Description
Ice cider appears to be a modern invention (1989) by cider makers in Quebec Provice, Canada (known there as cidre de glace). I find it a little hard to believe that over the thousands of years that humans have been growing apples that no one hasn’t yet accidentally frozen some apple juice and accidentally fermented some of the extract from it. However, the Quebecois seem to have taken full ownership of the idea and now it is (apparently) not possible to make true ice cider unless you live in Quebec and grow your own apples and let them freeze on the trees. The Quebecois also place a lot of technical constraints in making ice cider. It, therefore, comes as a complete surprise that this authentic ice cider is astronomically expensive ($30 – $50 for a half-bottle).
However, as amateur cider makers, I feel that we can leave the Quebecois to do things anyway they want and we will do the same. As cheapskates, saving money is what we do and there’s plenty to save here. However, I should point out that Quebecois ice cider is probably going to taste better than anything you make at home. Despite this, my experience is that homemade ice cider can indeed taste excellent and always creates a stir among other homebrewers when a bottle is opened.
The recipe below is to make 1-gallon (10x 12oz bottles) of a sweet ice cider with a strength of around 12% ABV. There’s also a follow-up to make a quick and dirty version at 18% ABV that will make your hair curl.
Brewing Notes
The recipe calls for 4-gallons of raw apple juice (or soft cider as the Americans call it). This needs to be cryo-concentrated to produce about 1-gallon of SG 1.135 concentrated juice extract. Instructions for doing this are given here.
Alternatively, you could cheat by buying 7x 12oz cans of frozen apple concentrate from the supermarket and use that. This has an SG of about 1.150 and so make up the gallon of concentrate by adding 12oz of water to the 7 cans. This is not as good as the cryo-concentration approach but it’s much easier, quicker and cheaper and the results still come out pretty good.
I use my favorite mead-making yeast for this – Lallemand D47. Not only is this a great fermenter it, doesn’t suffer from the nasty autolysis flavors generated by so many other yeasts. In other words, you can leave the cider on the lees for an extended period.
This cider will benefit from long aging – I didn’t try the first bottle for over 2 years.
Because of the long aging, watch out for oxidation! Keep your airlocks filled and add 50ppm sulfite to the cider once the fermentation has truly finished. Note that some commercial ice ciders (e.g. Dupont) deliberately let the cider oxidize to give a very dark color and a rich sherry-like flavor. This is not to everyone’s taste.
Because the juice is concentrated, there should be higher levels of acids and tannins in the final ice cider. The cider is going to be very sweet (as it should) and so will need something like tannin to properly balance it. Add some wine tannin to the cider if necessary.
Traditionally, ice cider is made without any carbonation. However, a think just a bit of fizz could add a bit of sparkle to an otherwise slightly flabby result.
Tasting Notes
The ice cider made using cryo-concentration matched the BJCP judging guidelines very well.
- Appearance – deep gold verging on amber. Clear. No carbonation
- Aroma – strong rich sweetish appley smell. A bit like apple pie. No off-aromas like solvents or fusels. No buttery-ness.
- Taste – sweet apple but balanced by a moderate tannic bitterness. The apple pervades throughout the taste and lingers well into the long finish.
- Body – very full bodied, almost slick. Very smooth with just the right amount of astringency to balance the strong sweetness
- Overall – well received by experienced cider judges. I don’t know if this would go down well in Quebec but it was well liked here in Connecticut. Would be a good accompaniment to a dessert in a gourmet dinner.
I would rate this at 44/50
The ice cider made with supermarket frozen apple concentrate was surprisingly good. It fermented out a lot further than the cryo-concentrated version and ended up at about 18% ABV! However, the alcohol was well subdued and was only noticeable as it went down my throat. Great for warming me up during the snow-clearing after yesterday’s massive snowstorm. A very strong apple flavor was retained. The taste was more acidic than the other version and not as sweet and was a bit rough around the edges. The body was very heavy and slick.
As a final note to this cheapskate version, I got somewhat distracted while drinking this and came back about an hour later. What a difference! Now the cider was smooth and very drinkable – a great apple flavor.
I would rate this at 37/50