Maple syrup and apples are just perfect together. The tart, sharp apples and the silky, sweet maple blend in this brew to make a very classy dry cider. Pair this cider with crumbly white cheddar, maple-bacon flavored treats or smoked nuts.
1 gal (3.8 L) apple juice, divided
2 cups (480 ml) maple syrup
½ cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
1 cup (240 ml) strongly brewed black tea
½ packet (2.5 g) Lalvin 71B yeast
1. Gather your ingredients and sanitize your supplies. For this recipe, you’ll need a 1- or 2-gallon (3.8- or 7.5-L) stockpot, a long spoon, a funnel, a strainer, a gallon (3.8-L) carboy, a raking cane and a bung and airlock.
2. Warm ½ gallon (1.9 L) of the apple juice in the stockpot, but only to about 90°F (32°C). Don’t let it boil or you run the risk of creating a pectin haze from the apple juice. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar and tea and stir until it is all mixed well.
3. Using the funnel and strainer, pour the warmed apple juice mixture into the carboy and top it off with as much of the remaining ½ gallon (1.9 L) of apple juice needed for the must to reach the neck of the jug. Pitch the yeast, cover the mouth of the jug and give it a few good shakes to aerate the must and wake up the yeast.
4. Seal it with the bung and airlock. Label the jug with the brew name and date. After 2 weeks, rack it over to a new sanitized carboy to get it off of the lees and help it start to clear.
5. bottle your cider after it has cleared and fermentation has stopped. Since this cider is brewed with wine yeast and has a higher potential alcohol, you shouldn’t try to carbonate it unless you plan on bottling in champagne bottles with wire clamps! Save the priming sugar for the ciders made with ale yeast.
RECIPE NOTE: This still cider is neither mellow nor maple-flavored at bottling, but it changes quickly! At two weeks, the dry cider will mellow out and reveal the maple aroma and flavor that you hoped for. Wonderful when dry, Maple Syrup Cider is just as delicious with a bit of Basic Simple Syrup or maple syrup added to the glass at serving.