I wanted to thank CvilleKevin for sharing the info in the mega-thread sticky. I'm treating that thread like the Holy Word.
I made my first 2 batches of cider this month. I've been a home-brew assistant a few times, but for the most part, this is my first go.
First batch has been on keg for the past week, second one will be racked & CC'd tonight.
Both are far from perfect (funny sour off-flavors, dryer FG than I planned on), but its good enough to drink instead of buying Sam Smiths or JK Scrumpy's, so in that regard, its been a success.
I did some weird things outlined below, comments welcome. For some reason I couldn't resist keeping it simple.
First Batch:
4 gallons local, fresh-pressed, unpasteurized juice
1 lb frozen raspberries
6 granny smith apples with skin, minced in food processor (don't ask me why - this was somewhat a disaster, as the apple bits floated and never settled)
honey to raise OG to 1.052 (somewhat arbitrary; I know 1.06X is recommended)
S04 yeast
Crashed at 1.000 (went from 1.012 to 1.000 in 48 hours, which surprised me).
Tasted sour and bitter (like fresh cranberries, not vinegar) after crashing, but greatly improved in 10 days. Very clear.
Second Batch:
4 gallons local, fresh-pressed, unpasteurized juice
1 lb frozen raspberries
Juice of 10 granny smiths, without skin (juiced in home juicer)
equal amounts honey, agave syrup, and raw sugar to raise OG to 1.061
S04 yeast
This had the same sour, bitter taste at 1.010, but tastes better now at 1.000. Crashing tonight.
I'm also doing 1 gallon of pasteurized juice to see if the funny flavors might be coming from the unpasteurized juice, raspberries, or granny smiths.
I haven't used campden tabs or anything like that; don't plan on it. I do plan to acquire a filter set-up that I will use to sterilize the cider after fermenting (for longer-term storage).
So my questions are:
1) I noticed (after doing my batches) that CvilleKevin adds raspberries shortly before cold-crashing rather than at the onset. Why is that?
2) Is there a reason that I couldn't use the filter set-up to pasteurize the juice I'm buying? I realize that this will remove a lot of solids that may be desirable; but I am aiming to make a Sam Smiths clone (a bit dryer), which is apparently filtered.
3) Any comments on my use of agave syrup?
thanks
I made my first 2 batches of cider this month. I've been a home-brew assistant a few times, but for the most part, this is my first go.
First batch has been on keg for the past week, second one will be racked & CC'd tonight.
Both are far from perfect (funny sour off-flavors, dryer FG than I planned on), but its good enough to drink instead of buying Sam Smiths or JK Scrumpy's, so in that regard, its been a success.
I did some weird things outlined below, comments welcome. For some reason I couldn't resist keeping it simple.
First Batch:
4 gallons local, fresh-pressed, unpasteurized juice
1 lb frozen raspberries
6 granny smith apples with skin, minced in food processor (don't ask me why - this was somewhat a disaster, as the apple bits floated and never settled)
honey to raise OG to 1.052 (somewhat arbitrary; I know 1.06X is recommended)
S04 yeast
Crashed at 1.000 (went from 1.012 to 1.000 in 48 hours, which surprised me).
Tasted sour and bitter (like fresh cranberries, not vinegar) after crashing, but greatly improved in 10 days. Very clear.
Second Batch:
4 gallons local, fresh-pressed, unpasteurized juice
1 lb frozen raspberries
Juice of 10 granny smiths, without skin (juiced in home juicer)
equal amounts honey, agave syrup, and raw sugar to raise OG to 1.061
S04 yeast
This had the same sour, bitter taste at 1.010, but tastes better now at 1.000. Crashing tonight.
I'm also doing 1 gallon of pasteurized juice to see if the funny flavors might be coming from the unpasteurized juice, raspberries, or granny smiths.
I haven't used campden tabs or anything like that; don't plan on it. I do plan to acquire a filter set-up that I will use to sterilize the cider after fermenting (for longer-term storage).
So my questions are:
1) I noticed (after doing my batches) that CvilleKevin adds raspberries shortly before cold-crashing rather than at the onset. Why is that?
2) Is there a reason that I couldn't use the filter set-up to pasteurize the juice I'm buying? I realize that this will remove a lot of solids that may be desirable; but I am aiming to make a Sam Smiths clone (a bit dryer), which is apparently filtered.
3) Any comments on my use of agave syrup?
thanks