Why does my hard apple cider taste like lemonade?

edmguy · 02-21-2009, 03:50 AM

so i tried to make hard apple cider this is what i used

10 gallons of 100% pure apple juice (motts)
10 cinnamen sticks
1 lemon freshly squeezed
1.75 kg dextrose
10g of wine yeast
and a few teaspoons of yeast nutrient (what ever the package said)

sp. grav was 1.600 at start
6 days later sp grav is 0.992 and transfered in to 2 glass carboy's

my sample tasteed like lemonaid......why what did i do and what can i do to fix it?

why doesnt it taste like apple pie in a cup?

fratermus · 02-21-2009, 04:10 AM

Well, it's got a lemon in it, for one. :-)

If you're tasting after a week or two I'd say it's very, very green and will change over time (months).
It's possible that it was fermented fairluy warm if it finished up in 6 days, but I could be wrong. I will also assume that 1.600 was a typo for 1.060 unless it was 10gals of concentrate.

edmguy · 02-21-2009, 04:26 AM

yea oops typo 1.060...and my condo is allways 25 degrees celcius so it is warm. so its not a total waste just gotta wait it out now?
and the amount of lemon juice that went in was like 2 oz compaired to 10 gallons of apple juice....im so confused

fratermus · 02-21-2009, 02:15 PM

I suspect that the bulk of what you're tasting is the very dry (zero residual sweetness) flavor that occurs when fermenting apple juice and sugar with wine yeast. Cider that finishes under 1.000 is going to be dry, and there's very little apple note left at that point. Then maybe the lemon sits on top of that and makes it seem more sour when it is really dry.

I would just let it sit and see if it mellows. You might be able to backsweeten like winemakers do; maybe a wine/cider person will chime in on that one.

I have not sampled a cider that tasted like apple pie in a cup, and I have not seen any recipes that suggested they would end up that way.

Tusch · 02-21-2009, 02:47 PM

If you are hoping for apple pie in a cup, then you are wanting a very sweet cider. What you have here is a very dry and young cider. Dry ciders tastes quite tart, and ciders taste very tart or "green" when they are young. The amount of lemon juice you added will have little effect on the overall taste and all it will do is add a bit of acidity, which in turn adds to the tartness of your dry young cider. Let it mellow for at least another few weeks. When it is crystal clear, as in you can read a newspaper through it, then taste it. If it is still too dry and tart for you, look into backsweetening. There are a lot of resources on here on backsweetening and the different methods of doing it.

Snuffalupagus · 02-21-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tusch

If you are hoping for apple pie in a cup, then you are wanting a very sweet cider. What you have here is a very dry and young cider. Dry ciders tastes quite tart, and ciders taste very tart or "green" when they are young. The amount of lemon juice you added will have little effect on the overall taste and all it will do is add a bit of acidity, which in turn adds to the tartness of your dry young cider. Let it mellow for at least another few weeks. When it is crystal clear, as in you can read a newspaper through it, then taste it. If it is still too dry and tart for you, look into backsweetening. There are a lot of resources on here on backsweetening and the different methods of doing it.

agreed - six days is so young it borders on pedophillia if you taste it at that point - let it be, leave it in the carboy under an airlock for at least another 3 weeks. I like to let mine hang out for about 2 months -then bottle.

**Mirilis** · 02-21-2009, 04:39 PM

sample it again later.. if all else fails and you stil dont like it .. add a can of apple juice concentrate to help sway the flavor.