Also there were a few guys that mentioned Honey malt? What's the verdict? Did it provide the balance for the tart? Thanks.
cidah, my blending experiment continues. i made a real sweet caramel beer with some 60L and 120L and fermented it with nottingham at about 62 degrees for 8 days. then i warmed it up to 70 degrees for 3 days, and at the same time, i put my cider in the fridge at near freezing for those 3 days. then i warmed up the cider to 60 degrees and blended the two. now i just have to hope that wine yeast doesn't kick back up to take out my residual malty sweetness from the beer
Just bottled my first batch of Graf. It smelled and tasted extremely sour. No sweetness, no apple flavor, no malt flavor. I read a post somewhere near the middle of this massive thread where someone said that they had a similar problem, but after about a month of bottle conditioning, the graf turned out great.
I ended up with an FG of 1.010 after about a one month primary. I did notice that the flavor had imporved greatly over a taste test a couple weeks ago. Could the longer primary have caused the sourness? Anyone have any other suggestions as to a potential cause of the sourness, or (even better) a solution?
I forgot to take the OG with the apple juice in it because I'm an idiot.
Hey Powers, how goes it? Did you try any of this yet? How long are you planning to let it rest before you try?
I am about to bottle some dry cider for champagne purposes and I am trying to decide if I should mock your experiment with the leftover dry cider.
Thanks!
Yes, I did cool the wort down to mid 60's before dumping it in the fermenter and adding the cider and then pitching yeast. It looked like strong coffee before it went into the primary. I am probably just being paranoid, but I have never brewed anything but hard cider and mead before this, so I have no good comparison point. I just saw some pics of finished product ready to drink, and it is so light compared to what I have here. So, you say the DME give it its color? If so, makes sense the 100% amber DME would be darker, huh? Geesh, lots to learn here. But, at least, this stuff is ready to drink just after a few weeks. No 6-12 month aging like cider and mead. I like that. Thanks for your help.Mine was brownish during ferment etc. As it dropped out and cleared it turned into a beautiful amber. Did you cool the wort prior to adding to the cider?
I did use 50/50 amber/light DME - mine was tannish to brown - not dark brown. I suspect you will have a noice dark amber color unless your didn't cool the wort to ~70F prior to adding to your cider
I really appriciate your help and advice. I have not tried the newell woodchuck clone, but it sounds intriguing. I need to look it up. Hardest thing about making a good hard cider or mead is ... waiting. However, the alternative of drinking it young is not a good one. I tried one of my current batches last week as it was going into the secondary, and about gagged. I think turpintine would have a slightly better flavor than this mess. But, age seems to be the fix for any of these brews. Wonder how long most people age the Graff before drinking?I hear you on the cider - see my pics I have over 100 gallons working this season alone.
You used DME right? I have heard that LME can sometimes darken with age. It is possible that the same happens to DME over time. Was your malt extract fresh? As a rule though - the extract will determine the final color of your brew (pending specialty grain, etc additions - can't recall what you used for those)
I did brew an all LME amber extract clone (arrogant bastard) and the wort is a reddish, tan. So I think perhaps either your specialty grains or LME are contributiung to the color. Have no fear - It should be lighter than the current color when the sediment drops out.
I think either way it will taste good though!
If you are a cider maker, have you ever tried the newell wood chuck clone? I just did with some "ok" cider, I was really impressed (ok cider to great woodchuck tasting hooch). Kinda like cheating, but very tasty. I did that last night too - waiting on the carb results.
Reason I mention it is.... I think you could take a young cider and do the same (bring it to drinking status ahead of time). In my case the dry cider I used was 3 months old.
Wonder how long most people age the Graff before drinking?
I tried one of my current batches last week as it was going into the secondary, and about gagged. I think turpintine would have a slightly better flavor than this mess.
Haha - it is sooo true. Cider is absolute rat/camel piss on fire , until you give it some mellow time. The same for wines - like my dandelion one. I nearly dumped it. VERY glad I didn't.
I tried another last night 4 months after brewing, and I'm not really digging it. I was hoping for more malt, but I'll just keep the bottles and try them at various intervals.
.25 lb of 60L
I wouldn't mess with the torified wheat.
Steep that in .25 gallons of water.
then add .5 lbs of DME and boil for 5 mins, don't mess with the hops for a one gallon batch.
add all that in a one gallon fermenter with .75 gallons apple juice.
use the whole pack of nottingham. you may need a blow off.
Hi Buktwild,
Don't put the grain itself into the fermenter. Just the liquid created from steeping the grain. If you didn't use a grain bag to contain the grain during steeping, you'll need to strain it from the wort before adding wort to the fermenter. (Remember to sanitize the strainer.) Good luck.
Added a blow off tube to my fermenter a couple of hours ago. Its bubbling very, very well after 24 hours.
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