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Keln

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I'm about to start my first cider and I'm in the dilemma of finding an acceptable juice without paying too much. Well, the stuff we normally buy is pretty cheap, and pretty good, and it doesn't say anything about preservatives on it. The ingredients say only apple juice and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The vitamin is added for it's healthy bonus as far as I know, but would it effect anything in the fermentation process or in taste? It says nothing about preservatives on the label, and I'm assuming there aren't any if they didn't list any in the ingredients. This stuff safe to use?
 
Keln said:
I'm about to start my first cider and I'm in the dilemma of finding an acceptable juice without paying too much. Well, the stuff we normally buy is pretty cheap, and pretty good, and it doesn't say anything about preservatives on it. The ingredients say only apple juice and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The vitamin is added for it's healthy bonus as far as I know, but would it effect anything in the fermentation process or in taste? It says nothing about preservatives on the label, and I'm assuming there aren't any if they didn't list any in the ingredients. This stuff safe to use?
Hello,
When they say no preservatives i don't know if that includes ascorbic acid or not. Just want to tell you what i used. I made my first batch last saturday, so hopefully i can bottle it tomorrow or sunday, not sure yet. I bought applejuice from walmart. The only ingredient it said was apple juice. It was on sale for $1.50 for a two quart plastic jug. I bought 12 of them for $18 for a 6 gallon batch, and used a dry ale yeast. So under $20. Just my 2 cents worth. Good luck!
 
i think this stuff is from walmart too. Either there or Kroger. It's like a generic store brand.
 
I'm currently doing my first batch of cider and chose to do 6 gallons as well. Walmart is pretty much the only game in the poor hurricane torn town of Waveland, MS so that's where I went to purchase my apple juice. I checked a half dozen brands of apple juice on the shelf and ALL of them contained absorbic acid, so that made my choice for me. I bought Mott's because I like the flavor of that brand and it too came to around $18.00 for the batch. I read somewhere that some people add some apple concentrate to kick up or reinforce the flavor, so I added one can of frozen/defrosted apple juice concentrate as the only other ingredient besides the yeast.

I doubt absorbic acid is a harmful preservative as my fermenter has been bubbling like a mo' fo' for about 10 days now; still one bubble every ten seconds @ 72 degrees. I used a brown ale yeast that I really like and it was bubbling fiercely within the first 24 hours. I'm using my 6.5 gallon carboy as a primary and the stuff was foaming out through the airlock during the whole second 24 hours. I didn't realize I'd need a blowoff tube for cider!

Here's a picture after 24 hours:




My final observation is that the stuff stinks; real sulphury. I read that this would be the case, otherwise it would smell like it was spoiling to me. Real sour smell that I'm told will clear in time.


Good Luck!
:mug:
 
I'm in a similar situation, just bought some apple juice myself for my first batch and like yours it listed water apple juice and vitamin c, and being someone who cant bare to live with him self if he returns five gallons of apple juice i followed up on it. i called my local shaws costumer hotline and they told me that if there was any preservatives or such it would have to be listed, and reinforced it with some long winded analogy about how water melon listed water melon as an ingredient. as for the vitamin c, as hard as i search i cant seem to find any negative information on it in regards to cider and my LHS recommended a blend of acids however as far as i know ascorbic acid was not one of them, so I'm planing on giving it a go. Hope that helps.

Jake
 
Thankyou for your replies. I will try this juice then, since I like the taste and it costs next to nothing anyways. I am only doing a gallon batch, like the mead I am almost done with and the wines I have made. I'm doing only gallon batches for now to gain experience in brewing and to figure out which kind I like the best before I invest in a 5 gallon batch.

I can tell you, the last batch of wine I made (chardonnay) smelled horrible the first few weeks. A real rotten smell. After it was done and ready for the bottle, it had a pleasent aroma and a nice, dry taste.

And I have also read that cider stinks too. In fact, I drank a few Woodchuck hard apple ciders tonight and noticed that even the smell from the bottle was a bit rank, although they taste pretty good. :tank:
 
Absorbic acid/vitamin c is there as a preservative. It works as an antioxidant and is hostile to many micro-organisms. You add a lot of yeast to the fermenter, so no problem. It's preservatives like potassium metabisulfite (campden) that you need to avoid. Fresh juice is nice if it's in season, but I've made good cider from concentrate.
 
David, thanks for the info on absorbic acid. I'll rest a little easier about the project now. Although, to be quite honest, my mind was at ease when the foam was oozing through my airlock. My only concern after that was taste and now I won't have to worry about that.

Always good input, thanks again!
 
You know, I usually read about people tossing in a packet of yeast, but every recipe I have done so far, including the one I am about to use, gives a precise measurement of yeast to add. Does it really matter as long as you add enough? Is there a thumbrule for how much you add per gallon or something?

