Not rosé, but rose! This floral dream of a cider is meant to be strong and dry. A little bit of sweetness is nice, but it can be added as a sugar syrup (here, here or here) at the time of serving to suit the palate of the drinker. The aroma from the rose petals and vanilla bean are heady and lush, making this a fantastic cider for a romantic occasion, like a sunset picnic in the park.
FOR THE CIDER
1 cup (240 ml) water
½ cup (6 g) rose petals
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 gal (3.8 L) apple juice
½ packet (2.5 g) Lalvin 71B yeast
FOR RACKING
1 vanilla bean, sliced lengthwise
1. Gather your ingredients and sanitize your supplies. For this recipe, you’ll need a small saucepan, a long spoon, a strainer, a funnel, a gallon (3.8-L) carboy, a racking cane and a bung and airlock.
2. For the cider, boil the water in a small saucepan and add the rose petals. Remove from the heat, cover the pan with a lid and let the mixture steep for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Strain the syrup into the carboy.
3. Using a funnel, pour enough apple juice into the carboy for the must to reach the neck of the jug. Put your hand over the mouth of the jug and give it a few good shakes to mix everything.
4. Pitch the yeast in the carboy. Seal it off with the bung and airlock. Shake it again to aerate the must and wake up the yeast.
5. Label the jug with the brew name and date and let it ferment for 2 weeks.
6. Rack the cider into the carboy. Add the vanilla bean. Let the cider finish fermentation and bottle it still for best results.