will consume the sugar while in the bottle, releasing carbon dioxide for carbonation. To prime the cider, bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small pot, and add 4 to 5 ounces of priming sugar (dextrose sugar, available at the homebrew store). Cover the pot, simmer at a low boil for 5 minutes, and allow to cool. Pour the sugar syrup into the bottling bucket, and then transfer the cider from secondary to bucket with your racking siphon. Stir as you go. To ensure successful carbonation, you may want to add a new round of the same yeast you used back at the start, especially if secondary fermentation went for several months. I usually add the yeast along with the syrup.
Fill the bottles from the bucket with the bottling wand, and seal them with sanitized caps. The two-handled capper tool that comes with homebrew starter kits is perfectly adequate for this. Keep the bottles at room temperature for two weeks to allow for carbonation. Resist the temptation to open your bottles early!
Variations on a theme
There are innumerable variations to the process outlined in this series. Some cider-makers aim for still (nonsparkling) cider, which requires the use of sulfite to kill off the yeast prior to bottling. Read up on proper procedures before trying this. You can bottle still cider in wine bottles, though this requires a corking tool.
A very popular variant is to change the flavor profile by adding fruit to either the primary or secondary. Make sure to err on the side of subtlety. For a 5-gallon batch, you can use several pounds of pears or mangoes; use much less with strongly flavored fruit like Concord grapes (8 to 12 ounces) or raspberries. Be wary of underripe fruit and naturally sour fruit like blackberries, as both can make for mouth-puckering acidity. Always freeze and thaw the fruit before adding it; this releases flavors.
I put mangoes or pears in the secondary, but most everything else in the primary. When adding fruit to the primary, first allow fermentation to be well on its way. Give fruit in the secondary four to six weeks to impart its flavor, as well as to complete any additional fermentation kicked off by the fruit sugars.
Oak cubes, available from a homebrew store, can impart a barrel-aged flavor to your cider. Use 2 to 4 ounces of medium-toast French cubes; steam them in a small bowl of water in the microwave, bringing the water to a boil several times. Cool, and then add cubes and whatever remains of the water to the secondary. You will need six to eight weeks for the cider to become oaky.
Spices or herbs, in subtle quantities, can enrich your cider by rounding out flavors. Vanilla can be delicious in ciders made with Saison yeast, for example. Basil or rosemary (a little goes a long way) can be tossed into the primary, or you can make extracts by macerating the herbs in vodka. When using extracts, stir the extract into the bottling bucket in 1/4-teaspoon increments. Taste as you go, and don’t overdo it!
Dry-hopping
A recent trend is to dry-hop the cider, which gives a grassy, flowerlike flavor. To do so, add a couple ounces of beer-making hops like Cascade, Mosaic, or Citra to the secondary prior to bottling. I prefer whole-leaf hops to the pulverized and compressed hop pellets, though some hops are available only pelletized (Mosaic, for example). Allow the hops to steep for four or five days (you can go longer with Cascade), and then bottle the cider promptly. Be aware that the hops have a way of finding the mouth of the siphon and clogging it.
One last thought: Don’t do this alone. There is a welcoming community of cider-makers in town. Any of us will happily while away the hours over a glass or two of cider and fill you in on all the practical details not included here.
Cheers!
Marc Vilain is a homebrewer and author of the Press’ monthly astronomy column, “Sky Walker.”