Anyways, I put in about 1/2 a tsp of Ale Yeast into my batch I started today. It's only a 1 gallon batch. I took an initial gravity and it was 1.050. That sound about right? What F.G. can I expect?
 
Wow...

Only a few hours after pitching yeast and setting the carboy in the utility room, it started bubbling yesterday. Today it's going nuts. This stuff is aggressive!

How long normally does it take to ferment out in the primary before I need to rack it? It's about 3,300 grams of sugar to feed on.
 
wow...4 days later already done fermenting. Gravity is now about 1.008-1.005-ish

OG was 1.050. That makes an abv of 5.7? Racked to secondary for clearing. Couldn't believe how much sediment was on the bottom. Anyways, it looks clear already, but I'm just gonna let it settle for a while before bottling. Does a week sound long enough? I tasted some too, it was carbonated from initial fermentation which has never happened in my other brews. Tastes dry, but really good. I'm impressed with how simple and fast this is.

Why was someone saying cider takes a long time?
 
I am in the midst of doing a 5 gallon batch right now and mine fermented for a week pretty solid, i racked it yesterday and it's still got some foam. smells rank as hell too, but it hasn't cleared to well. maybe different batches and concentrate make a difference. i got my juice from a fruit stand down the road, fresh and with no preservatives.
 
Well, mine's a bit slower. I had it in the primary for 15 days before racking it to the secondary. I made a six gallon batch to allow me to be able to make sure I could top of my five gallon carboy and have some left for sampling and testing. It tastes like a light white wine right now, so I'm on the right track, but it's a touch too sweet. I didn't have a hydrometer when I started this, but I have one now and it read 1.014, so it's close.

I was really surprised at how good it tastes already; flat and not done fermenting. I really hope it drops a few more points in the next two weeks in secondary. It it does, then it's going to be really good and when it's carbonated, it will be quite excellent.

I used ale yeast for this batch because I heard it accentuates the apple flavor, and is seeming to work pretty well, but I may try champagne yeast next time for a more dry end product; maybe.

:)
 
Keln said:
wow...4 days later already done fermenting. Gravity is now about 1.008-1.005-ish

OG was 1.050. That makes an abv of 5.7? Racked to secondary for clearing. Couldn't believe how much sediment was on the bottom. Anyways, it looks clear already, but I'm just gonna let it settle for a while before bottling. Does a week sound long enough? I tasted some too, it was carbonated from initial fermentation which has never happened in my other brews. Tastes dry, but really good. I'm impressed with how simple and fast this is.
I make it an ABV of roughly somewhere between 5.2-5.6 so far with the SG (-ish as you said) given - I use OG minus FG divided by 7.93 to give ABV. There are other methods, probably more accurate but that one is pretty easy to remember.
You mentioned it's carbonated now. That makes me think that it's still not fully fermented out. Apple juice ferments out fully unlike malted grain. The FG should be nearer 1.000. You're almost there of course, a week (or two) in secondary will both ensure it is finished and help clear it further. Bottle it and give it time to mature. It tastes great now you say - It'll taste better in a couple of months i'm sure.
Keln said:
Why was someone saying cider takes a long time?
Ciders can be tricky if you don't give them some thought before brewing. You've been lucky. No sulphur tones from your yeast (which take time to disperse) and you chose a sensible OG for drinking sooner. The US version of cider (aka Hard Cider) often contains added sugars to boost the ABV up to the same levels of strong wine and pungent spices. Not so pleasant fresh from primary......;)
 
I was thinking, most ciders I have tasted also seem at least a little sweet. I am not sure if I want mine sweetened, perhaps maybe a little bit. But I am planning on naturally carbonating the cider in the bottle, so I don't want to kill the yeast off, nor do I want to make apple wine or bottle bombs by overadding sugar.

So what is the preferred artificial sweetner for brews? Splenda?
 
homebrewer_99 said:
I add acsorbic acid to my meads. It is a preservative as well as takes the sweet edge off of the honey.

The Vit C won't harm a thing.


You actually ADD it...ok, my cider should be really good then!


Thanks for sharing that.

:)
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Same as for beer, corn sugar. As long as your brew has fermented out all the way and yo do not overprime you shouldn't get any grenades.:D

I know about for carbonating, I mean for sweetening without adding sugar. Non-sugar sweetner.
 
Keln said:
I know about for carbonating, I mean for sweetening without adding sugar. Non-sugar sweetner.
Glad you picked up on that one Keln, Shows you were paying attention. I couldn't be bothered correcting it! ;)
Artificial sweetners can be used but i've found that they settle into the yeast sediment leaving no sweetness unless you want to swirl the bottle for a cloudy drink. Aging your brew properly will help 'soften' it without the need for sweetners.
 
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