Fruit Punch Wine/Hard Cider

[jimbostarr]

I made this recipe with Wal-Mart Apple juice two months ago and it turned out great- even when I bottled it!

Here is a new experiment I am trying:

This is for a 5 gallon carboy.
6 three liter bottles of Wal-Mart fruit punch (vitamin C as preservative only)
10 C white sugar
EC 1118 and half K1 V1116 yeast
2 tsp yeast nutrient (optional)


Put 5 ½ of the bottles in the carboy. Pour remaining into saucepan on high and dissolve sugar into it (no need to boil). Pour into carboy.

Start yeast in ½ cup warm water. After an hour pitch it. Mix it in with the drill bit tool attached to drill. Measure for OG. Put on the airlock with some water and keep it around 55 degrees.

If there are no bubbles in two days, add 2 tsp yeast nutrient.

In about two or three weeks it’s done (when bubbles stop).

Add Super Klear and spin it in with carboy drill bit.

Let clear (about two days) rack to secondary. Wait another two days and rack once more. Bottle the next day.

After a few weeks test a bottle to make sure there is not too much pressure. If they are nice and bubbly (and you can’t drink what is left- very rare) pasteurize the bottles in the dishwasher on the rinse cycle. Wait until bottles are cooled to remove.

2/17/14 OG w/ sugar: 1.09, abv 11%

 

[jimbostarr]

Well, it been 6 weeks now (at 50f), and my cider is finally down to 1.01 SG. Today I will add SuperKlear and then bottle in a few days. So far, this tastes great!

I made some changes to the recipe...

Fruit Punch Wine/Hard Cider

This is for a 5 gallon carboy.
6 three liter bottles of Walmart fruit punch (vitamin C as preservative only)
10 C white sugar
EC 118 and half K1 V1116 yeast


Put 5 ½ of the bottles in the carboy. Pour remaining into saucepan on high and dissolve sugar into it. Then pour into carboy.

Start yeast in ½ cup warm water. After an hour pitch it. Put the airlock with some water and keep it around 60 degrees. Measure for SG.

If there are no bubbles in two days, add 2 tsp yeast nutrient.

In about three to five weeks it’s done (when bubbles slow to 1 every 20 seconds or SG is 1.010). Rack to secondary, add Super Klear and spin it in with special carboy drill bit.

Let clear (about two days) and rack. Wait another two days and rack once more. Bottle it the next day.

Every few weeks test a bottle here and there to make sure there is not too much pressure. If the cider is getting too much pressure built up, pasteurize the bottles in the dishwasher on the rinse cycle. Wait until bottles are cooled to remove.

2/17/14 OG w/ sugar: 1.09, abv 11%
3/9/14 SG 1.038
3/29 SG 1.01, racked to secondary

 

[jimbostarr]

After six weeks the FG was finally down to 1.02! I racked a few times and added Superklear. I've been giving bottles away, and folks say it's the best I've made yet! Starting a new batch today with a little more sugar and half apple juice, half apple punch (Wal-Mart).

 

[dlester]

Well, what are your results?


.

 

[jimbostarr]

Very tasty! But few months in the bottle will improve it more.

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[MindenMan]

What sort of flavor does the punch after fermentation produce? Having never tried it, I have to ask... Right now every cider will be topped up with the frozen concentrate I added to each gallon like apple/raspberry, gets a/r concentrate, apple/cranberry, etc.
At this time, I am trying different "base" juices to make Apple Jack with. I have two, half pint bottles of A/J, made last September in a dark cool closet to condition. Believe it or not, A/J does get better with age. About a month ago, my wife and I sampled a very small bit to taste and it wasn't "harsh" like it was when it was new. Trust me, there is alcohol there, but I believe putting it away a little sweet was the ticket. How sweet is sweet? I didn't hydro it, so I can't be sure. I was under the assumption that home made hard cider wouldn't age, then I thought about Mead, and had a light bulb moment, and time in the bottle was a good thing. A fellow HB'r of mine likes to make Mead, and gave me a year old bottle two or three years ago.
It is in a dark, cool place, aging until it becomes so, so, much better.