I've decided to run a Thanksgiving experiment. Aldi sells 100% cranberry juice and I've decided to see how it ferments (it's actually a blend of four juices but cranberry is the only decernable flavor). As it is an experiment, I'm being conservative and only making a six-pack. If it works, I'll make more.
The kick off was simple enough. I'm using the basic cider process and reserving 1.5 cups of juice to add as back sweetening once the process is done. The remaining 6.5 cups of juice were added to the fermentor at room temperature along with 1/2 packet of Red Star Champaigne yeast mixed with 1/4 cup of water at around 100 F. I also added about 1/2 tbsp of yeast nutrient since apple and pear juices are known to be lacking some of the nutrients yeast like to live on.
I let this go for a week and when I pulled it out on Sunday, it had a distinct alcohol tang, but it still had a lot of sweetness in the aroma. I filtered the mixture and then added 2 tsps of dried orange peel, 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper, and another 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient. That should get the yeast going again but I'm still expecting this to be low on the alcohol content. Not as bad as my last cider attempt, but still lower than the first cider or ginger beer.
After bottling and pasteurizing, I'd say there is definitely a mixed success here. On the downside, it did not hold any of the orange flavor and all nearly all sweetness has been lost. One the plus side, there is a tartness and a dryness that is a little jarring at first, but then becomes comfortable. In fact, it drinks a bit more like a wine and that's not a bad thing. I think it needs a bit more depth of flavor, but that can be developed in later attempts. Also on the good side, it is at least 5% alcohol so one bottle is enough to keep things mellow.
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