Ok, so I got really lazy after starting my Apple Cider last year. I bottled it last month after sitting almost 9 months in the secondary fermenter. I failed to save it from over-fermenting (which might be a problem unique to cider). I also left it sitting for far too long on the trub formed in the secondary fermenter. The yeast was so long dead, that I couldn't get any bottle conditioning by adding extra sugar at bottling time. As you can probably guess, it tastes terrible.
It doesn't taste like vinegar or anything. But it's flat, very heavy on the alcohol content, and not even remotely sweet. I'd say it's more like a very dry apple wine.
I decided to bottle the cider into small test batches and try different sugars for the bottle conditioning. Since the yeast is completely dead and there's no bottle conditioning happening, that was probably a waste of time. Two of the sugars I used weren't going to ferment anyway. One being Splenda, the other being Truvia (stevia).
I think next time around I'm going to solve the over-fermentation problem by using a weaker yeast. The champagne yeast, while great in many situations, seems to eat through all of the available sugars, and tolerate a huge amount of alcohol content. What I actually need is for the yeast to stop fermenting, or die off at the 4% to 5% mark, leaving the extra sugars in solution to sweeten the cider. However, would the yeast start to stress as they reach their tolerance and give off a lot of nasty tasting tannins or phenols? Anyone know of a common yeast with a low alcohol tolerance? I could only find "Wyeast 3191-PC Berliner-Weisse Blend" which is from Wyeast's private collection and has very limited availability. It also appears to be a "lambic" yeast which kind of frightens me, since I'm not a fan of wild yeast.
The only other way I can think of, is to constantly monitor the fermentation process so you can stop it at the 4%-5% range. Is there a way to get these results without becoming an SG measuring fanatic? I personally detest having to measure the SG regularly. It takes a lot of time for one measurement, and each test makes the brew more prone to infection. If I could test the SG without popping the lid off of the fermenter each time, it would be a different story.
Suggestions anyone? Easy SG testing? Good low tolerance yeast? Anyone think the Cider might be save-able?
Showing posts with label experiment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experiment. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Monday, November 2, 2009
Holiday Hard Apple Cider (part 1)
Otherwise known as Apple Cider Experiment #3.
My previous apple cider experiments (not mentioned) involved 1 gallon Carlo Rossi jugs as the primary and secondary fermenters. Brewing in Carlo Rossi jugs is convenient for testing, but produces very small amounts of cider. I ended up with 9 1/2 bottles (not even a full 12 pack!) for my efforts. Counting the cost of ingredients (apple juice, yeast, sugar) I probably spent about $10 per batch. Not very cost effective. This time around I'm brewing a full 6 gallons of apple cider. I'm using a standard 6 gallon bucket for the primary fermenter, and I'll be using a 6 gallon glass carboy for the secondary fermenter (when I get to that point). I'll be adding pictures, more info, and recipe updates as I go.
So lets get straight to my apple cider recipe:
6 gallons of fresh apple cider.
6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient.
4 pounds of dark brown cane sugar (roughly 9 cups packed).
9 cups of white table sugar.
Champagne yeast (I'm using Lalvin EC-1118)
Lots of Splenda packets and extra white table sugar during bottling.
I've been toying with the idea of adding pure maple syrup to replace some of the sugar, or adding a small amount of pure vanilla extract during the bottling phase. Since pure maple syrup is so expensive in my area, i've decided against that for now. I may still consider the vanilla extract later on.
I'm also toying with the idea of adding bentonite during the secondary fermentation. If I do, I'll update the recipe accordingly.
I bought my apple cider from a grocery store, but it comes from a local apple orchard in Sandy with an on-site apple press. During the late Fall/early Winter season they provide the pressed apple cider to local grocers. The cider is pasteurized but is otherwise unaltered and contains no additives or preservatives. Perfect for home brewing! If you cannot find fresh apple cider you can juice some apples yourself (be ready to buy a LOT of apples) or overcome the preservatives with a strong yeast starter.
Step 1 - Primary Fermentation:
Equipment needed:
Primary fermenter
Airlock
Large stirring spoon
1 cup dry measuring cup
1 teaspoon dry measuring spoon
Funnel (if you're using a glass carboy as your primary fermenter)
* Clean and sterilize all of your equipment and primary fermenter (you should be accustomed to doing this). I usually save the sterilizing solution in a large plastic bowl for cleanup later. Also, since I use one-step, I tend to wear those blue nitrile gloves to prevent blisters from the cleaning solution.
* Pour the cider into your primary fermenter. I poured it into the fermenter cold, but it would probably be easier to mix and retain the sugar better if it were at room temperature.
* Pour in your 4 pounds of brown sugar and 9 cups of white sugar. If you have someone stir while pouring it in, you might save some work.
* Pour in your 6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient.
* Stir thoroughly. If you can feel the sugar scraping at the bottom, keep stirring.
* Test your Specific Gravity (SG) with the hyrdometer. Mine read at about 1.112 (luckily, this champagne yeast seems to be very tolerant of temperature, alcohol, and high sugar content). Specific gravity will vary depending on your cider and sugars. Write this number down on a note somewhere. I usually tape it to my primary fermenter and move it wherever the batch goes. Without this reading you'll have a hard time determining the final alcohol content.
* Pour in your yeast. I decided to let it float on top and not to mix it in with the cider. I'm not sure what impact that will have if any, or if it will slow down my brewing time. Comments welcome.
* Seal your primary fermenter and plug in an airlock. Remember to add some water or vodka to the airlock to keep it functioning. I prefer vodka since I've seen mildew set up in the airlock water before.
