Best cider ever. - Page 8

Daddymem · 06-25-2009, 10:00 PM

As Mr. Petty sang "The waiting is the hardest part"

VonStigler · 06-26-2009, 11:24 PM

Hi Brandon,
I am drinking a bottle of your Graff as I type this

, good stuff dude. I followed your recipe exactly, using 1/2 oz Sterling 5.9AA and Nottingham yeast. Carbed for only two weeks and it's perfect. I have to wonder about adding a "spice tea" to this after primary fermentation is done. Cinnamon/cloves is something I may try next. Anyway, congrats on a winner!
Cheers,
Brian

Ferrousity · 06-28-2009, 01:51 AM

I just kegged a batch I made without hops. I used the extract and grains though.

It is very sour and I am now experimenting with samples to see how backsweetening might help cut the malic acid twang.

Will the sourness mellow over time?

I pitched S-04 and fermented for 4 weeks at 65*. it tasted a little tart but still a hint of sweetness about two days before kegging...now...sour, not infected kind of sour, but acidic, pucker city.

I seem to have read in other cider threads that some people just taste their cider frequently during fermentation and kill the fermentation when it tastes good

anyone else experience this, have input/thoughts?

**Brandon O** · 06-28-2009, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferrousity

I just kegged a batch I made without hops. I used the extract and grains though.

It is very sour and I am now experimenting with samples to see how backsweetening might help cut the malic acid twang.

Will the sourness mellow over time?

I pitched S-04 and fermented for 4 weeks at 65*. it tasted a little tart but still a hint of sweetness about two days before kegging...now...sour, not infected kind of sour, but acidic, pucker city.

I seem to have read in other cider threads that some people just taste their cider frequently during fermentation and kill the fermentation when it tastes good

anyone else experience this, have input/thoughts?

What kind of juice did you use? This stuff is far from sour.

Nottingham will cut back the sour, I do know that from experimentation. Hops balance the sour and tart.

I'm not sure why yours is so sour tho, are you sure it isn't infected with acetobacter?

**Brandon O** · 06-28-2009, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VonStigler

Hi Brandon,
I am drinking a bottle of your Graff as I type this

, good stuff dude. I followed your recipe exactly, using 1/2 oz Sterling 5.9AA and Nottingham yeast. Carbed for only two weeks and it's perfect. I have to wonder about adding a "spice tea" to this after primary fermentation is done. Cinnamon/cloves is something I may try next. Anyway, congrats on a winner!
Cheers,
Brian

Glad you like it, let me know how the experiments pan out.

Ferrousity · 06-28-2009, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon O

What kind of juice did you use? This stuff is far from sour.

Nottingham will cut back the sour, I do know that from experimentation. Hops balance the sour and tart.

I'm not sure why yours is so sour tho, are you sure it isn't infected with acetobacter?

I used cheap apple juice from the grocery store knowing full well that something better might make a better product, but that's all I could get a hold of.

In terms of the hops, I will probably try that at some point, but honestly it doesn't make any sense to me that something bitter balances something sour. That is like saying that the glaze on the doughnut balances the sweetness of the jelly inside it.

It might be infected, but it doesn't taste like a$$, or vinegar, just sour, like apple-ish lemonade. I mixed a teaspoon of juice concentrate with a sample glass, and that really made a difference in terms of cutting the punch of the sour, so I may just sweeten the whole keg that way.

I was planning on throwing another batch together this week anyway, so I will see how the next one compares

Phog · 06-28-2009, 05:44 PM

Okay, this really has me hooked. I came over to HBT thinking the first thing I would make would be a nice, low ABV brown ale or maybe a go at an IPA for the coming heat of July and August. Then I see this thread and I have the biggest urge to make Graff! The fact there is a major cider mill less than fifty miles from home makes it even more intriguing. Way to go Brandon. This one sounds like a keeper.

Phog

**Brandon O** · 06-28-2009, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferrousity

I used cheap apple juice from the grocery store knowing full well that something better might make a better product, but that's all I could get a hold of.

In terms of the hops, I will probably try that at some point, but honestly it doesn't make any sense to me that something bitter balances something sour. That is like saying that the glaze on the doughnut balances the sweetness of the jelly inside it.

It might be infected, but it doesn't taste like a$$, or vinegar, just sour, like apple-ish lemonade. I mixed a teaspoon of juice concentrate with a sample glass, and that really made a difference in terms of cutting the punch of the sour, so I may just sweeten the whole keg that way.

I was planning on throwing another batch together this week anyway, so I will see how the next one compares

hops aren't bitter when you use a low AA and boil them for 15-30 mins, they are aromatic. maybe your juice is the issue.

**Brandon O** · 06-28-2009, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phog

Okay, this really has me hooked. I came over to HBT thinking the first thing I would make would be a nice, low ABV brown ale or maybe a go at an IPA for the coming heat of July and August. Then I see this thread and I have the biggest urge to make Graff! The fact there is a major cider mill less than fifty miles from home makes it even more intriguing. Way to go Brandon. This one sounds like a keeper.

Phog

Just make sure you use good juice and I reccomend following the recipe exactly for the first time. I like notty the best for yeast.

Phog · 06-29-2009, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon O

Just make sure you use good juice and I reccomend following the recipe exactly for the first time. I like notty the best for yeast.

Will do.

Phog