Perricone Farms offer the most delicious apple juice I've been able to find in our area, but the store keeps that stuff on ice for good reason. It ferments away enthusiastically in your fridge, discharging a sharp hiss of carbon dioxide every time you open a bottle even after a few hours. So naturally I thought I'd see what I'd get if I stuck it on a shelf and let it do its thing. Scientific Experiments, of course, are what the Catholic dad sells his army of children off to in Monty Python's Meaning of Life.

Ingredients in this batch

  • 1 gallon Perricone apple juice
  • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
  • ¼ tsp Fermaid K
  • ½ packed cup brown sugar added on June 8

Process

Tossed everything in a carboy and agitated; that's it! Starting gravity was 1.050.

Observations

  • 2017-06-08T20:00:00: The cider fermented away vigorously and settled out a lot of yeast, so it's no surprise that it finished boooooooone dry. I tossed in a packed half cup of brown sugar, which clouded its appearance a bit, but made the cider substantially more palatable. Fermentation continued slowly for several weeks. Another round of backsweetening may be necessary.