* Clean your equipment for next time! Clean your equipment soon after using it. Surely before the cider and other stuff dries onto it. You'll find that cleaning your equipment before and after using it helps you in the long run. If you get gunk dried onto your equipment, it may not be fully removed during the initial cleaning for your next batch.
* Let the cider ferment for a few days, then start checking the specific gravity daily. We want to start step 2 and rack into the secondary fermenter at around 1.020. You certainly don't want this to go below 1.010 unless you plan to add a lot of Splenda.
Regardless of which primary fermenter you use, leave plenty of space in the top for your yeast to foam up. Otherwise it will boil over into your airlock and possibly onto your floor. From my experience thus far, cider tends to be a lot more foamy than wine.
In part 2 (when I get to it), I'll explain the second step. I'll be racking the cider into the secondary fermenter, and possibly adding bentonite to the mix.
My previous apple cider experiments (not mentioned) involved 1 gallon Carlo Rossi jugs as the primary and secondary fermenters. Brewing in Carlo Rossi jugs is convenient for testing, but produces very small amounts of cider. I ended up with 9 1/2 bottles (not even a full 12 pack!) for my efforts. Counting the cost of ingredients (apple juice, yeast, sugar) I probably spent about $10 per batch. Not very cost effective. This time around I'm brewing a full 6 gallons of apple cider. I'm using a standard 6 gallon bucket for the primary fermenter, and I'll be using a 6 gallon glass carboy for the secondary fermenter (when I get to that point). I'll be adding pictures, more info, and recipe updates as I go.
So lets get straight to my apple cider recipe:
6 gallons of fresh apple cider.
6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient.
4 pounds of dark brown cane sugar (roughly 9 cups packed).
9 cups of white table sugar.
Champagne yeast (I'm using Lalvin EC-1118)
Lots of Splenda packets and extra white table sugar during bottling.
(a quick glance at the yeast nutrient I'm using)
I've been toying with the idea of adding pure maple syrup to replace some of the sugar, or adding a small amount of pure vanilla extract during the bottling phase. Since pure maple syrup is so expensive in my area, i've decided against that for now. I may still consider the vanilla extract later on.
I'm also toying with the idea of adding bentonite during the secondary fermentation. If I do, I'll update the recipe accordingly.
I bought my apple cider from a grocery store, but it comes from a local apple orchard in Sandy with an on-site apple press. During the late Fall/early Winter season they provide the pressed apple cider to local grocers. The cider is pasteurized but is otherwise unaltered and contains no additives or preservatives. Perfect for home brewing! If you cannot find fresh apple cider you can juice some apples yourself (be ready to buy a LOT of apples) or overcome the preservatives with a strong yeast starter.
(above image is of the cider I used)
(I poured some of the raw cider into a dixie cup to show the cloudy brown consistency)
Step 1 - Primary Fermentation:
Equipment needed:
Primary fermenter
Airlock
Large stirring spoon
1 cup dry measuring cup
1 teaspoon dry measuring spoon
Funnel (if you're using a glass carboy as your primary fermenter)
* Clean and sterilize all of your equipment and primary fermenter (you should be accustomed to doing this). I usually save the sterilizing solution in a large plastic bowl for cleanup later. Also, since I use one-step, I tend to wear those blue nitrile gloves to prevent blisters from the cleaning solution.
(disposable nitrite gloves)
(cleaning solution)
* Pour the cider into your primary fermenter. I poured it into the fermenter cold, but it would probably be easier to mix and retain the sugar better if it were at room temperature.
(pouring in the fresh cider)
* Pour in your 4 pounds of brown sugar and 9 cups of white sugar. If you have someone stir while pouring it in, you might save some work.
* Pour in your 6 teaspoons of yeast nutrient.
* Stir thoroughly. If you can feel the sugar scraping at the bottom, keep stirring.
* Test your Specific Gravity (SG) with the hyrdometer. Mine read at about 1.112 (luckily, this champagne yeast seems to be very tolerant of temperature, alcohol, and high sugar content). Specific gravity will vary depending on your cider and sugars. Write this number down on a note somewhere. I usually tape it to my primary fermenter and move it wherever the batch goes. Without this reading you'll have a hard time determining the final alcohol content.
* Pour in your yeast. I decided to let it float on top and not to mix it in with the cider. I'm not sure what impact that will have if any, or if it will slow down my brewing time. Comments welcome.
* Seal your primary fermenter and plug in an airlock. Remember to add some water or vodka to the airlock to keep it functioning. I prefer vodka since I've seen mildew set up in the airlock water before.
* Clean your equipment for next time! Clean your equipment soon after using it. Surely before the cider and other stuff dries onto it. You'll find that cleaning your equipment before and after using it helps you in the long run. If you get gunk dried onto your equipment, it may not be fully removed during the initial cleaning for your next batch.
(some of the clean equipment. funnel, hydrometer, airlock, measuring cups, etc.)
* Let the cider ferment for a few days, then start checking the specific gravity daily. We want to start step 2 and rack into the secondary fermenter at around 1.020. You certainly don't want this to go below 1.010 unless you plan to add a lot of Splenda.
Regardless of which primary fermenter you use, leave plenty of space in the top for your yeast to foam up. Otherwise it will boil over into your airlock and possibly onto your floor. From my experience thus far, cider tends to be a lot more foamy than wine.
In part 2 (when I get to it), I'll explain the second step. I'll be racking the cider into the secondary fermenter, and possibly adding bentonite to the mix.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)