1st Batch Question

A few weeks ago I put down my first batch of cider (before I found this forum), as follows:

5 gallons Mussleman's apple cider
5.5 pounds brown sugar
pectic enzyme
yeast energiser
redstar cuvee yeast

Fermented it out till the air lock pretty much quit bubbling, and then racked it to another carboy which I then put in the fridge for a week. After that I racked it back into the (cleaned) originial carboy. What I have now is a dark amber colored cider that is clear, not hazy or cloudy at all, and clearly, from the taste, has a high alcohol content. The problem is the taste. The cider has an incredibly yeasty taste to it. I've read that what I've created probably needs a few months aging to actually taste good, but I wanted to know if this yeasty taste is what works itself out over the aging process, or if perhaps I have a different problem and need to do something else, or pitch this batch and start anew.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

The high alcohol is from adding sugar. You don't need to add sugar, or if you want to, maybe try only 2 lbs. More sugar = more alcohol = less cider flavor.

did you take a hydrometer reading, or only rely on the airlock to tell you when it was done?

I'll admit - I'm confused about the yeast flavor. My first couple of batches were on Cuvee, and I didn't have that problem. What temp was it ferementing at, and how long did it take?

I didn't take a gravity reading when I started, and it fermented for about a week and a half. The temperature probably varied, say from 63-68 degrees.

Maybe not done fermenting? Could be a lot of yeast still in the cider due to amount of sugar content.

I'm not sure you should be worried that a brew you made and are sampling way before it's ready, doesn't taste ready. Obviously if it's infected then that's a concern but if you put yeast in it and after not nearly enough time, it tastes a bit yeasty, then I'd try waiting a bit longer. Cider often needs a bit of time and age on it to come into its own.

Unkess a brew is infected there's no point chucking it. Even if it's not perfect drinking it as it ages and working out how and why is the best way to make the next one more so.

I would guess (please note the word guess) that it is either far too early to tell or that you stressed the yeast somehow - maybe underpitching (all that sugar plus the juice may have needed more than you gave it)? Anyway best to bottle or keg it when the gravity is good and stable and forget about it for a while. If in the expected timeframe it is still no good - that's when you start wondering where you went wrong.

that is a real short time for fermenting a cider with that much sugar. Did you rack to a secondary? If not I would rack and let it sit in the corner for at least a month if not more. Also take a gravity reading when you transfer or if transfered all ready then thief a sample to check. then post the results.

I think my cider with 5 gallons to 5 lbs dark sugar is 1.090 range. (I am at work and can not look at my notes.)

you might want to consider pitching some yeast nutrient into the secondary to give the yeast a helping hand.

We could be of more help if we new what the current gravity reading is right now. This was my first season making hard cider from fresh pressed apples. All of mine fermented in the 0.996 area, which is normal, and creates a very dry hard cider.

So if you could tell us the current SG, we would all know where your batch is at in the fermentation.

Went out today and bought a hydrometer. The cider seems to be at 0.999 FG. I don't think it's infested with anything, just yeasty tasting. Sounds like aging is the thing to do.

If you're reading .999 then that means it's pretty much dried out. You could also try backsweetening it with some wine conditioner or some other non-fermentables. It sounds though like you just put too much sugar in there, and thats why it's so alcoholy.

The thing is, alcoholy tasting isn't the problem. Alcohol = good. Yeasty tasting is the problem.

Just bottle it and forget about it for a month or so. It just needs to rest. Try a bottle in a month or so. Next time try another type of yeast. I have had good luck with champagne yeast.

I'd give the opposite advice- don't bottle it. Keep it at room temperature at least a month, to allow it to finish up. With that yeast, it could finish as low as .990. Once it's completely done, and clear, the yeasty taste should fade and it'll be ready to bottle.

So now I'm really confused. A couple of weeks after putting down my first batch, I tried my second as follows.

5 gallons of Simply Apple apple juice
3.5 pounds of white sugar
Nottingham yeast
OG 1.063

This second batch took significantly longer to start bubbling and has never bubble as furiously as the first, but seemed to hit its stride and bubbled steadily away. Intending to rack and cold crash this batch around 1.010, I took a test sample today and it came out at 1.030. The interesting thing was that when I tasted the sample, while there was some hint of a yeast taste, it was barely noticeable, as opposed to overwhelming, even though it has not yet been racked or crashed! I would have rated it as drinkable now (lots of apple flavor), though a little too sweet for my taste. Is it possible my taste buds are just uber-sensitive to the cuvee yeast, and that's my problem? Otherwise, I'm confused!

1.030 is super sweet still, but some of the yeast could be settling out. Don't worry about it, it should keep going. And yes, different yeasts act differently on the airlock.

Yeah, I know the new batch isn't ready and I'll let it keep on chugging, but I was just amazed a batch with the yeast still in suspension would have such a slight yeast taste, and my first batch, racked off the yeast and cold crashed would still have such a strong yeast taste.

And everybody, in case I forget to mention it later, thanks for all the help!

Yeah you'll notice that in cider, beer, or any homebrew. The yeast just needs to come out of suspension and flocculate. Rest assured the yeast flavor will probably go away first, then any sulfur taste produced, then alcohol burn (the order I've noticed at least). Time heals all