crab apple cider

[smeggedup]

hi,
luckly i've found a crab apple tree bremming with small fruits, ive manage to get a crab apple wine recipe, but would also like to try making cider.
has anyone got any recipes for crab apple cider? plz

just joined up so please don't get to techy on me.
also hope its in the right bit
cheers pete

[crafty john]

you can put a small amount of crab apples in cider but they contain too much tannin to make a brew from crab apples alone, I do have a recepie somewhere which has cookers, eaters & crab apples in it, if you want it let me know.

[mrbenbod]

I have a crab apple cider recipe but it suggests using mellow crab apples, I don't know
if yours are 'mellow'? Anyway, recipe is:

Crab Apple Cider

4-6lb mellow crab apples
1/2 pint white grape juice concentrate
2 1/2 lb sugar
1/2 tsp nutrient
1 tbs pectolase
2 campden tablets
Champagne yeast

Wash Apples. Crush them.
Stir in pectolase and crushed campden tablet. Cover and leave in warm place for 24 hrs.
Put mash in a linen cloth/bag and squeeze out all the juice.
Put juice, sugar, nutrient and yeast in fermenting vessel and stir. (I would leave LOTS of headroom cos I reckon this is going to be feisty, and stand the DJ in a container).
Leave airlock off until fermentation has calmed down.
Ferment until no bubbles are seen in airlock.
Rack and add a crushed campden tablet.

I can't help you with how much this will produce, the recipe doesn't say, and I suppose it depends on the apples etc anyway.
If you try this let us know how it turns out.

[smeggedup]

cheers will get back to you both