dump it?

Just tasted a 1 gallon cider that is 9 days along fg .999. Used lalvin rc 212. There is no hint of alcohol and it tastes flat and blah. Racked to secondary added 1 cup of concord grape juice. Anyone think this will improve or should it go down the drain? Its my first cider so i wont be bummed if its gotta go.

IMO it's wayyyy too young to make a call to dump it. Lots of ciders take several months to start tasting good.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/

Also you mentioned it was flat - you will have to prime it before you bottle for it to have carbonation.

You think bottle it soon?
Flat, I really meant no depth of flavor or anything just blah.

JohnnyBeerbottles said:

You think bottle it soon?
Flat, I really meant no depth of flavor or anything just blah.

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Ah, gotcha.

Perhaps add some Apple Juice concentrate? That should both bump the ABV and flavor by a quite a bit.

If it were me, I wouldn't bottle until its sat in the fermentor for at least 2-3 weeks. Itll help things settle and flavors will round out a bit.

What was your SG? That along with your FG will tell you the alcohol content.

Have the yeast even dropped out yet? Mine usually stick around for a month or two...then they start dropping and it's crystal clear in a matter of hours.

Time is your friend. Unless you need the space, no extra cost to letting it sit for 3, 6, 12 months and seeing what happens.

DWavs said:

What was your SG?

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Probably the most significant question posed on this thread yet

It was 1.049. I had 1 cup of dried currants also in the primary.

I've never had a SG that low - I'm usually in the 1.060-1.075ish range. I believe your yeast still has a lot of life left in it. Adding additional fermentable sweeteners, bottling & pasteurizing after 4-5 days will probably produce a tasty cider in a couple of months. Whatever you do, don't dump it.

Edit: Changed order.

Personally, I think the most damage you did was to add grape juice. I mean, if you don't care what it turns out as, grape juice is fine. However, if you had a preconceived notion of what your cider was to taste like...you just ruined it.

The problem most people make, with regard to cider, is that they don't have patience...cider and patience go together like Republicans and homophobia.

If your OG was 1.049 and is now 0.999 then you definitely have alcohol. That part is clear. In regard to it being a low SG, I disagree, many good ciders don't exceed 5% ABV.

As for the flavour. What was your recipe? Were you using pure apple juice? The grape juice will alter the flavour, but you might like it, who knows. The best thing to do is rack it to a secondary and leave it to finish fermenting the sugars in the grape juice and start clearing. Flavours will start to come out in the cider after a few months.

Dicky

johnsnownw said:

The problem most people make, with regard to cider, is that they don't have patience...cider and patience go together like Republicans and homophobia.

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Hahahaha! Ain't that the truth!

Not gonna touch it!

1 gallon apple juice
3/4 cup dried currants (zante grapes)
Lalvin 212
1tsp nutrient
1/2 tsp energizer
Steeped currants in 1 cup water @ 195-204 for 10 minutes, cooled and dumped into carboy.
Had first bubbling within an hour.

Why I added grape juice into secondary lord only knows! New to making cider and it was just sitting there taunting me I guess.

So I did a new 3 gallon cider yesterday.

2 1/2 gallons of cider from 3 different sources.
32 ounces of tart cherry juice
Wyeast 3068
2 tsp nutrient 1/2 tsp energizer
Yes and shaken like hell was on my doorstep. Before yeast! @72 degrees when pitched and 1.050 sg

Sound right? How long should or could this stay in primary? Thanks for all your input.

One thing to keep in mind that cider will finish under 1.000, which tastes tart. The "apply" flavor will come back. I think some of the best ciders are a lower OG cider anyway- and start with simply good cider that has yeast added to it. Anything that is even tarter (concord grape juice or cherry juice) takes away from the cider and makes it tart and biting. Fermented cherry juice usually tastes like cough syrup for a long long time.

Anyway, patience is key.

Leave it in primary until fermentation slows down/stops, and then rack to secondary and top up. Leave it alone until it's clear. Rack if if the lees get really thick after about 60 days.

JohnnyBeerbottles said:

Why I added grape juice into secondary lord only knows! New to making cider and it was just sitting there taunting me I guess.

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Not a mistake. An experiment. That's the joy of homebrewing. If it doesn't work out, you're out a few bucks and try something else. I am 100% for giving into the taunting

Thanks guys, this exactly why we are all here.