So here is the background -
I made two ciders with two pounds of sugar - one mostly white with some raw and the other all white sugar. Then after a month or so of primary I racked them onto oak chips. After 10 days or so on oak, I racked into a tertiary fermentation. Overall, both these ciders fermented/aged in carboys for 112 days. The end product was clear and although slightly bitter, it was very good for 9%ABV.
Starting gravity 1.065
Final gravity 0.960
Both ciders were kept under the same conditions to see how some raw sugar effects taste when compared to only white sugar.
When it was time to bottle, I realized I did not have enough bottles for two full batches. I bottled half of each batch with priming sugar. The other half of each batch was blended into a keg and carbed up to 14psi.
I cracked the keg open a day later just to make sure everything was still going smoothly and everything seemed fine. Carbonation levels were low but there was no sign of infection and the ciders were still clear.
One day later, I poured a drink for my SO and it came out almost muddy-like. The liquid coming out would go from almost like chocolate milk to clearish and into a sooty-like color. The flavor was fine and it didn't have any vinegar taste.
So I guess my question is what could have caused this darkening?
Since it fermented so long and no sugar was added since day 1 - it shouldn't be lees (didn't have the same cloudy look either).
Could it be the oak settling out after being pressurized?
I did shake the keg a bit a minute before pouring the muddy colored glass. (In hopes of absorbing a bit more CO2.)
The image in mason jars is pre blending/individual ciders straight out of the carboy into the fridge. The image in the plastic cup is what came out of the keg only 3 days after kegging the blended ciders.
-kraizter
I made two ciders with two pounds of sugar - one mostly white with some raw and the other all white sugar. Then after a month or so of primary I racked them onto oak chips. After 10 days or so on oak, I racked into a tertiary fermentation. Overall, both these ciders fermented/aged in carboys for 112 days. The end product was clear and although slightly bitter, it was very good for 9%ABV.
Starting gravity 1.065
Final gravity 0.960
Both ciders were kept under the same conditions to see how some raw sugar effects taste when compared to only white sugar.
When it was time to bottle, I realized I did not have enough bottles for two full batches. I bottled half of each batch with priming sugar. The other half of each batch was blended into a keg and carbed up to 14psi.
I cracked the keg open a day later just to make sure everything was still going smoothly and everything seemed fine. Carbonation levels were low but there was no sign of infection and the ciders were still clear.
One day later, I poured a drink for my SO and it came out almost muddy-like. The liquid coming out would go from almost like chocolate milk to clearish and into a sooty-like color. The flavor was fine and it didn't have any vinegar taste.
So I guess my question is what could have caused this darkening?
Since it fermented so long and no sugar was added since day 1 - it shouldn't be lees (didn't have the same cloudy look either).
Could it be the oak settling out after being pressurized?
I did shake the keg a bit a minute before pouring the muddy colored glass. (In hopes of absorbing a bit more CO2.)
The image in mason jars is pre blending/individual ciders straight out of the carboy into the fridge. The image in the plastic cup is what came out of the keg only 3 days after kegging the blended ciders.
-kraizter
