The Smell of good Apple Cider...Vinager

[TheClairvoyant138]

ok so I got 3 gals of apple cider that has been fermenting for three weeks, I used 3 gallons of store bought juice not from concentrate. 4 lbs of table sugar, 1/2 lb store bought honey, and and 1/2 lb of agave nectar added some pectic enzyme and a small amount of yeast nutrient, then mixed in some Nottingham yeast gravity was 1.08. took 12 hours to start to bubble.

After a couple of days I got the rhino farts, so I decided to dump the rest of the little bit of yeast nutrient that I had left into the carboy...

That's when that old jimmy buffet song came to mind, you know the one... about the volcano...it was ugly.

So after losing 1/2 gallon or so it slowed, and after clean up I let it sit for 2 1/2 weeks, now when I open my swamp cooler (old nonworking wine frig) all I smell is apple cider vinegar

When I smell it directly, It smells a little sulfur-y, and possible decent cider if that sulfur smell went away.

SO what happened, do I trash it now, or wait?

oh and it is still fermenting, after a little over three weeks I am at 1.02

I hate to throw it away and waste 3 weeks, but if it is no good I would rather rip the bandage off now and get it over with.

 

[rocketsan]

Not to hijack a thread but how long until you know FOR SURE that you've got vinegar? Got a batch of sour cherry cider that my wife says smells and tastes like vinegar but I'm pretty sure I just taste sour cherry. So, how soon might one know for sure something has gone to vinegar?

 

[snuesen]

If you're still fermenting then it's pretty unlikely you have any vinegar. How much nutrient did you add up front? My guess is that they're underfed setting as you probably lost your other nutrients in the volcano.

Vinegar will only form in presence of ethanol and oxygen. The culprit will grow on the surface of the cider. Best way to prevent this is use sulfite, don't expose it to oxygen, bottle pasteurize or run it through a sterile wine filter. Or you could just drink it up quick!

 

[2bluewagons]

Wow, with only 3 gallons of juice and that much sugar your have a challenging fermentation for that notty, so it's no surprise that it might smell f. When you get a good whiff of co2 it is very similar to the effect of ammonia and kind of like vinegar in that you have a physical reaction. I agree with others that the acetobacter needs oxygen, and during such an active fermentation, there is unlikely to be much in the carboy headspace. Bottom line is don't go on smell alone. Taste it, even a very dry cider is easily distinguished from vinegar.

 

[TheClairvoyant138]

yea I did not add enough yeast nutrient at the beginning, I was planning on making another 5 gal's before I made it back to the LHBS and since I never had cider issues before, I figured I would be ok if I just added a little (about enough for one gallon). I will not make that mistake again.

I see some people say to use raisins for nutrient? Does this work, and how much do you use? does it add flavor?