Thoughs on my first Cider to .998

[Appleosity]

Nothing fancy, just starting out and wanted to share....

For my new 1 gallon batch

1-gallon glass carboy
1 Packet Montrachet Red Star
1 tbsp yeast nutrient
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
3 frozen apple juice concentrates
6-7 containers water.

After only 5 days in primary, I saw practically no activity--- so tested it, and it was .998 from about 1.58 OG. Tasted like a very dry champagne. I just racked to secondary where I'm going to let it sit a while. But not before drinking the sample from the test flask (the fun part ). Got a little buzz from a coffee-mug-sized portion.

It's funny, I stopped my last batch at 1.01+ cause I liked it sweeter and it was just ok for the most part, pretty weak. But I got tired of drinking it. But damn if I'm not liking the dry stuff more.

I am going to be patient this time, and let it sit in secondary for a while.

So much fun! :rockin::rockin:

 

[Yooper]

I like all my wines and ciders dry, so I'm with you there!

For my current batch, I'm considering carbonating half and leaving half still. I like my ciders dry and crisp and still, usually, but maybe a few of them bubbly might be a fun change. I haven't really decided though!

 

[Cyclman]

+1, I did my Apfelwein half carb'd half still. Both are great.

I usually like them dry. If I want to sweeten them, a drop of honey in the glass works great.

Next batch, add some black cherries.

 

[ill4delph]

Mine went from 1.092 to .992 in about a week...to say it's dryer than death valley would be an understatement. I added a bit of wine conditioner and now it's just about perfect, nice sweetness and packs one hell of a punch..

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Ill4delpd, what yeast did you use and did u do a warm or cool primary? Working on a dry super bubbly champaign cider.

 

[ill4delph]

Ill4delpd, what yeast did you use and did u do a warm or cool primary? Working on a dry super bubbly champaign cider.

i used Red Star "cote des blancs" yeast. Just pitched it right on top of the cider. I used 3 gallons of cider from a local orchard and added 3lbs of dark brown sugar, and big tablespoon of raw honey also. Within 24 hours, my airlock looked like it was boiling.

 

[Albionwood]

A whole packet of yeast, plus nutrient, in one gallon? No wonder it went fast!

I usually under-pitch yeast, using about half a packet to 5 gallons, and almost never add nutrient. I get the best results from long, slow, cold fermentations; they leave more of the apple character behind, even though they also finish out bone-dry. Apple juice normally has plenty of nutrient, especially since the gravity isn't that high and the yeast isn't being asked to do much.

p.s. Next time try a yeast with more character, too: Lalvin D47, or 1122-71B for example. Or Nottingham.

 

[Appleosity]

Gonna try that- underpitch and let it go for a long while. I got some D47 and Nottingham, so I'll give that a shot as well. Trouble with the Nottingham is I only have 1 gallon carboys, so I don't wanna waste a whole 11g package-- (tried to put half in the fridge and that batch wouldn't ferment....) might have to do several batches of it at once!

A whole packet of yeast, plus nutrient, in one gallon? No wonder it went fast!

I usually under-pitch yeast, using about half a packet to 5 gallons, and almost never add nutrient. I get the best results from long, slow, cold fermentations; they leave more of the apple character behind, even though they also finish out bone-dry. Apple juice normally has plenty of nutrient, especially since the gravity isn't that high and the yeast isn't being asked to do much.

p.s. Next time try a yeast with more character, too: Lalvin D47, or 1122-71B for example. Or Nottingham.

 

[Yooper]

Gonna try that- underpitch and let it go for a long while. I got some D47 and Nottingham, so I'll give that a shot as well. Trouble with the Nottingham is I only have 1 gallon carboys, so I don't wanna waste a whole 11g package-- (tried to put half in the fridge and that batch wouldn't ferment....) might have to do several batches of it at once!

Underpitching wouldn't be a good idea in my opinion. Stressed fermentations create off flavors (the famous 'rhino farts' for one) and controlling fermentation via underpitching works against you. You could have off flavors, a stuck fermentation, etc.

Instead, pitch the proper amount of yeast (usually one 5 gram package is good), and keep the fermentation temperature under control. Fermenting at 62 will ensure a nice steady slow fermentation that won't underattenuate or produce off flavors.

Often the reason for explosive fermentations is just that the fermentation is too warm.

 

[Appleosity]

Underpitching wouldn't be a good idea in my opinion. Stressed fermentations create off flavors (the famous 'rhino farts' for one) and controlling fermentation via underpitching works against you. You could have off flavors, a stuck fermentation, etc.

Instead, pitch the proper amount of yeast (usually one 5 gram package is good), and keep the fermentation temperature under control. Fermenting at 62 will ensure a nice steady slow fermentation that won't underattenuate or produce off flavors.

Often the reason for explosive fermentations is just that the fermentation is too warm.

Thanks! Took your advice and did a 1-gallon batch last night with 3 cans frozen applejuice, and about 2 cups of brown sugar (1.74 OG) with 1 whole pack of D47 and some nutrient. 11 hours later, a steady bubbles coming up, about 1 bubble every 2 seconds on the tube-style airlock--sitting in my basement/office at about 67 degrees! We'll see how it goes!

 

[Albionwood]

Underpitching wouldn't be a good idea in my opinion. Stressed fermentations create off flavors (the famous 'rhino farts' for one) and controlling fermentation via underpitching works against you. You could have off flavors, a stuck fermentation, etc.

That's all true for beer, and for grape wine and mead as well; but I argue that it is not true for cider. You really do want to slow down fermentation as much as possible in order to preserve some of the apple character. 60F is warm for cider fermentations - mine typically proceed in the 50s and drop into the 40s in midwinter. This isn't just me, it's advice I got from English cidermakers (and also French sources) based on their traditional techniques.

Some of the world's great ciders are made from a process (keeving) that deliberately starves the yeast of nutrients and reduces fermentation dynamics. A "stuck fermentation" is exactly what they are aiming for - resulting in a stable cider with residual sugars.

Keep in mind, all the sugars in cider are fermentable, so "attenuation" isn't really an applicable concept. Put another way, it is 100% for all cultured yeast strains, unless you do something (like keeving) to prevent complete fermentation.