My first cider attempt

**BrightSpot** · 01-17-2012, 01:14 AM

I was bored and didn't have time for a full brew day, so I mixed up my first cider, based loosely on EdWort's Apfelwine recipe:

- 4.85 gal Tree Top apple juice
- 2 lbs light brown sugar (instead of dextrose)
- 1 sachet Nottingham dry yeast (instead of champagne yeast

Mixed it all together and pitched my yeast.

I'm hoping for a sweeter, less dry cider that my wife will enjoy, hence the choice of yeast... she does not like beer or wine. I'll force carb to 3 volumes or so in 4 weeks. Here's to hoping for the best!

**dinnerstick** · 01-17-2012, 06:09 AM

unless i'm mistaken notty will go right through that... if your juice was maybe 1.055 and the sugar took it up to 1.075 or 1.080? i would keep an eye on the gravity and try to cold crash it when it was in the desired ballpark (1.015?). but you are can always backsweeten; kegging is so easy

**BrightSpot** · 01-17-2012, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinnerstick

unless i'm mistaken notty will go right through that... if your juice was maybe 1.055 and the sugar took it up to 1.075 or 1.080? i would keep an eye on the gravity and try to cold crash it when it was in the desired ballpark (1.015?). but you are can always backsweeten; kegging is so easy

I'm not terribly concerned, actually. I was at 1.060 after mixing everything together and I'll just let it sit 4 weeks before kegging; I'm thinking it'll finish somewhere around 1.008 or so. If it's way too dry, I'll share it with friends

**dinnerstick** · 01-17-2012, 06:27 AM

i would predict more like 0.996ish. any self respecting yeast will finish that off; all simple sugars. no harm in sweetening it up with apple juice concentrate- for my tastes it takes a good few months for dry cider to become palatable but a semi-sweet draught cider is quick and tasty

Pickled_Pepper · 01-17-2012, 10:23 AM

That seems like a fairly low OG for 2 lbs of sugar in less than 5 gallons of juice. I guess it might depend on the OG of the juice.

I think dinner stick is right, it's probably going to eat through most of that. You can rack it off the lees a time or two and try to slow the yeasties down. I'd also try for a really slow ferment around 60ºF if you can.

**BrightSpot** · 01-17-2012, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pickled_Pepper

That seems like a fairly low OG for 2 lbs of sugar in less than 5 gallons of juice. I guess it might depend on the OG of the juice.

I think dinner stick is right, it's probably going to eat through most of that. You can rack it off the lees a time or two and try to slow the yeasties down. I'd also try for a really slow ferment around 60ºF if you can.

Thanks! It's currently sittin' pretty at about 65F, which I don't plan to mess with. Even if the Notty eats up all the yeast and creates a super dry cider/apfelwein, that's fine with me. My plan is to keep it carboy'd for 4 weeks minimum, maybe even 6 or so; I'll taste it the night before I plan to keg (while cold crashing) and if it's way too dry, I'll add some AJ concentrate. One of the reasons I chose to use Notty instead of the Montrachet yeast EdWort recommends is because he said the Notty usually only takes the cider down to about 1.010 (?) and leaves some sweetness; if he's wrong, fine with me. I also plan to force carb it to about 3 volumes... I want some bubbly! At just under $25, I'm sort of considering this a fun experiment that will certainly yield something drinkable

One thing... I pitched the Notty about 16 hours ago and I'm still not seeing much activity in the airlock. A thin ring of "kraeusen" seems to have formed, so I'm certainly not worried, just wondering if this is typical?

Cheers!

**dinnerstick** · 01-17-2012, 04:04 PM

i have never fermented bottled juice, so i don't know, but the foamyness of my ciders usually depends on how much particulate matter (ie crud) is left in suspension. pretty clear ones don't foam up much (although i usually use s04) but i have had thick ones (especially with wild yeast) foam up and out the airlock for days. i also haven't read the apf... apple wine (sorry just can't bring myself even to type in german) page but to conk out a healthy yeast you are gonna need to go much higher than 1.060. there are no unfermentable sugars in there. he must start with a much higher gravity or add something unfermentable? dunno. anyways sounds like you have a plan. i think the few weeks in the carboy and the final cold crash are both good ideas; i don't mind a bit of yeast kicked up off the bottom of a bottle but i am not a huge fan of the yeasty taste of a green cider. enjoy

Pickled_Pepper · 01-17-2012, 04:04 PM

In my experiences with notty it has gone down to 1.004 and that was after beating it into submission by racking it early. haha I'm sure it would have gone further if I let it. You got the right attitude, so I'm sure it'll be awesome.

16 hours is fine. You should see some pressure in the airlock before you know it.

**dinnerstick** · 01-17-2012, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pickled_Pepper

16 hours is fine. You should see some pressure in the airlock before you know it.

agreed this sounds normal

**BrightSpot** · 01-17-2012, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pickled_Pepper

That seems like a fairly low OG for 2 lbs of sugar in less than 5 gallons of juice. I guess it might depend on the OG of the juice.

Just notice you mentioned OG... for some reason I saw FG. I don't understand why it's only 1.060 either, as I was expecting closer to 1.072 or so. I just tested my hydrometer with distilled water and it was accurate, so I'm stumped. Either way, not a huge deal