so i was boored and had a spare fermenter tonight

[masterchief1112]

had a galon and a half of cider in the fridge so i decided to make some cider, poured the half gallon in the fermenter then the gallon in a pot, brought it to a boil if you can call it that, it wouldnt roar. added about a half tbsp of ground cinnamon, 1/4 tbsp of powdered ginger, and about a half cup of dark brown sugar. brought it to a boil until everything melded. chilled it in a ice bath and tossed it in the fermenter vigorously. just took a batch of beer off a notty cake so i pitched a half cup of that into the cider(too much?). was boored and felt like experimenting. what do yall think

 

[masterchief1112]

oh and lag time was about 15 mins.

 

[masterchief1112]

ive created a yeast monster, they are sure chowing. pitched at about 4 and i now have a constant stream of bubbles. guess i better go get a new hydrometer, dropped mine today,

 

[KevinM]

Sounds good (except for they hydro of course). I definately want to know how that tastes. Going to make it sweet&spiced or going to let it dry out?

 

[masterchief1112]

i dont know. never made a hard cider. im not going to bother with hydrometer on this one, and i broke mine dont feel like getting a new one. once the flavors balance out and isnt too sweet ill bottle and prime and let it carb up for a few days and take a tester after about 5-7 days and see how it is doing. was boored and felt like experimenting. the recipe isnt exact as i threw stuff in until it tasted good, but a little sweet, the into the fermenter and pitched yeast. ill post the results.

 

[masterchief1112]

okay who farted in my fermenter. yeast im assuming, does notty usually put off sulphur smells?

 

[jamesjensen1068]

My understanding is that the sulphur smell is normal. I've done 1 batch of apfelwein and now 2 ciders, they all had the sulphur or Rhino Fart smell.

Enjoy...shouldn't smell so bad after a few days.

 

[JorgeIsKing]

I've only done 2 Apfelweins and never had that problem, but looking through some of the threads on it, I understand that yeast nutrient helps with the sulfur smell.

 

[masterchief1112]

it tastes fine but smells like someone took a dump in my fermenter. cannot taste it at all report back on this in a few days. it tasted almost spicy, it was exellent. once the taste gets where i want it ill bottle. do you prime with ciders or no?

 

[JLem]

just wanted to say to be patient with the aging process. A lot of people find ciders to take time to age to really come into their own. I had to wait a whole year until I was happy with my first batch.

Cider is more like wine than beer.

 

[masterchief1112]

i dont expect it to be great, whats the fg that is usually acceptable to stop ferm and bottle at.

 

[Fletch78]

There is no usually acceptable final gravity for cider. What do you want the finished product to be?

 

[jbrookeiv]

Cold crash it when it tastes good to slow down the yeast.

 

[masterchief1112]

so cold crash when its good and leave in the fridge for a bit to age then bottle?

 

[masterchief1112]

oh my god this stuff is amazing. still a little on the sweet side so i will let it go for a bit longer. i can always back sweeten, the spices are just right, never actually saw action on the airlock but there are signs of a krausen and the sample was"fizzy" ill check it again on monday and see how the sweetness is, then crash it and bottle. after the crash will there be enough yeasties in suspension to carb this in the bottle?