First Hard Cider Attempt

I just drank my first bottle of Hard Cider and I have to say it has upset me. It doesn't taste anything like I was expecting. At first taste myself and girlfriend thought it had a strong vinegar taste but after a little more drinking we thought it tastes a lot like a white wine with a slight vinegar to it. The more we drink the one bottle the more it tastes like white wine to us. So I am wondering what I did wrong to it? Here is my recipe:

4 Gallons of Apple Juice (I made sure it was all natural juice with nothing added)
1/2 lb of brown sugar
1 packet of COTE DES BLANC (EPERNAY 2)

I put the apple juice in a carboy mixed with the brown sugar. I then pitched the yeast into the carboy. After 24 hours it had started to bubble a little. After 2 days it was bubbling like crazy. I let it sit till there was no more bubbling which was about 3 weeks. At that point I siphoned it into a bottling bucket with 48oz of apple juice to mix it up. I then bottled it and let it sit for another two weeks. And that is where I am now.

Can anyone let me know what I did wrong or maybe this is the way it is supposed to taste. If so what can I do to the recipe to make it not quite taste so much like white wine and more of a refreshing apple drink? Any comments would be appreciated!

THANKS!

It is hard to tell without some gravity readings... but I bet the yeast dried it out more than your taste prefers!

Some people say time is the key... that apple taste will come back after 10 months or so.

I prefer to ferment my cider on beer yeast... Nottingham to be specific. I love the flavor. It does not ferment out too much.

Others are adding some steeped grain (crystal xxL) to the recipe for more sweetness and mouthfeel. perhaps something in that direction will satisfy your taste. Mix this batch with some sprite.... you might like it!

my OG was 1.050 and my FG was 0.99

We just finished the first bottle and it definitely tastes like white wine. I even had some cider vinegar sitting around so I tried and it tastes completely different. hehe

When you say you let it sit for around 10 months. Do you think it would taste better if I let it sit in the bottles for a little longer? I am looking for a quick cider I can do within 2 months time. From all the reviews of this recipe I thought it would be it.

You have to decide for yourself when its ready to drink, which involves the task of frequent sampling. If your sampling is too frequent you will finish it before you decide.

Did you really take 3 week old cider and mix it with 48 ounces of apple juice and bottle? I ask because that seems like a heck of a lot of sugar to use to carbonate very young cider.

Nurmey said:

Did you really take 3 week old cider and mix it with 48 ounces of apple juice and bottle? I ask because that seems like a heck of a lot of sugar to use to carbonate very young cider.

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Yeah, I got the recipe from here Savvy Housekeeping » How To Make Apple Cider but I also found the same recipe from a few other places.

Hopefully they are right about the amount of sugar in the juice. It sounded like so much. I'm not a big fan of fast ciders because I think ciders are so much better when aged for a few months or a year.

Another thing I discovered about myself is I don't care for ciders with extra sugar added. I've done the brown sugar, corn sugar, raw sugar thing and ended up preferring the juice and yeast only cider the best.

If I let this batch sit in the bottles for another month or more will it age and taste better? or does that need to be done in the carboy?

Bottle aging a perfectly acceptable. Not only does the cider mellow as it ages but some of the nice apple flavor comes back.

I plan on starting another batch while this one is aging. Can you give any yeast or easy recipe recommendations?

Look up Apfelwein on here. There are plenty of posts about it...Its simple and quick to make.

I recently made my first batch of EdWort's Apfelwine and it too had a bit of a vinegar taste to it. I think I'll bottle the rest and sit them back, maybe the apple flavors will come back as you say. Thanks.

TrendyGuy said:

I plan on starting another batch while this one is aging. Can you give any yeast or easy recipe recommendations?

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There are two threads on this forum titled "The Best Cider Ever" and "Better than Apfelwein". Take a look at these for some ideas.

I am currently brewing some of Brandon O's "Graff". So far, so good.

Skip the Sugar and use a yeast like nottingham or s-04, both of these are beer yeasts that will not ferment out as dry as wine yeast, it will also keep more of the apple flavors behind.

IMHO, unless you are looking at Brandon O's Graff concoction, which is kinda a beer/cider hybrid, you're not going to get an appely, or even good tasting hard cider in 2 months, think more like 4-6, the more sugar you add, the longer it's going to take to age out and taste good. I usually drink my cider 6-8 months from pitching.

Best reccomendation I can give you is make some GRAFF.

Look in the recipe section under ciders.

I had the same issue as you, apple juice sugar and yeast doesn't make cider at all, it makes a cheap white wine like substance.

Graff has a big apple flavor tastes with the body you would expect of a cider, not a white wine.

Freezeblade said:

IMHO, you're not going to get an appely, or even good tasting hard cider in 2 months, think more like 4-6,

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I will disagree. Nottingham on the apfelwine ratio of sugar to apple juice is appley after 1-2 months. I have had three batches turn out with the same result. One was carbed with brown sugar, two force carbed, all appley.

I used both walmart juice and kroger juice... all sourced from Argentinian apples.

I think the biggest problem is letting it ferment out to .999 He does not like the dry taste. I still say shelf that batch and try it after 10 months and make a batch with notty.

chefmike said:

I will disagree. Nottingham on the apfelwine ratio of sugar to apple juice is appley after 1-2 months. I have had three batches turn out with the same result. One was carbed with brown sugar, two force carbed, all appley.

I used both walmart juice and kroger juice... all sourced from Argentinian apples.

I think the biggest problem is letting it ferment out to .999 He does not like the dry taste. I still say shelf that batch and try it after 10 months and make a batch with notty.

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Apple juice, dextrose, and any yeast = FAIL.

We have so many good grains and hops with very distinct flavor profiles to work with, and people still think this is a good idea?

If you think apple juice, dextrose, and notty tastes good.....you have yet to taste a good complex cider.

Brew some Graff and open yourself to a whole new world where cider is highly specialized instead of cookie cutter simple.

I have not done it yet. I am planning on doing it to fill the next empty carboy.

And actually I am one worse... I use table sugar.

I do agree that it lacks body, which is why I am going to try the graff recipe. I assume it will probably replace my AJ/sugar/notty habit. Maybe... it is really my lawnmower drink. fizzy. tart. refreshing.

Graff will likely be winter and I will keep my swill for summer.

But it does have an apple profile. It is as simple. And it finishes MUCH sweeter than .999. YIKES.