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tulsabrewdaddy said:
Bottled the 1/2 cranberry 1/2 apple juice version of this I made April 17th today. Crystal clear, smelled amazing, and my SWMBO "accidentally" poured out my taster glass I had cooling in the fridge....

As in she accidentally poured it into her mouth or the sink?
 
Bottled and kegged 2.5 gallons three weeks ago, and it's all gone already. Went well at the block party!
 
ChrisTags said:
Bottled and kegged 2.5 gallons three weeks ago, and it's all gone already. Went well at the block party!

I need to get a house do I can get a kegging kit.
 
Want to bring some notes from my process to the forum. Rhino farts! I had my first two batches give off strong sulpher type smells for a week or so about 5 days after pitching per instructions from OP.

I deviated on my 3rd batch by rehydrating the yeast first. and not only did I have a super start on fermentation, I also got zero Rhino Farts! my basement does not smell like egg death. I will rehydrate prior to pitching dry yeast from now on. Why not? takes 30 extra min. and If you are confident in your sanitization you will have only positives to gain.
 
If corn sugar is not available. How much brown sugar do you use for five gallons? If you use cane sugar how much of it would you use for five? Thanks Mike
 
generally, in cooking at least, sugar volume == packed brown sugar volume.

Well, we're measuring by weight here.

I used 2 pounds of brown sugar, as I hear many have.

If you wanted to be certain of the same volume of alcohol, I think you'd use slightly more brown sugar, maybe slightly more white sugar. white sugar is glucose+fructose bonded, and I'm not sure how 1 sucrose compares to 2 dextrose in terms of alcohol production.

I'm betting it doesn't matter a whole lot, though.

fwiw brown sugar is white sugar + cane molasses. Unscrupulous low-quality brown sugar is granulated beet sugar with cane molasses added. Thus, some of that weight is water weight. High quality brown sugar is spun out of a centrifuge and thus consists of long needly crystals of sucrose coated in molasses, which is required for proper texture in some baked goods, if you're not a schlub anyway, but that difference shouldn't matter much in cider.
 
Someone a on page 1006 mentioned using 1 # Brown sugar + 3lbs honey, so i gave that a try for mine. Something tells me though im going to have to sample it carefully with that much sugar it could dry out a ton, or my champagne yeast will just die off from the alcohol content being the more likely ending...which hopefully will end in a sweeter taste? Who knows.
 
Someone a on page 1006 mentioned using 1 # Brown sugar + 3lbs honey, so i gave that a try for mine. Something tells me though im going to have to sample it carefully with that much sugar it could dry out a ton, or my champagne yeast will just die off from the alcohol content being the more likely ending...which hopefully will end in a sweeter taste? Who knows.

Without doing the math properly... if that's a 5gallon batch, with 4lb's of additional sugars, you're most likely going to end up at ~11-13% ABV... that's well within the range of most champagne yeasts, I'd think.
 
Someone a on page 1006 mentioned using 1 # Brown sugar + 3lbs honey, so i gave that a try for mine. Something tells me though im going to have to sample it carefully with that much sugar it could dry out a ton, or my champagne yeast will just die off from the alcohol content being the more likely ending...which hopefully will end in a sweeter taste? Who knows.

That was probably me, honestly I did not even bother to check FG, so I can't comment on if the yeast made it through the fermentation...but the results were fantastic...
next time I'm thinking about molasses rather than the brown sugar.
 
Thanks I got two pounds brown sugar and a heaped cup of plain cane sugar going now in a five gallon run. Hope this works out okay.

I wonder about blueberry pancake syrup. Mike
 
Without doing the math properly... if that's a 5gallon batch, with 4lb's of additional sugars, you're most likely going to end up at ~11-13% ABV... that's well within the range of most champagne yeasts, I'd think.

Honey is 16-19% water, and probably 1% or 2% non-fermentable solids. By weight.

Oh, and the glycemic profile of honey is almost exactly the same as HFCS55. The More You Know!
 
That was probably me, honestly I did not even bother to check FG, so I can't comment on if the yeast made it through the fermentation...but the results were fantastic...
next time I'm thinking about molasses rather than the brown sugar.

Hope so, you did it with only 4 gallons, i did a 5 gallon(or as much of the 5th gallon i could get in)...3 of tree top, and 2 of some Cranberry/Rasberry blend they had at costco...it has Apple/Cranberry/Rasberry/Grape(i think in that order) concentrate....hoping it comes out good!
 
