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Does Cider "Age" in the Bottle?
My friends and I made three, five gallon batches of hard cider this fall.
Is there a certain length of time to wait after bottling before you drink? Does it "age" in the bottle? Also, what is the proper time period if you add sugar to bottles for a "sparkling" version?
Also, we tried adding blackberries to our last batch and the color is great but the flavor didn't seem to carry over into the finished product. We added the berries for the primary fermentation and the activity was amazing. If we had added during secondary would the flavor have been more pronounced?
Any help is much appreciated!
- BK
You can start to drink it after 4 to 6 weks and it should be gassy.
The longer you leave it the better it gets, except (I have personnaly found) it gets drier as it gets older, so if you like it dry, then the longer you leave it the better.
I like mine "young" and slightly sweet so I drink (guzzle) it before its 3 or 4 months old..
I had some sit for a few years once, , and it turned out very, dry just like wine,
I use bought apple juice from the supermarket, as (I have personally found) that it always makes a slightly sweet cider which I love, although you have to make quite sure there is NO preservitaves in it, but the bottle lable says wether there are any preservitaves. Only a few brands have preservative, most bottled apple juice these days are pasturised (heated), possibly because these days consumers do not like chemicals.
I have tried (over the years) fresh apple juice from orchards, but I have found that it generally turns out too dry, (that is for my taste), and the longer I have left it, the dryer, and more like wine it has become (which I personally do not like).
Also, I have found with fresh apple juice, the taste alters with each batch unless of course you use the same variety, or mix of varietys every year (or time). I prefer the same taste every year.
I have also tried all different types of yeast, but really have not found much of a difference in taste, except for cider/wine or champayne yeasts which make the cider dryer, so for the last few years, I use only the cheapest beer yeast I have been able to find.
I do not add any sugar or dextrose etc to my brews, as I find it strong enough, and of course I can still get very "pissed".
Anyway, keep on having fun, and keep sipping
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