Making an Annual Homebrewed Favorite | Pumpkin Cider 2018

Before I get my next batch of beer going, I decided to get started on a classic holiday tradition; Pumpkin Cider.

This time for the juice I went out and grabbed the stuff Costco sells. Only ingredient listed is Apple Juice (not from concentrate), so I know this is some good stuff.

The recipe and brew was essentially the same as my batch last year, so head on over to that page to see the process of boiling up the pumpkin and spices.

Nothing too unusual happened when making this batch, but I did have to keep the cat away from the brew. Once again he was saved from his own curiosity!

Got the yeast pitched and the the stuff start fermenting.

Kept that in the garage for about a week before moving it off of all the pumpkin that settled out. A week of additional settling and it was ready to bottle.

You can see how much pumpkin settles out in the below image.

Bottling went without too much issue. Ended up filling about 28 12oz bottles and 2 750ml bottles. It was also great to put my printer to work. I used it to print out all my labels. This will save significant time in the future!

So how did it turn out? Flavorwise, it's a little less pumpkin tasting than some of the usual batches, but I think that's because the juice is of higher quality. I taste a bit more apple than pumpkin, but it's very well balanced. Even at 7.75% ABV, the alcohol flavor is impossible to detect. Goes down slightly fizzy, but smooth. I'll be enjoying this one for a while. Cheers!

Pumpkin Apple Cider

5 gallons Apple Juice

4 cans Pumpkin (15 oz)

4 tablespoons cinnamon

4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Safale S-04 yeast

See More Hard Cider Recipes