First Hard Cider !

[CMassBrewer]

First hard cider in the fermenter (5 gal). On day 11 now. Bubbling a little over 3 times a minute. Looking good to me! OG was 1.052. Got this cider from a local farm. I know nothing about making hard cider except the basics. I plan to let this sit until the weekend and then transfer to the keg.

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions on additives towards end of the batch (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)? Does anyone cold crash their cider? How long to let it condition in the keg? Would appreciate feedback.

Thanks !!!

 

[MarkKF]

Well I started like you. Adding herbs or fruit and jacking up the ABV. But I’ve learned less is better. Just make Cider. If it’s good - great! If it’s boring add some FAJC, hops or bourbon soaked oak.

 

[S-Met]

While you could keg and carb, I don't know that you should. Cider is not beer. I like to give it time, and rarely less than a month. I feel like 6 weeks is pushing it.

What's your fg and what yeast?

If you have a smaller vessel, you could do a secondary to reduce headspace. Your cider right now is really cloudy. With nothing more than time, you can be crystal clear.

I Cold crash. Sometimes I add gelatin, but nothing other than time (6-8 weeks) and 3 days in the fridge for the pic above. Makes me rethink the need for gelatin.

 

[MarkKF]

This is fresh pressed juice (brown sweet cider) spontaneously fermented with wild yeast. One week in a bucket then one week in a carboy. Not filtered!

 

[CMassBrewer]

While you could keg and carb, I don't know that you should. Cider is not beer. I like to give it time, and rarely less than a month. I feel like 6 weeks is pushing it.

What's your fg and what yeast?

If you have a smaller vessel, you could do a secondary to reduce headspace. Your cider right now is really cloudy. With nothing more than time, you can be crystal clear.
View attachment 651402
I Cold crash. Sometimes I add gelatin, but nothing other than time (6-8 weeks) and 3 days in the fridge for the pic above. Makes me rethink the need for gelatin.

Used wine yeast (Lalvin QA23), honestly not sure what my FG is suppose to be or what the target is. Are you suggesting to let it sit in the carboy for 6 weeks or conditioning for 6 weeks total ? And you put it 3 days in the fridge before bottling ?

 

[CMassBrewer]

This is fresh pressed juice (brown sweet cider) spontaneously fermented with wild yeast. One week in a bucket then one week in a carboy. Not filtered!
View attachment 651407

This is fresh pressed juice (brown sweet cider) spontaneously fermented with wild yeast. One week in a bucket then one week in a carboy. Not filtered!
View attachment 651407

wow that’s awesome! I was skeptical about letting the wild yeast do it’s thing the first time around but will definitely experiment with this in the future

 

[S-Met]

Used wine yeast (Lalvin QA23), honestly not sure what my FG is suppose to be or what the target is. Are you suggesting to let it sit in the carboy for 6 weeks or conditioning for 6 weeks total ? And you put it 3 days in the fridge before bottling ?

Qa23: i haven't used, so my info is from their website: low nutrient requirements, temp ranges 59 to 89f.
Alc tolerance 16%
I would expect fg between 1.002 and 0.996

Fast fermenter, its probably at fg. But it looks really cloudy. Time lets the yeast settle and clean up after themselves.

I'll usually add kmeta if I have a lot of headspace. Then let it sit for up to 6weeks (relatively an arbitrary timeline).

I keg most, but pull a few bottles too.