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kjones

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I done a search on this but only found bits and pieces of information. So, I was wondering if you guys could help me out.

After lookin at various recipes I gain that I can pretty much put in any apple juice as long as its not preserved only pasturized? is like the white house or motts brands preserved? I want to use ale yeast. I want to add spices to these have to be prepped n anyway for sanitation? and also can i bottle in beer bottles or does it have to be wine botttles?

EDIT:

I just saw that there is a spot for cider forum sorry I put it in wine
 
kjones said:
After lookin at various recipes I gain that I can pretty much put in any apple juice as long as its not preserved only pasturized? is like the white house or motts brands preserved? I want to use ale yeast. I want to add spices to these have to be prepped n anyway for sanitation? and also can i bottle in beer bottles or does it have to be wine botttles?

I don't know about those brands, just look at the ingredients list. Absorbic Acid (vitamin C) is OK, but nothing that sounds like a chemical (anything that is hard to pronounce).

I read somewhere that plain old 12 oz. beer bottles are the BEST way to bottle cider, but that is probably just someone's opinion.

Can't answer about sanitizing the spices.
 
I Use the Mott's Brand 100% AJ and it works great. Has only Vit C. added.

A good rule is to use a juice that tastes good, will produce a better end product.
 
mr_stimey said:
a failsafe recipe to try would be edworts apfelwein

http://homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860


Oh yeah!! I am going with this recipe, thanks... but at what point would I add lactose if i wanted to make it a little sweeter? before fermentation or before bottling?

I will be using white-house aj or bi-lo brand I guess they will be ok? they only have water and apple juice from con. written in ingredients. i'm guessing that the ingredients list will say always say if it contains a preservative.
 
kjones said:
Oh yeah!! I am going with this recipe, thanks... but at what point would I add lactose if i wanted to make it a little sweeter?

If you want a sweeter cider, try using Wyeast 3068 instead of Montrachet and use only 1 pound of corn sugar. You won't even need the Lactose.
 
macs said:
kjones said:
Oh yeah!! I am going with this recipe, thanks... but at what point would I add lactose if i wanted to make it a little sweeter?

If you want a sweeter cider, try using Wyeast 3068 instead of Montrachet and use only 1 pound of corn sugar. You won't even need the Lactose.

I'm also doing EdWorts recipe and was thinking that it might be a bit dry. Good to see this.

Couldn't I also just add some juice to the cider post fermenation pre bottling?
 
macs said:
kjones said:
If you want a sweeter cider, try using Wyeast 3068 instead of Montrachet and use only 1 pound of corn sugar. You won't even need the Lactose.

Isn't wyeast 3068 a wheat beer yeast? I really would like to stay with a dry yeast bc I don't have a lhbs so I always have to take my chances with keeping it cold plus I am trying to keep this as low budget as possible, is there a dry yeast that would leave it a little sweeter? I have heard some people say using some dry ale yeasts will leave it sweeter but will produce some off flavors in the end product
 
Since you don't know what it will taste like unsweetened, it would be difficult to know how much lactose you should add to make it "just right". So I would wait until bottling, take a sample and go from there. If you are going to add apple juice to sweeten, it will ferment and change in sweetness over time as it ferments further unless you use Campden tablets to stop the fermentation prior to adding the juice.

You can also make it according to recipe and then just add 7-up to the glass when drinking. That is how it is done in Germany.
 
TronCarter said:
Since you don't know what it will taste like unsweetened, it would be difficult to know how much lactose you should add to make it "just right". So I would wait until bottling, take a sample and go from there. If you are going to add apple juice to sweeten, it will ferment and change in sweetness over time as it ferments further unless you use Campden tablets to stop the fermentation prior to adding the juice.

You can also make it according to recipe and then just add 7-up to the glass when drinking. That is how it is done in Germany.

Even with campden, fermentation might start up again.
 
JimC said:
Even with campden, fermentation might start up again.

That is what I got from the LHBS today when I was picking up yeast and some other stuff. Also said that it's best to just let the sucker sit, and sit, and sit, and sit....:(

Gives me a good excuse to get yet another 6.5 primary.
 
I found this might use the recipe and this yeast... any thoughts?


Cote Des Blancs
AKA Geisenheim Epernay. A low foaming slower speed fermenter with low alcohol tolerance. This strain emphasizes fruit character in both reds and whites making it an excellent choice for fruit wines, especially apple. If fermented at cooler temperatures it will not ferment to dryness producing a sweeter wine with some residual sugar. For the production of Chardonnay use in conjunction with yeast nutrient. Sweet whites, fruit wines.
 
If you are looking for something a bit sweeter, you will like Cote Des Blancs better than Montrachet. I wouldn't call it dramatically sweeter, but it does seem to retain a bit more of the apple flavor and it is my favorite yeast in Apfelwein. It is low foaming so you can have a very small headspace. I also use yeast nutrient with it.
 
TronCarter said:
I also use yeast nutrient with it.

Cool, at what point in the process do you put the yeast nutrient. And, like i said before, since i am trying to keep this low budget could I use just regular brown sugar from grocery store instead of corn sugar?


And, I am guessing since there is no boiling involved you have to sanitize the outside of the juice bottles before pouring into the fermentor?
 
macs said:
kjones said:
Oh yeah!! I am going with this recipe, thanks... but at what point would I add lactose if i wanted to make it a little sweeter?

If you want a sweeter cider, try using Wyeast 3068 instead of Montrachet and use only 1 pound of corn sugar. You won't even need the Lactose.

My advise...don't add any corn sugar, if you're trying to make it sweet.

As far as the lactose goes, add it to the bottling bucket a little at a time. That way you can sample it (in a sanitized manner) and 'sweeten' it to your taste.
 
gwood said:
macs said:
Couldn't I also just add some juice to the cider post fermentation pre bottling?

NO! Unless you are planning on a still cider, and you pasteurize it first (ie. heat it enough to kill the yeast...not recommended) the yest will continue to ferment the sugar in the juice that you add (yes there's still yeast in it no mater how many times you rack it) and the result will be a even dryer fermentation.
 
Jesse17 said:
gwood said:
NO! Unless you are planning on a still cider, and you pasteurize it first (ie. heat it enough to kill the yeast...not recommended) the yest will continue to ferment the sugar in the juice that you add (yes there's still yeast in it no mater how many times you rack it) and the result will be a even dryer fermentation.

Yep, came to that conclusion as well. I'm going just bite my tongue and let this one take it's course (might leave it up to six weeks in the primary).
 
I finally threw it together last night at about 7:30 and now 12 hrs. later I have no airlock activity but some bubbles are forming on the surface. I figures this stuff would take off fast. What are some of you guys lag times?
 
kjones said:
I finally threw it together last night at about 7:30 and now 12 hrs. later I have no airlock activity but some bubbles are forming on the surface. I figures this stuff would take off fast. What are some of you guys lag times?
My first cider, I used Red Star Pasteur Champagne dry yeast. Pitched it at 4 pm and it was doing 1 bubble/min. by 8 AM, and 1 - 2 bubbles/min. by 48 Hrs.

My second cider, I pitched Wyeast 4766 smack pack yeast about 10 PM last night, and this morning I've seen 1 or 2 bubbles. I also used yeast nutrient in this one.

I think aeration is about the most important step in getting a quick start.
 
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