Crisp Hard Cider

The RocketScience Team enjoys our cider so we came up with a new recipe. It is a crisp and clean apple cider. This cider is complete after being in primary for 4 months!  As a note, we get all our cider from a local orchard and the gravity of 4 gallons is roughly 1.050 with no additions. So here is the recipe:

Crisp Hard Cider
Four gallons of apple cider (No preservatives, No Additives, Unpasteurized)
3 Cans Frozen Apple juice Concentrate
White Labs Cider Yeast (WLP775)

Add yeast to cider and wait 4 months. Try to keep the temperature in the low 70's (70 - 73).

Rack the cider to secondary and add potassium sorbate and wait 24 hours. Next add all three cans of the apple juice concentrate and stir well. At this point, either bottle or keg and enjoy. I serve my cider at 12 psi.

Mulled Cider Recipe - Suicider

During the holidays the RocketScience Team enjoys a more festive tasting cider. So here is our recipe for our mulled cider, it normally goes really quick!

Mulled Hard Cider
Four gallons of apple cider (No preservatives, No Additives, Unpasteurized)
5 Cinnamon sticks
1/4 Cup Mulling Spices
1 T Apple Pie spice
1 lb Dark Brown Sugar
2 Cans Frozen Apple juice Concentrate
Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast

Add yeast and 3 cinnamon sticks to cider and wait 7-10 days. Once fermentation is complete add 2 cinnamon sticks and mulling spices to cider. I use a 1 gallon paint strainer bag with a knot in the top for easy cleanup. Remove mulling spices after 7 days and add potassium sorbate to stop any residual fermentation.

Combine both cans of apple juice concentrate, apple pie spice, and dark brown sugar.

If kegging:
Rack cider to keg and add concentrate mixture; Carbonate and serve.

If bottling:
Rack to secondary container and add concentrate mixture. Bottle with carb tabs or omit potassium sorbate..

Berry Cider Recipe - BerryCide

Most of the cider we've made to this point has been strong enough that would be satisfactory for use as rocket fuel (it's RocketScience, after all), if it didn't spontaneously combust on its own. Finding creative ways to cut this potent potable has been a pursuit on its own. Our most recent, and most popular recipe is included below. We're thinking its going to be a great cider recipe for the summer months.

Berry Hard Cider

• Four gallons of apple cider (No preservatives, No Additives, Unpasteurized)
• 4lb bag of mixed berries (Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, and Blackberries)
• Two 64oz bottles of Blueberry Pomegranate juice
• 1.0 lb Dark Brown Sugar
• ½ lb Powdered Sugar
• 1 pack of Lalvin EC-1118 Champagne Yeast
• 1 pack Safeale-05 Ale Yeast

Hydrate yeast in 1 cup warm water and add to cider. Wait 1 week then liquefy mixed berries and strain into cider yeast mixture.

Once fermentation has completed, approximately 1 week, add potassium sorbate or cold crash to extract yeast. Boil Blueberry Pomegranate juice to half of original volume and combine dark brown sugar and powered sugar.

If Kegging:
Rack cider to keg and add blueberry pomegranate mixture. Carbonate and serve.

If Bottling:
Rack cider to secondary and add blueberry pomegranate/sugar mixture. Mix well then bottle.

In addition to reducing the chances of spontaneous combustion, it kind of drinks itself.