Safe to drink cider on fifth day of fermentation?

Hello, all. I recently stumbled upon the forums and registered. This is my first post.

I've got two, one-gallon batches of cider fermenting at the moment. I was thinking about trying one today, even though it is still fermenting. It is well past its "exponential" yeast growth stage (baker's yeast) where it foamed over on me several times and the fermentation is much slower now (though still active).

I was hoping that trying it today would yield a bit of a sweeter taste like a more commercial product. Since I have no hydrometer, about what would the ABV be on a gallon of apple juice with 1 cup sugar, baker's yeast, and home-made nutrient be at this stage? Is this even a good idea at all?

Thanks in advance.

I am sure the pioneers never had a hydrometer and tasted there cider to test it.
when it tastes good to you then I guess its done.
hydrometers are cheep you should get one
welcome to the forum!

It's perfectly fine to drink it now, if that's your thing. It might be a little yeasty, that's the only thing.

There is certainly no reason why it would be unsafe to taste it.

It may taste yeasty
It may be slightly carbed
It may just not taste nice

Those are all aesthetic issues. You however cannot injure yourself drinking still fermenting cider or beer.

I will add that if you're not used to unfiltered brews the yeast may upset your internal systems a bit. Try taking some acidophilus capsules if you end up with "the runs."

stick some in the fridge overnight, that should drop a lot of the yeast and give you a better idea of what the stuff actually tastes like