OK, so I started a batch a while ago, left it for a month, then accidentally added another pound of sugar to it (yes, accidental). Left that to ferment in the original month long primary for another month, then racked to secondary. It's been there for about 3-4 weeks and is now finally really clear. There is not much trub in the bottom of the secondary, but there is some. Am I ok to bottle this in wine bottles thinking all of the yeast are left behind by now? I imagine siphoning from the secondary to bottling bucket would leave all the yeast on the bottom of the secondary?

Or will there be enough yeast in suspension to cause me issues with wine bottles? I have no plans for carbing and am keeping it dry with no backsweetning.
 
jeepinjeepin said:
Yeah, but one of the tall dorm fridges will fit at least one keg. You have room for that?

No room for a fridge.
 
OK, so I started a batch a while ago, left it for a month, then accidentally added another pound of sugar to it (yes, accidental). Left that to ferment in the original month long primary for another month, then racked to secondary. It's been there for about 3-4 weeks and is now finally really clear. There is not much trub in the bottom of the secondary, but there is some. Am I ok to bottle this in wine bottles thinking all of the yeast are left behind by now? I imagine siphoning from the secondary to bottling bucket would leave all the yeast on the bottom of the secondary?

Or will there be enough yeast in suspension to cause me issues with wine bottles? I have no plans for carbing and am keeping it dry with no backsweetning.

I made two batches on 6/21 and 6/22 using the original recipe with D47 yeast. I did not rack to a secondary at all. I bottled Sunday and Monday. Both batches cleared and D47 floculated nicely. Siphoning will help clear out more yeast. I don't see any issues bottling now. Even if you did have some yeast in suspension, it would drop during bottle storage.
 
OK, so I started a batch a while ago, left it for a month, then accidentally added another pound of sugar to it (yes, accidental). Left that to ferment in the original month long primary for another month, then racked to secondary. It's been there for about 3-4 weeks and is now finally really clear. There is not much trub in the bottom of the secondary, but there is some. Am I ok to bottle this in wine bottles thinking all of the yeast are left behind by now? I imagine siphoning from the secondary to bottling bucket would leave all the yeast on the bottom of the secondary?

Or will there be enough yeast in suspension to cause me issues with wine bottles? I have no plans for carbing and am keeping it dry with no backsweetning.

Yes you are ok to bottle in wine bottles if it is finished, but how do you accidentally add a pound of sugar after it is done fermenting?
 
Yes you are ok to bottle in wine bottles if it is finished, but how do you accidentally add a pound of sugar after it is done fermenting?
err, swmbo, enough said???

I had a pound measured out for a smaller batch for her since I was gonna rack to my bottling bocket and bottle, then clean/sanitize primary and make hers. I was 4-tasking it (not a good idea) making lunch, 2 small batches and gonna bottle. Had swmbo helping me and mistook add the sugar to this new batch to add the sugar to the batch I just popped the lid/airlock off. Oh well, higher abv here I come :mug: :drunk: :rockin:
 
err, swmbo, enough said???

I had a pound measured out for a smaller batch for her since I was gonna rack to my bottling bocket and bottle, then clean/sanitize primary and make hers. I was 4-tasking it (not a good idea) making lunch, 2 small batches and gonna bottle. Had swmbo helping me and mistook add the sugar to this new batch to add the sugar to the batch I just popped the lid/airlock off. Oh well, higher abv here I come :mug: :drunk: :rockin:

Of course....I understand the strategy.....blame her because she would never, ever read the post and be able to provide an accurate account of what really happened....no, no, don't need to provide any additional explanation....I've done it myself.
 
OK, so I started a batch a while ago, left it for a month, then accidentally added another pound of sugar to it (yes, accidental). Left that to ferment in the original month long primary for another month, then racked to secondary. It's been there for about 3-4 weeks and is now finally really clear. There is not much trub in the bottom of the secondary, but there is some. Am I ok to bottle this in wine bottles thinking all of the yeast are left behind by now? I imagine siphoning from the secondary to bottling bucket would leave all the yeast on the bottom of the secondary?

Or will there be enough yeast in suspension to cause me issues with wine bottles? I have no plans for carbing and am keeping it dry with no backsweetning.

Amount of trub/lees and amount of yeast in suspension are both secondary to the amount of digestible sugars remaining. The only way to be confident that bottling is safe is to take gravity readings with a hydrometer or refractometer and make sure that the gravity is no longer changing. That will ensure that either your sugars are all fermented or your yeast has pooped out - either way, your fermentation is done. Yeast in suspension can either be active or dormant/dead - some siply don't flocculate as much as others.
 
Thanks I got two pounds brown sugar and a heaped cup of plain cane sugar going now in a five gallon run. Hope this works out okay.

I wonder about blueberry pancake syrup. Mike

Like anything else, check for preservatives first. Next, verify that it's a genuine blueberry syrup and not blueberry-flavored corn syrup. It may take some digging and a phone call or two to determine what is actually in the bottle and how it would alter fermentations...
 
