I have been asked for a recipe for Apple Jack several times now,
so I thought I had better add one to my site.
Ingredients
1 gallon apple juice (or 16 pounds apples) 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon yeast energizer 1 1/2 teaspoon acid blend 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme 1 campden tablet 1 package champagne yeast (for 1 to 5 gallons) |
Place chopped fruit or juice in primary fermentor. Add balance of ingredients. Stir to dissolve sugar. Stir daily for 5 to 6 days or until frothing ceases. Strain out fruit and squeeze as much juice out of it as you can. Siphon into secondary fermentor and attach airlock.
Rack in three weeks, and again every 2 months until the cider is clear.
Gently stir in 1/4 cup sugar per gallon. Bottle in champagne bottles or clean pop bottles. Age three months.
Early settlers made this by setting their apple cider outside in the winter and allowing it to become slushy. They would then skim the frozen water off of the surface, leaving a "hardened" cider behind. Commercially, it is now distilled. This is illegal for the home brewer, but the freezing method is effective.
First, make Apple Cider (recipe above). Skip the final step, and allow it to age the three months in the secondary fermentor.
Second, siphon it back into the primary fermentor. If you have a deep freeze, put the primary fermentor in it overnight. If not, use ice cream buckets and the fridge freezer. Remember to leave room for the water to expand when it freezes.
The alcohol will not freeze, so it is forced into the center of the container when the cider is frozen. The brewer then has the option of either skimming the ice off of the surface, or siphoning the alcohol out of the center. The siphoning method will result in a higher alcohol content than the skimming method.