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bfbf

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Hi I made cider from home grown apples which I pressed my self. I used youghs cider yeast and did a 2 week primary, a 1 week secondary and then bottled it for 2 weeks.

I knew it was not going to taste great after only 2 weeks botteling but it really was horrid. Tasted like gone off apple juice (which cider kind of is) mixed with a bit of dry white wine - but it was just not a pleasant taste.

Does freshed press turbo cider normal taste like this after 2 weeks of botteling and I just need to wait or have I done something wrong.

(I did get a couple of other people to try it and they said it was horrid but could not say what it tasted like)

I have a 5 gallon batch of Gaff going so I have higher hopes for that, I think one thing it could be is the apple juice I pressed tasted very tart and not like store brought apple juice but I just assumed this is what it would taste like... As the apples were not fully ripe which I feel they are now so may go for 1 more batch of gaff and one batch of totally natural cider (i.e no yeast added and just wait a long time)
 
IMO it's not even done fermenting...sometimes it takes months to finish.

I'd recommend you place it back into the primary with new yeast.

Didn't you take a gravity reading? The hydrometer would have told you it's not ready for bottling.

You need a whole lot of patience.
 
bfbf said:
I think one thing it could be is the apple juice I pressed tasted very tart and not like store brought apple juice but I just assumed this is what it would taste like... As the apples were not fully ripe which I feel they are now so may go for 1 more batch of gaff and one batch of totally natural cider (i.e no yeast added and just wait a long time)
Click to expand...

Fresh pressed juice should be sweeter than store bought juice. Like grape wine it is very important for cider to be made from properly ripened fruit. If you pick it too early the whole balance will be wrong, and the flavour will be more acidic than appley. Its very easy to get impatient but if you buy a refractometer you can test the juice and be absolutely sure it is ripe.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
IMO it's not even done fermenting...sometimes it takes months to finish.

I'd recommend you place it back into the primary with new yeast.

Didn't you take a gravity reading? The hydrometer would have told you it's not ready for bottling.

You need a whole lot of patience.
Click to expand...
It was in the middle of the botteling zone on the hydrometer... Stayed there for 3 days. (think that gravity was just under 1) What ever Gravity makes 4.8% from a starting gravity of .375
 
I've only made two batches of cider, but I would have to agree that time is a major factor when it comes to making good cider. I've typically gone two weeks in the primary and six weeks in the secondary before bottling; after bottling, I feel like it didn't become "good" until almost nine months later.
Also, on the topic of picking your own apples-ripeness can have a big impact, but, in the US at least, the "big guys" who make cider typically blend multiple types of apples to create the best possible flavor profile. Using one type alone could make your cider too tart, sour, etc. Hope this helps, and good luck!
 
I am curious about the gravity readings. If the current reading is < 1, then chances are that the cider was finished, but the apples weren't mature. The starting gravity would be 1.0375 rather than .375 (wow, THAT would be SWEET!), which should come out about to the 4%+ range.

It might (might) taste better in 6 months or so, but what did the juice taste like at pressing?

Worse comes to worse, it's not too long 'til the orchards start pressing... you could pick up some orchard juice and repeat the same steps and probably get a totally diff't result. It might still be rough in 3 weeks, but probably not "gag me" horrid.
 
My first turbo cider was exactly the same.

you can indeed drink it staight from primary. I bottled and primed it, then left it for 6 weeks.

When i got to tasting it , it was very dry ( too much tannin) but other than that clear as a bell and around the 10% mark.

Time is your friend here, the longer you hold off drinking it the better.
 
bfbf said:
Hi I made cider from home grown apples which I pressed my self. I used youghs cider yeast and did a 2 week primary, a 1 week secondary and then bottled it for 2 weeks.

I knew it was not going to taste great after only 2 weeks botteling but it really was horrid. Tasted like gone off apple juice (which cider kind of is) mixed with a bit of dry white wine - but it was just not a pleasant taste.

Does freshed press turbo cider normal taste like this after 2 weeks of botteling and I just need to wait or have I done something wrong.

(I did get a couple of other people to try it and they said it was horrid but could not say what it tasted like)

I have a 5 gallon batch of Gaff going so I have higher hopes for that, I think one thing it could be is the apple juice I pressed tasted very tart and not like store brought apple juice but I just assumed this is what it would taste like... As the apples were not fully ripe which I feel they are now so may go for 1 more batch of gaff and one batch of totally natural cider (i.e no yeast added and just wait a long time)
Click to expand...

