Beer Forum

I'm getting about 8-10 more gallons of fresh apple(ish) juice in a couple of weeks. I've already finished 20 gallons of hard cider and really don't need any more so I thought I would try to make some apple jack. I know the basics of making it (never have made it personally) but it's been a long time since I've had some and those that made it are no longer with us. So for those that may know, here's the questions:

1) My cider runs around 14% ABV. Will I need to tone it down a bit or will a good, long hard freeze do it? I'm thinking I'll start the cider the second week of December so it will be ready to freeze mid January and will be inside an uninsullated garage in northern Iowa. I figure if the lake freezes enough you can drive a car on it, it's a good freeze.

2) Storing the stuff. Can I bottle it like a snapps or such and just keep it at room temperature?

3) About how much jack should I expect out of 5 gallons of hard cider?

4) Are there any suggested additions? I've crushed raisens in recipes.

Thanks for any input.

Numsquat,

I'm not an expert, but my Dad has been making jack for quite a while. I've made two batches and the last batch was fantastic!

Here's my technique:
-make the hard cider, somewhere in the 10+ abv range
-I freeze it in a 3 gallon plastic jug in the freezer for 24 hours. Some people freeze for up to a week or more
-pour off liquid, my Dad and I get the same yield, about 25-30% of the original amount. My last batch was 3 gallons and I got 3 1/2 750 ml bottles.
-adding a bit of sugar helps smooth the harshness and bring out the flavor, around 1/4 cup sugar to each 750ml bottle.

My recipe was basic, cider and brown sugar. My Dad adds a few lemons and cut up raw potatoes to each 5 gallon batch, plus a bunch of chopped up raisins.

You can freeze it in plastic gallons jugs, if you don't have enough room in your freezer. Just fill the jugs about 3/4 full so they don't overflow. I drain the liquid out, the tip the jug up in a big funnel pouring into a wide mouth gallon jar or small carboy for about 10 minutes.

Oh, don't throw away the remaining cider, bottle it has hard cider. Obvioulsy a lot less alcohol, but still great flavor. Of course, it won't carbonate, but makes a great refreshing chilled still cider.

Enjoy,

Chris

PS: I just store it in resealable (either screw cap or swing cap) bottles at room temp.

Chris

Thanks Chris, very helpful. Can't wait to give it a go.

Bumping this up for another question. Haven't gotten around to doing another batch of cider (moving to Iowa, finding employment, etc) but plan to finally doing some brewing and cider next weekend, the first since October.

The question is would it be better to use a sweeter/lower alcohol or a dryer/higher alcohol? I got a recipe from a relative for hard cider that is lower in alcohol and sweeter than what I normally do and will be brewing a batch of it. I was wanting to do a a second patch for the jack and was wondering which type would be better for it.

Freezing it won't be a problem, we will be lucky to get above 0 degrees the next 4-5 days and it looks to be this way for a while.