3.5 Gallons Perry (November 2020)

[jeskremer]

DAY ONE
3.25 gallons pear cider/.25 gallons apple cider (Cortland/Mac?)
1/2 tsp tannin (for 5 gallon recipe... I did add 1/2 tsp)
2.5 tsp pectic enzyme (for 5 gallon recipe... I added 2 tsp)
2.5 tsp yeast nutrient (for 5 gallon recipe... I added 2 tsp)

Let sit for a day while still quite cold with a slight amount of ice in it.

[jeskremer]

DAY TWO
Ale yeast or Lalvin 1118 yeast (I did use the Lalvin this time because it was specifically recommended in this recipe)
Cane sugar
Tartaric acid

Measured acid content. Was actually 10%! No tartaric added.
SG was 1.040. Added 7 cups sugar to raise SG to 1.075. Recipe recommends between 1.050-1.090. Didn't want too much alcohol. 1.075 will give a potential alcohol content of 10%.

Added yeast.

[jeskremer]

You'll get different responses about this here because different cider makers have developed different processes that work for us. There's no right or wrong way to do it, and it's tough to advise a noob since the answer always starts with, "It depends...".

What's worked for me (lots of gallons) is to rack to secondary at about 1.010 and fill the secondary fermenters all the way to the neck to eliminate head space. Then I'm comfortable letting my cider age for a few months (or more) without risk of oxidation or infection. When I'm ready to bottle there is typically only a dusting of lees so I rack again to a bottling bucket or to a keg for sweetening etc.

This works for pretty much any yeast as long as you keep it at 65F or below. But as Dave T said, if you can control ferment temps even lower than that there are other options that could potentially leave you with sweeter cider.

So... it depends..

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/wh ... ry.636297/

[jeskremer]

THREE DAYS AFTER ADDING YEAST
SG at 1.040

[jeskremer]

FIVE DAYS AFTER ADDING YEAST
ph 3.7
SG 1.010
Carefully poured off the top of the lees into three one gallon primaries. Filled as full as possible.

[jeskremer]

NINE MONTHS LATER
August of 2021 racked into the barrel spigot kit. Approximately 11 qts when leaving behind the lees.

Added 8g/L of sugar to carbonate. 4g = 1 tsp sugar. 11 qts = 11.5 L. I needed 84 g of sugar which equated to 21 tsp, which equated to 7 T or 1/4c + 3 T.

I dissolved the sugar into 3/4 c warm water, then carefully stirred into the barrel. Left about 1-2" head space in each bottle. Let sit out for about two weeks before refrigerating and drinking.