Wonder what a touch of oak would do to this?

After 10+ batches with various juice/concentrate mixes and a couple with cinnamon-clove-etc. spices, I've been considering oaking. From what I can tell, the primary contribution would be in the tannins - from either oaks or from direct-add tannins - would be to help fill out the wine with a richer background fullness....would likely alter the flavor profile more towards a cider taste and away from a white-wine taste...
 
I think the oak would add a nice roundness to the wine. I just am ready to bottle a batch that is about 9 weeks old. Its crystal clear, and has a very nice taste and color. My questions. The wine is totally dry, is the method to bottle and sweeten basically: add sugar to sweeten, add priming sugar, bottle, check proper carbonation, then pasturize? Will this leave some residual sweetness in the bottle if it is timed correctly? Thanks.

John
 
I'm pretty noobish, but if you added lactose & priming sugar at bottling I think the yeast will eat the bottling sugar to carb but leave the lactose to sweeten... That way you can prob avoid pasteurizing. Someone with more knowledge/experience can confirm that tho!
 
I'm pretty noobish, but if you added lactose & priming sugar at bottling I think the yeast will eat the bottling sugar to carb but leave the lactose to sweeten... That way you can prob avoid pasteurizing. Someone with more knowledge/experience can confirm that tho!

This, why pasturize to kill the yeast? Just use the amount of priming sugar you want, and use a non fermentable sugar like Stevia/Lactose to sweeten in your bottling bucket.
 
Well, I finally bottled my 4ish gallon batch tonight, 12 750ml bottles and 11 pounders. Had a 3/4 pounder left over to sample. I wasn't blown away, maybe I'm not used to the taste yet. But I also don't know what wine turning to vinegar tastes like and I hope that in 6 months to a year I don't get straight vinegar. A neighbor tried the sample and said it was bitter, but I thought it was just flat and dry since I'm not carbing or backsweeting...

I'm probably over thinking it, as I was good on keeping oxygen out (de-gassing c02 barely into the bottling bucket) and decent with sanitation (but not overdoing it, just had spray bottles to coat everything). Is this a time to rdwhahb?

P.S. After about 10ish ounces of my sample I could feel a slight buzz :tank:
 
FuzzeWuzze said:
This, why pasturize to kill the yeast? Just use the amount of priming sugar you want, and use a non fermentable sugar like Stevia/Lactose to sweeten in your bottling bucket.

There's a few reasons why people like to pasteurise rather than backsweeten.
Firstly some people are lactose intolerant or sensitive to the tastes of artificial sweeteners (they often get a nasty aftertaste).
Secondly, the natural sweetness from apples may just taste better to some people.
Thirdly, if you pasturise you kill the yeast and this obviously stops them from multiplying, potentially leading to less crap in the bottom of the bottle.
Lastly you can let the bottles carbonate to the exact level you want then pasteurise to stop it there (or pasteurise immediately if you want to ensure it doesn't carbonate at all).

There is probably a few other reasons for pasteurising but those are just the ones that immediately come to mind.
 
Hello everybody!
dr-nick1.jpg


I'm going to be fermenting a cider soon and I have a quick question(which is more of a reassurance). I'm going to be using a glass jug with a stopper and airlock as my primary fermenter and I plan on bottling into a similar cider jug. Here's the question part - if I ferment it in the original jug until it is clear and crispy, can I pour it into my storage jug and achieve an optimal still cider?

Thank you veddy much
 
Chuckabrewski said:
How long does this take to bottle condition?

The longer you wait, the better it is. I made my first batch 5 months ago carbing half of it, i started drinking them at month 2, I had the last carbed one tonight. It seems the longer you wait, the more apple you get and the smoother it gets. I'm saving the "still" bottles for as long as possible. My second batch has been bottled for 3 months, I plan on not touching the first one until 6 months.
 
allenH said:
The longer you wait, the better it is. I made my first batch 5 months ago carbing half of it, i started drinking them at month 2, I had the last carbed one tonight. It seems the longer you wait, the more apple you get and the smoother it gets. I'm saving the "still" bottles for as long as possible. My second batch has been bottled for 3 months, I plan on not touching the first one until 6 months.

This one had been bulk aging since march I just bottled it last weekend.
 
I just made a batch of this. I had a few ounces of apple juice left over when I thought that I shouldn't fill up the carboy anymore. So I heated it up and used it to rehydrate the yeast, poured all of it in and the carboy is now filled up to 2-3 inches from the top of the neck. hopefully it isn't too much, but good thing is i used all of the juice.
 
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