Thoughts on my recipe?

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MBM30075

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Let me start by saying that if this batch crashes and burns, I don't care. I was screwing around and had fun, and if it works out, it's simply a bonus. So, please, don't tell me what an idiot I am or anything. I just want predictions on how the final product will be. This is a test batch, one for learning more about brewing.

So, anyway, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
**********************
1 gallon store-bought apple juice (water, apple juice concentrate, vit. c)
1 can "natural" blueberries (in light syrup)
1 can "natural" blackberries (in light syrup)
1 can "natural" raspberries (in light syrup)
yeast energizer (1 tsp)
pectin enzyme (1/2 tsp)
Lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast

Procedure:
**********************
I added the fruit to my primary and used a sanitized potato masher to "puree" the fruit by hand. I've heard to food processors can be too violent, so I spent about 2 minutes gently but firmly crushing the fruit. It was a fairly fine puree, but I didn't absolutely demolish the fruit. I then added the apple juice and stirred to mix. Then I added the chemicals (energizer and enzyme). Then I stirred the crap out of the whole must (?) with a whisk to get oxygen into solution. Next I added the re-hydrated yeast.

OG reading (taken just before yeast addition) was 1.060 @ 72F, 1.061 adjusted.

I've currently got the batch fermenting in a sanitized stainless steel pot with a sanitized brew filter (with the elastic band) placed over the top. I've heard you can do this during the first week or so of primary, since there's so much CO2 being released. I plan to rack to a 1 gallon glass jug after a week and install an airlock.

I'm going for a fruity/berry-y cider. Anybody have thoughts on what I'll end up with? Also, I know the apple juice is very fermentable, but will the fruit sugars (and I'm assuming the corn syrup with the fruit) ferment down, too? Should I still expect about 1.000 or less for an FG?

Again, constructive criticism only, please!

Thanks!
 
I would say your FG will be less than 1.000. I think your O.G. actually seems a bit off though. That's a ton of sugar. I think it'll turn out good...it'll taste like a dry fruit juice basically.
 
Personally I like to add fruits after primary fermentation has slowed, as I find it drives off a lot of the aroma of the fruit.
I am also kind of chicken and would feel much better with an airlock air tight seal.
Otherwise I think it sounds really good, and I don't see why anyone here would give you grief over it.
Please let us know how it comes out.
 
Will do. Right now I'm still in the stage where it's "open" (with a filter over it) and I'm stirring it once (or twice) a day with a sanitized spoon. I can hear the CO2 "popping" the fruit out of the way, and when I stir it, a good bit of gas is released. Smell is good so far. Can't wait to rack to secondary and get a better look at this one. What color should I expect?
 
Sounds like you're going about it the right way. I'd expect it to be a dark bluish purple because of your blueberries and blackberries.
 
Does that disqualify it from the Fruit Cider category? I'm not going to enter this or anything, but I do like to at least TRY to stay within style guidelines. Do I have too much fruit for that?

Thanks!
 
@Suthrncomfrt,

After doing some more calculations, I think you're right about the OG. Based on other calculations I've done, it seems that it takes about 9.5g of sugar to raise SG by 1 point per gallon. The 3 cans of fruit had a sum total of 189 grams of sugar in them. This should account, then, for about 20 points of SG @ 1 gallon. I've measured this particular apple juice before at 1.048, so my OG should have been 1.068 or so. I did have some chunks of fruit in the container when I took my gravity reading. Could they have added buoyancy?

Thanks!
 
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