I pressed some apples and made 4 1/2 gallons cider with nottingham yeast. It came out absolutely horribly sour and bitter. I believe the causes to be using too many unripened apples, using a blender allowing seeds/ stems to open before pressing [its all I had to work with], introducing lots of oxygen after fermentation and producing acetaldehyde. It tasted like green apple flavored battery acid. It burned my throat.
I usually like a dryer cider but knew I had to sweeten this one. So I stabilized and right after adding 2 cans of apple cherry concentrate and 2 cans water because it was still just too much, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda. It instantly and totally killed the acidity. Almost too well.
After racking through a strainer [undissolved baking soda] into a keg for carbonating to a high level of bubbleyness [4 volumes co2] and then bottling, I can safely say this is THE BEST cider Ive ever made. Its buttery smooth, crisp, light, and perfectly sweet @ ~6%ABV, while even retaining a bit of the sour green appley finish in a good way. I totally saved it. :rockin: Just 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda. I would have actually used just 1 if I could do it again. And I thought the cherry apple was a mistake at first because the cherry gave it another layer of tartness/ bitterness but it ended up blending perfectly.
PH went from ~4 to ~5 [I dont remember if I added the juice before or after testing] And yes 5 is stupid high pH for cider but you would do the same if you tasted the swill I was working with. I know I could have maybe 'aged it out' and 'green' brews often taste harsher but I drink and share what I make rather quickly.
SO basically if you have an absolutely disgustingly acidic brew you may be able to salvage it with plain old sodium bicarbonate. This is not a new discovery. Just sharing my experience.
I usually like a dryer cider but knew I had to sweeten this one. So I stabilized and right after adding 2 cans of apple cherry concentrate and 2 cans water because it was still just too much, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda. It instantly and totally killed the acidity. Almost too well.
After racking through a strainer [undissolved baking soda] into a keg for carbonating to a high level of bubbleyness [4 volumes co2] and then bottling, I can safely say this is THE BEST cider Ive ever made. Its buttery smooth, crisp, light, and perfectly sweet @ ~6%ABV, while even retaining a bit of the sour green appley finish in a good way. I totally saved it. :rockin: Just 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking soda. I would have actually used just 1 if I could do it again. And I thought the cherry apple was a mistake at first because the cherry gave it another layer of tartness/ bitterness but it ended up blending perfectly.
PH went from ~4 to ~5 [I dont remember if I added the juice before or after testing] And yes 5 is stupid high pH for cider but you would do the same if you tasted the swill I was working with. I know I could have maybe 'aged it out' and 'green' brews often taste harsher but I drink and share what I make rather quickly.
SO basically if you have an absolutely disgustingly acidic brew you may be able to salvage it with plain old sodium bicarbonate. This is not a new discovery. Just sharing my experience.
