Pumpkin Spice Hard Apple Cider Recipe

Pour 2 gallons of apple juice into a 12-quart kettle and start heating it to a boil.

Add in 4 cups of sugar and 4 tablespoons of cinnamon to the boiling apple juice.

Carefully add in the 4 cans of pumpkin to the mixture, avoiding splashes.

Stir the ingredients together well, allowing the mixture to boil for about 30 minutes, stirring often.

Prepare the fermenter by sanitizing it with Starsan and add in 2.5 gallons of apple juice.

Refrigerate half a gallon of apple juice for later use in bottling.

After boiling, remove the kettle from the stove and allow it to cool to no more than 70 degrees Celsius.

Carefully pour the contents of the kettle into the fermenter, including the pumpkin.

Stir the contents of the fermenter together.

Once the temperature drops below 40 degrees Celsius, pitch the yeast into the fermenter.

Move the fermenter to a cool dark area and install the airlock, allowing the cider to ferment for one week.

After the first day, observe that the pumpkin will settle at the bottom, forming a visible layer.

After a week, set up the secondary fermenter and siphon the cider off the pumpkin layer at the bottom.

Transfer the cider to the secondary fermenter and reseal it, allowing it to settle for an additional week.

Before bottling, add the half gallon of refrigerated apple juice to the sanitized bottling bucket.

Transfer the cider to the bottling bucket and allow it to equilibrate for 30 minutes before filling and capping the bottles.

After about 10 days, the cider should be carbonated and ready to drink.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level: