adrock
Well-Known Member
Hey everybody, I'm brand new to the forum; decided to join because it seems like you folks really know your fermentation, and that's the kind of knowledge I'll need as I get more and more into this homebrewing thing.
I am currently making my first batch of cider, and I wanted to see if the recipe I'm using is destined for greatness, or garbageness (not a word, I know).
I'm using EdWort's Apfelwein recipe, but I've taken a few liberties with it (sorry EdWort). I used the best quality apple juice I could find; "Simply Apple." I added ~200g of lactose to the 5 gal batch, to attempt to sweeten it up a bit since the original recipe admittedly comes out dry. I needed the sweetener to be a non-fermentable because I want to carbonate it, and have to do that with the yeast due to my lack of kegging equipment. My question is will this amount of lactose be enough (or too much?), and will any of the flavors of the cider be thrown off by adding it?
I also used a cider yeast smack-pack as opposed to the montrachet wine yeast......I thought that might help to produce a cider with more apple tones.
Opinions? Don't be gentle; I can take a good slam if it's in order. Particularly if I've potentially messed up a perfectly good recipe.
I am currently making my first batch of cider, and I wanted to see if the recipe I'm using is destined for greatness, or garbageness (not a word, I know).
I'm using EdWort's Apfelwein recipe, but I've taken a few liberties with it (sorry EdWort). I used the best quality apple juice I could find; "Simply Apple." I added ~200g of lactose to the 5 gal batch, to attempt to sweeten it up a bit since the original recipe admittedly comes out dry. I needed the sweetener to be a non-fermentable because I want to carbonate it, and have to do that with the yeast due to my lack of kegging equipment. My question is will this amount of lactose be enough (or too much?), and will any of the flavors of the cider be thrown off by adding it?
I also used a cider yeast smack-pack as opposed to the montrachet wine yeast......I thought that might help to produce a cider with more apple tones.
Opinions? Don't be gentle; I can take a good slam if it's in order. Particularly if I've potentially messed up a perfectly good recipe.