First Try at Hard Cider Tastes Bad :(

Ok, so I just racked 2 gallons of hard cider that I made using a friend's process that has worked for him consistently and my wine tastes like crap. One gallon tastes really harsh and the other has a mix of harshness with a hint of skunky beer.....

Any thoughts on what went wrong? Is there a way to make it taste better? Or is it just shot?

Let it age for a year and then taste it.

LoL, a year? For some apple cider wine? My buddy does batches in 5-8 week chunks and it always comes out great.

Did I screw something up?

I followed the most basic process of pitching in gallon jugs with airlock, letting ferment, then racking.

It's terrible .

Trust me, just let it be for a while and then try. What yeast did you use?

Cotes de blancs.

I'll take your advice. Hopefully at least 1 gallon turns out alright. One just tastes very strong and bitter, the other one is straight wretched.

I agree with Jed, 6 months to a year and it will probably be the best cider you ever tasted, and EVEN BETTER than the 5-8 week swill your buddy makes. Or at least you will be calling his swill after you taste yours.

Most folks wont even touch my ciders until it's been a minimum year, then the love it.

I wasn't really looking for gourmet ha ha. For me, keeping jugs of undrinkable wine around for a year kind of defeats the purpose.

Depends on what your purpose is. Winemaking is not a quick hobby. If your purpose is quick alcohol, there's shelves of it already done at Walmart. If your purpose is to make something tasty yourself, it will take a while. I started out quite impatient myself, but I'm beginning to have some stuff that's been around long enough to start to taste quite good. I'm starting to understand why all the talk of patience on here. Don't worry, it will be rewarded.

My purpose is making it myself. My point is, if my friends consistently make a tasty beverage within 5 weeks time, obviously something went wrong with my batch.

WineNoob said:

My purpose is making it myself. My point is, if my friends consistently make a tasty beverage within 5 weeks time, obviously something went wrong with my batch.

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Without knowing your recipe/process, it's kinda tough to offer any advice. Regards, GF.

My apologies:

Sterilize 1 gallon jugs, mix in sugar and cider, add in nutrient and pectin, pitch yeast, seal with air-lock, wait 6-8 weeks, done.

My friends have made countless gallons of tasty juice about 85-90% of the time this way. My luck wasn't so good.

WineNoob said:

My apologies:

Sterilize 1 gallon jugs, mix in sugar and cider, add in nutrient and pectin, pitch yeast, seal with air-lock, wait 6-8 weeks, done.

My friends have made countless gallons of tasty juice about 85-90% of the time this way. My luck wasn't so good.

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Ale yeast or wine yeast? Did you rehydrate the yeast or make a starter? Some types of sugar can give you flavours you weren't expecting, like the difference between white cane & demerara in your coffee. Does the juice have any preservatives or added ingredients? Did you areate the must prior to pitching the yeast?

Are you adding the correct amount of yeast nutrient? Hopefully the "pectin" is a typo & you're actually adding pectic enzyme; "pectin" makes jelly. Do you use a no rinse sanitizer like Starsan, or do you use bleach or heat?

Sometimes the small, seemingly insignificant things can have a big impact on the fermentation and/or the end product. Is there anything that you did differently? Have you ever tasted your friend's cider at about the same age as yours is now? Flavours can change pretty drastically during fermentation & aging. Regards, GF.

Wine yeast, yes I rehydrated, yes I areated, yes I used proper amount of nutrient and had vigorous fermentation the first week or so, yes I meant pectic enzyme.

I don't know what I did wrong compared to his. I'm going to have to have him help with the next batch. His was good to drink the day after.... Mine tastes foul.

Well if you're using the same ingredients & the same process, the results should be the same. Is this cider even clear yet? Your friend's cider was good "the day after" ? The day after what? Might be you're just tasting young cider, let it age a bit & it should improve. I've made stuff that tasted nasty young, but after aging it turned out to really tasty; sometimes time is the only answer. Good luck, GF.

gratus fermentatio said:

Without knowing your recipe/process, it's kinda tough to offer any advice. Regards, GF.

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+1

lets hear the recipe and process and we may be able to help you better. I follow a process that gives me a good tasting cider in 4 weeks, but in 4 months it is awsome!

Mcduff

Oops, I missed all of page 2 when I sent the above. never mind.
Just out of curiosity, are you using the same yeast your friend was using? Different yeasts will give a different tast even if they are both wine yeasts.

Yes, it's the same yeast. I guess I just messed something up ha ha.

What's your process Mcduff? I'll try again and in the mean time let this stuff sit for a few months and see if it gets any better. I am hopeful that the one batch may turn out alright in a few months, but the other is straight rancid right now so I'm not holding my breath.

What temperature did you ferment at? Fermenting at a higher temperature range can sometimes cause some harsh volatile flavors that take a long time to diminish (sometimes irreversible)

WineNoob said:

Yes, it's the same yeast. I guess I just messed something up ha ha.

What's your process Mcduff? I'll try again and in the mean time let this stuff sit for a few months and see if it gets any better. I am hopeful that the one batch may turn out alright in a few months, but the other is straight rancid right now so I'm not holding my breath.

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Well, I use the cold crash method. There is a lot of good tips on this site but my favorite is at this thread.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results-juice-yeast-sugar-experiments-83060/

CvilleKevin has some really great experiments going on.

a simple recipe I am fond of is;
1 gallon wallmart apple juice
1 cup sugar
white labs cider yeast

Basicly my method is,
to make my recipe disolving the sugar by shaking. I will shake a bit and let it rest then give it another shake. the shaking is easier if you only fill your jug half full then top it off.
Take a hydrometer reading.
pitch the yeast then give it another shake.
put an airlock on it and place it in my pantry which is usally about 62 degrees to 75 degrees depending on the time of year.
Then watch to make sure the bubbles start up.
every couple of days (or every week depending on the temp) i take a hydrometer reading taste it.

I usually find I like it around 1.020. on the sweet side.
I rack it and cold crash for 2 to 3 days then rack again.
place it back in the pantry for a week or so with the airlock on and make sure is dosn't start fermenting again.
then I bottle.

You may find that some yeast are hardier then others. I had a difficult time getting a champange yeast to cold crash. I had to rack that again and do a second cold crash.

I think thats about it. I hope I didn't leave anything out.

Bottling at 1.020 is a bit risky as you may make bottle bombs. I hanv't had one yet but the risk is there. If you go down to 1.010 there will be less sugar and therefore less of a chance of bottle bombs.

Check out that thread. Its got some really great info in it. And remember each yeast strain tastes different. Some like S04 but i found it wasn't for me.

good luck!
Mcduff

WineNoob said:

Yes, it's the same yeast. I guess I just messed something up ha ha.

What's your process Mcduff? I'll try again and in the mean time let this stuff sit for a few months and see if it gets any better. I am hopeful that the one batch may turn out alright in a few months, but the other is straight rancid right now so I'm not holding my breath.

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Does it taste rancid, like straight alcohol, or more like a dry white wine? You could always kill the yeast, add a can of apple juice concentrate and try it if you don't want to wait.