Yes, we have all been through what you have. Realized apple juice of most yeast make a ****ty drink over all, let alone a cider.

Do your self a favor, if you want something that tastes like commercial ciders you have had before in the same amount of time it takes to make a good beer, then make some Graff.

Cider recipes, you'll see Graff there.....it is usually the top recipe. It is what you thought cider should taste like, but instead you made white wine.
 
Brandon O said:
Yes, we have all been through what you have. Realized apple juice of most yeast make a ****ty drink over all, let alone a cider.

Do your self a favor, if you want something that tastes like commercial ciders you have had before in the same amount of time it takes to make a good beer, then make some Graff.

Cider recipes, you'll see Graff there.....it is usually the top recipe. It is what you thought cider should taste like, but instead you made white wine.
Click to expand...

Ye have some gaff going but that was also made with some infected, maggot, bruised apples but will have 4 weeks in primary, 6 weeks in secondary then a long time bottled and I can sit with hope.

Have also gone for some natural cider using just juice but I cut out every tiny bit of bruise and only used by not infected tree (not like it makes any difference in apple pie) but thought it may be better. Only got 1/2 a demi so added 1/4 water and sugar (no yeast) and it is already bubbling! Will leave that a long time!
 
JoeSponge said:
I am curious about the gravity readings. If the current reading is < 1, then chances are that the cider was finished, but the apples weren't mature. The starting gravity would be 1.0375 rather than .375 (wow, THAT would be SWEET!), which should come out about to the 4%+ range.

It might (might) taste better in 6 months or so, but what did the juice taste like at pressing?

Worse comes to worse, it's not too long 'til the orchards start pressing... you could pick up some orchard juice and repeat the same steps and probably get a totally diff't result. It might still be rough in 3 weeks, but probably not "gag me" horrid.
Click to expand...

Ye I meant 0.0375

And ye the juice tasted very tart and very sweet. Although from the gravity reading it was not that sweet.

I may be able to get one more batch out of the trees yet, my press is slightly broke atm but I think that last harvest is at the end of October and hopefully there will be some big ones which do not take much cutting to get rid of the infection by then. If I do that I will go for some Graff.

Got a beer kit going atm, thought I would do that to get my confidence back up as a kit can't go so horribly wrong :p
 
bfbf said:
Ye have some gaff going but that was also made with some infected, maggot, bruised apples but will have 4 weeks in primary, 6 weeks in secondary then a long time bottled and I can sit with hope.
Click to expand...

I thought one of the great benes of Graff was the very short time line requirements...

I do have to question the infected, maggot-ridden, bruised apples tho... please tell me that they were windfalls, and were half-eaten by animals unknown.

In the old days (at least before I was born), I think that the colonists did stuff like, have open crushers that were horse powered, left the pulp in the open air / sun, to let it get really brown and mushy, pressed their juice outside and used standard wooden buckets for transport. They still enjoyed the cider although I do have to point out that they are all dead today.
 
JoeSponge said:
I thought one of the great benes of Graff was the very short time line requirements...

I do have to question the infected, maggot-ridden, bruised apples tho... please tell me that they were windfalls, and were half-eaten by animals unknown.

In the old days (at least before I was born), I think that the colonists did stuff like, have open crushers that were horse powered, left the pulp in the open air / sun, to let it get really brown and mushy, pressed their juice outside and used standard wooden buckets for transport. They still enjoyed the cider although I do have to point out that they are all dead today.
Click to expand...

Ye it does take a short time but the longer the better (I am guessing)

They were not windfalls, just my tree has not been pruned in the last 10 years hence maggots lay there eggs inside some of them and wasps like to get a nice taste of my cider.

Ye I went to a cider farm and they said it was not uncommon for rates, poo or insects to be in the pulp as it made natural yeasts more easily?
 
JoeSponge said:
They still enjoyed the cider although I do have to point out that they are all dead today.
Click to expand...

Damm it, there goes another keyboard. I have to remember to not read post while trying to sip on some homebrew. :mug: You got me laughing a little to hard, thanks.
 

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