Batch #20

On this past Sunday, 22 December, I started a new batch similar to previous batches, with the exception that I decided to add cranberry juice, substituting it for lemon juice and tea. Recipe #20:

• 5 gallon Kirkland's apple juice
• 1 pack Wyeast Whitbread (1099) Direct Pitch Activator
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• 3 pounds fresh cranberries

My thinking is that the cranberries would add acidity and tannins to the cider, so I would skip adding lemon juice and tea.

The first step was to juice the cranberries. I was hoping that 3 pounds would produce a quart of juice, but it only produced 20 ounces. As with previous batches, prior to adding juice and yeast to the carboy, I added to a pot:

• 1/4 gallon Kirkland's apple juice
• 20 ounces fresh juiced cranberry juice
• 1/4 cup of raisins

I cooked this mixture on the stove for 30 minutes at a temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. I then chilled this over ice to bring it to <80F, added this and 3/4 gallons of juice to the carboy, pitched the yeast, and then added the remaining 4 gallons of juice.

One thing (of many, I'm sure) I forgot to do was to measure the specific gravity of the cranberry juice.