Interesting process making ice cider kind of reminds me of making applejack, but less alcoholic. I think I would rather make five gallons of hard cider and used the fractional crystallization method and end up with a beverage that is 25-40% alcohol considering the amount of work. I probably should buy a refractometer as well, because my first home brew I made the first and second hydrometer reading I think I did it right. When I had to do some adjustments to get it unstalled I forgot to do a hydrometer reading. My first reading on 5/7/2023 was1.130 and second hydrometer reading on 5/16/2023 was 42 so around 5.51 and then I have know clue what the gravity was after I readjusted it in an attempt to get it installe. I bottle my corn braggot on 5/26/2023 and tasting today 5/29/2023. Overall taste like sweet honey floral, citusy IPA with earthly oaty notes. If I had to guess it's probably around 8-10% abv. At least with my second batch I am more confident in my hydrometer reading and hope it taste more like the poppycock snack which is the inspiration and end up being around 9-11% abv considering i had used Safale us 05 yeast. The acerglyn version of the lapsang souchang mead the recipe from City Stealing channel is being oaked with mocha oak wood chips and I think I will definitely have to back sweeten with more maple syrup. The second hydrometer reading on this brew I got 16.2% abv.
Apple Jack is a good comparison. Both use cryoconcentration! The major difference is the amount of residual sugar and the potential to concentrate some of the impurities when you do it with Apple Jack. Personally, I prefer to just have the cider. This was mostly a feather in the hat recipe, and I've never heard of home brewers doing it as it's really difficult to pull off.
I made a fantastic Ice Cider about a year and a half ago, and wow it is an amazing drinking experience. Applejack doesn't even come close to an Ice Cider when it comes to concentrating the character of the apples you are using. Very cool video, thanks for sharing! I did 1 natural freeze and 3 chest freezer concentrations, to reach 1.155 SG. Stopped it without any sulfites or sorbate at 1.075 and I did have a little bit of refermentation in the bottles leaving a small yeast cake. The bottles are brilliantly clear, and while there are some bubbles there isn't any carbonation perceived. Cheers
