#4 Lessons learned

Tuesday was an extremely productive day in my cider making journey. I started by bottling my 3rd batch. I had high hopes for this batch. It had sat in primary fermentation with Trader Joe's cider, extra sugar for alcohol boost, and a half of can of frozen apple juice concentrate for flavor boost. I allowed it to ferment for about two weeks. During this time I also set aside a container of oak chips soaking in bourbon. I racked this batch into secondary a couple weeks ago and added the soaked chips to a mesh bag and added that into the jug. It was quite difficult to squeeze the bag through the little whole of the jug with all of the oak chips and I had to slowly feed it through. I allowed the cider to sit in secondary for another 2 weeks.

On Tuesday, I bottled this batch. Each bottle I added a varying degree of splenda to experiment with back sweetening. I also bottled two bottles with zero sugar or splenda. I wanted to try it with out any carbonation or sweetener. The carbonation process should take about 2-3 weeks before I can pop those open.

I chilled the still cider and tried it that night. When poured it into a glass the aromas were awesome. I could definitely pull the bourbon with a hint of apple and butter from the oak. However, I quickly learned that oak chips, if left in the cider for too long, can create a very overpowering taste. The bourbon flavor was a tad extreme as well. Being that the juice was store bought, the cider itself didn't carry a lot of flavor to it and all you could really taste was a watery oak and bourbon. It was disappointing. I am hoping once the bottles are fully carbonated that it will have a better taste. Allowing the cider to age a little longer may help smooth the flavors out as well.

I also racked batch number 4. This batch has been in primary fermentation for about two weeks and was made from McCutcheons unfilter apple cider (unfiltered as in it still had its pulp from the apples and was cloudy). I added a half of can of frozen cherry apple juice concentrate for flavor boost and sugar for alcohol boost. I siphoned the cider into a fresh jug and added two cinnamon sticks. From what I have learned from the oak chips, I may rack the cider for a third fermentation to pull the cider off the cinnamon sticks. I don't want it to have an overpowering cinnamon flavor. I will taste test it in about a weeks time and make a decision on my next move.