Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:56 am
Wezil,
I've made applejack (legal, it's fractional distilling) with both unspiced and spiced cider.
No spices, straight US56 or Nottingham yeast seems to taste best. My method is to put a gallon cider jug about 3/4 full of hard cider in the freezer for 24 hours, then pour off the liquid. Like you said, I get about 25% yield, but that's when I've added sugar to the cider to boost the final abv to 8% or so.
Good stuff, both applejack and cider.
Bub, get some good, no preservatives cider. If you want more than 4-5% abv, add about 1/2-1# per gallon of honey, sugar or brown sugar. It usually tastes best after aging at least 6 months in the bottle/keg.
Try the hefe yeast, would probably be tasty. I can tell you that spices and sweetening it back will cover up the young flavors.
Chrispy
What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive?--Irv Kupcinet
