{"id":957,"date":"2014-10-17T16:24:44","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T16:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/?p=957"},"modified":"2015-12-12T17:59:45","modified_gmt":"2015-12-12T17:59:45","slug":"how-to-make-swamp-cider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/how-to-make-swamp-cider\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Swamp Cider"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0067.1\"<\/p>\n

\u201cEye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog, Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting, Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing<\/em>\u2026<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 -Second Witch, Macbeth<\/em>, Act IV Scene I<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

With Halloween just two weeks away, it\u2019s time to get into the spirit— cider style.<\/span><\/p>\n

For this insidious installment, I’ve exhumed a diabolically delicious drink from the depths of my recipe vault for you to take a stab at.\u00a0 It\u2019s a ghoulishly green grog, afflictionately referred to as Swamp Cider<\/em>, and it\u2019s brain-dead simple to make.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t drag your feet, you even have a bloody good chance of summoning up a freshly fermented batch of this beastly beverage to serve your fiends and family in time for All Hallows\u2019 Eve.\u00a0 Besides, you know what they say: Idle hands are the devil’s workshop<\/em>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

[Point of Clarification<\/em>: This recipe\/tutorial is for creating a fermented, and therefore alcoholic, cider. For a non-alcoholic version of Swamp Cider, try blending roughly equal parts green juice (see below) and Martinelli’s (non-alcoholic) Sparkling Cider, or force carbonating green juice with a product like SodaStream.\u00a0 Now, on with the show<\/em>\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the bare bones list of the two things you\u2019ll need in order to brew up to 5 gallons of Swamp Cider:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Green Juice.<\/strong> I use Trader Joe\u2019s <\/span>Green Plant<\/em> juice which contains a fair amount of apple juice; it tastes good and won’t\u00a0break the bank.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"green<\/a><\/p>\n

There are some other more pricy blends out there that may work for you including Naked\u2019s <\/span>Green Machine<\/em>, Odwalla\u2019s <\/span>Superfood<\/em>, Suja\u2019s <\/span>Glow<\/em>, Juice Press\u2019 <\/span>Love at First Sight<\/em>, BluePrint\u2019s <\/span>Green Juice<\/em>, Organic Avenue\u2019s <\/span>Mellow Love<\/em>, etc.\u00a0 \u00a0Ultimately, the decision is yours as to which green juice tastes best to you, so feel free to sample a few, and go with your favorite.\u00a0 Just keep in mind that some green juice blends are thicker than others and may need to be diluted a bit with quality, 100% apple juice or apple cider (fresh pasteurized cider from an orchard is best, but of course not necessary).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"bones\"<\/a>Note!<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span> It\u2019s deathly vital that your store-bought juice DOES NOT contain the preservatives sodium benzoate<\/strong><\/span> or potassium sorbate<\/strong><\/span>. These chemicals, which should be clearly noted on the ingredients list, are usually a death sentence when it comes to your cider ever fermenting and becoming alcoholic.\u00a0 Citric acid or ascorbic acid is fine.\u00a0 Again, it\u2019s also critical that you actually enjoy<\/strong> the taste of the green juice that you\u2019re using because the final product will retain much of the original aroma and flavor components.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, if you already have a killer green juice recipe in your spell book, you could conjure up your own concoction, just bear in mind that your blend should contain approximately 25-50% apple juice or cider.\u00a0 If you\u2019re feeling a bit sluggish, you can always pick up a tasty green blend at one of your favorite juice bar haunts.\u00a0 There\u2019s just one catch<\/em>\u2026 Your homemade juice and most likely the fresh pressed juice at the juice bar is not pasteurized (flash boiled), which means there will almost certainly be wild yeast and possibly certain spoilage bacteria in it which can produce off-flavors in your final cider.\u00a0 In this case, the options are (1) heat your juice to 180\u00b0F for 45 minutes (do not boil), which will kill most bacteria and wild yeast, or (2) just add the unpasteurized juice and cross your fingers\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Yeast.<\/strong><\/span> Yeast is the age old fungus that will provide the magic needed to transform your limp green juice into a lively libation. The yeast, which comes in either dry or liquid form, will consume the sugars in your juice and convert them into alcohol and bubbling CO2. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Using baker\u2019s yeast will probably ferment your Swamp Cider,\u00a0but it might also produce more bread-like aroma and flavor components, so it’s not exactly my first choice— ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

For this recipe, I recommend a liquid English Ale Yeast (WLP 002) which you can find at your local or online homebrew store.\u00a0 Shipping liquid yeast through the mail usually costs more than shipping dry yeast, not to mention, liquid yeast\u00a0usually costs\u00a0about double what\u00a0dry yeast does\u00a0(about $8 VS $4, respectively). \u00a0So if there is no local homebrew shop in your area, you could use a dry English yeast such as Windsor Ale Yeast, which will be cheaper to ship. \u00a0English Ale Yeast generally will leave you with a semi-sweet cider, whereas cider and wine yeasts have a tendency to finish dryer, sometimes bone dry.\u00a0 The amount of yeast sold in a single packet or vial at homebrew shops will be enough to ferment up to 5 gallons of Swamp Cider, and certainly no problem for fermenting lesser amounts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Basic Procedure<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> Combine your green juice and yeast into a clean*<\/strong> food-grade plastic container (up to 5 gallons), and cover with aluminum foil. You can poke a few holes in the foil with a fork to allow the CO2 produced by the yeast to more easily escape. If using a glass container, DO NOT tightly seal a lid onto the jar, or the jar will most likely explode due to the building pressure of the CO2 produced by the yeast. Remove the lid and replace with aluminum foil like mentioned above.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tip! Stretching the Yeast<\/em>:<\/strong>\u00a0Buying multiple packets of\u00a0yeast can get pricy, so if you\u2019re fermenting in two containers, but only have one vial\/packet of yeast, you can divide the yeast in half (just eyeball it) between the two containers.\u00a0 If fermenting in more than two containers with only one vial\/packet of yeast, you could add the yeast to a cup of green juice or cider, shake or stir well, then evenly distribute the yeast to the different containers.<\/span><\/p>\n

[*<\/strong> Cleaning: I recommend rinsing the inside of your containers, or any equipment coming in contact with your yeast or unfermented cider, for 30 seconds with a product called \u201cOne-Step\u201d.\u00a0 One-Step is a human-friendly, scentless cleanser which can be found at your local\/online homebrew shop. It comes in a dry, white powder form which you simply mixed with water for use; usually 1 table spoon to 1 gallon of water.]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMG_0068\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Place container in a consistently cool place (60\u00b0F is ideal) and wait 1-2 weeks. At above 70-75\u00b0F, the cider can start taking on stronger alcoholic notes. Too far below about 55\u00b0F, and the cider may not ferment at all.<\/span><\/p>\n