Making hard cider

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ezbonzo01

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I have attempted some various fruit wines in the past with good results. That being said, i have yet. To make a batch of cider. It is out of season right now so fresh juice is out of the question. I plan to use a 100% from concentrate juice, but am having difficulty finding anything unpasteurized. is the pasteurization going to interfere with fermentation?
 
pasteurized just means that one way or another all the micro organisms in the juice have been killed. Pasteurized juice is a great place to start.
 
Thanx, game on! I did find a organic juice that claims to be 100% juice. My thought was to caramelize a pound or so of sugar and add it. I was hoping for a Sg of around 1.100 or so... Any thoughts?
 
that all depends on the type of yeast you plan on using, champagne yeast will take it down to dry and you will end up with 13-15% abv, if you use an ale or cider yeast then not likely as high
 
well I thought Lalvin EC-1118, or red Star champagne yeast> I know both very different. But I cant make up my mind. Im not sure If I want a dry cider? never had it before??? But even in the end couldnt I add some sugar before bottling to get it sweeter and force carbonation? with the champagne yeast???
 
You can add before bottling like you said, but it can wind up fermenting out the sugar in the bottle and then you will still have a dry cider. I've found that juice concentrate produces off flavors when I add sugar before bottling. It goes away with time. I get solid results with a wheat beer yeast, which finishes slightly sweeter. That with an organic juice has been amazing.
 
Or you can stick with the concentrated juice and champagne yeast. If the cider is too dry while drinking, just add a teaspoon or so of sugar to your pint before drinking.
 
You can add before bottling like you said, but it can wind up fermenting out the sugar in the bottle and then you will still have a dry cider.

If it is fermenting all the sugar out in the bottle you are not back-sweetening you are priming. Most people who back sweeten raise the SG at least .015 and it only takes .002 to get good co2 levels. If it ferments out more sugar than that than bottle bombs can result which is why a carbonated, back-sweetened cider should be pasteurized when the desired co2 level has been reached.


Or you can stick with the concentrated juice and champagne yeast. If the cider is too dry while drinking, just add a teaspoon or so of sugar to your pint before drinking.

It has been my experience that unless you are planning to age it at least 6 months, adding sugar alone to sweeten the cider is a bad idea. Instead of a full bodied sweet cider you taste dry cider and sugar, two unmarried and distinct flavors. Not only will adding sugar by the glass create this result but if the cider is carbonated the act of adding the sugar will also cause much of the co2 to leave the cider so you end up with flat cider at which point you could have stabilized, back-sweetened, bottled and aged for a similar yet superior result. IMHO
 
Okay, so in order to prepare for bottling, i should check SG, then add sugar to increase the SG, .002. Then pasteurize... Using heat? Pr refrigeration???
 
.002 is not going to make that much of a flavor difference. Assuming you are bottling a sweet cider, yes bottle than heat pasteurize once the desired co2 has been reached. cold will not pasteurize. all it does is slow the yeast activity.
 
Daze said:
It has been my experience that unless you are planning to age it at least 6 months, adding sugar alone to sweeten the cider is a bad idea. Instead of a full bodied sweet cider you taste dry cider and sugar, two unmarried and distinct flavors. Not only will adding sugar by the glass create this result but if the cider is carbonated the act of adding the sugar will also cause much of the co2 to leave the cider so you end up with flat cider at which point you could have stabilized, back-sweetened, bottled and aged for a similar yet superior result. IMHO

I agree with daze about the dry cider and sugar flavors not working out well. But, you can use maple syrup, the real stuff, and it actually turns out pretty good. I think part of the difference is that the liquid doesn't require as much stirring, and therefore doesn't release as much carbonation as table sugar would.

I encourage you to try your cider dry at some point. It can be so refreshing that on a hot summer morning you might not want to reach for orange juice!
 
Okay, so i've finally gotten started with my cider batch. OG was 1.058. I added 2 cups of Dextrose, and 2 lbs of light brown sugar. I used Safale S-05 dry ale yeast. I started the batch Friday night. No signs of fermentation in the airlock after 48 hours. The temp is 64.8 degrees where it sits. After about 30 hours i have quite a bit of activity in the airlock, but the brew is only bubbling and dosnt have a setiment layer on top. I checked it again, and the airlock activity seems to have slowed up a bit. I cant immagine it is nearing the end of the fermentation cycle already. Im wondering if i should add a yeast nutrient, or just leave it be. I have not shecked the SG since i started with the 1.058. Any thoughts? I haven't used this yeast strain before. This may just be the way it is supposed to react
 
Let it sit for a couple weeks then check SG. If it's still not down where you want it let it go another week or 2. The ale yeasts goes at a more leisurely pace compared to a wine or champagne yeast. Need to have a little more patience with the ale yeast but you will be rewarded in the end.
 
I checked it again this afternoon, she's starting to smell like its working in good shape. Airlock activity is still pretty good, though slow its still going
 
With cider you aren't going to get a big kreuzen like with beer. That big burst of action was probably your main fermentation. I'd still leave it a couple weeks to let the yeast work on the flavor.
 
My cider is not clear at all. Been bubbling away for 3 weeks. I have not transferred it to a secondary yet because its it isnt done bubbling yet. What are the chances of it turning to vinegar? This is my first attempt at hard cider fg was 1.060. I used safale 05. 3 weeks in primary still going
 
In my experience, cider doesn't exactly 'stop' fermenting all at once. It very slowly peters out as FG is approached over the course of weeks. Racking to secondary helps end the process sooner to allow for clearing. Take an SG reading to see where you are. I typically rack around 1.006.
 
Okay, so in order to prepare for bottling, i should check SG, then add sugar to increase the SG, .002. Then pasteurize... Using heat? Pr refrigeration???

Standard rate for bottle priming is just shy of 3/4 cup sugar per 5 gallon batch.

If you are bottling dry cider (at least 3 readings the same under 1.000, I would space them a day or 2 apart) you don't need to do anything else.

If you are bottle conditioning a sweet cider you MUSTpasteurize (see the Pappers sticky on technique.)
 
I am a first time cider brewer, amature beer brewer, I know that when brewing beer you can add Irish moss for clarity of the brew. Can you do the same with cider? Will it ruin the product? Or is it more desirable as a cloudy product? Any help would be great!
 
I am a first time cider brewer, amature beer brewer, I know that when brewing beer you can add Irish moss for clarity of the brew. Can you do the same with cider? Will it ruin the product? Or is it more desirable as a cloudy product? Any help would be great!

I have produced some ciders that turn out a little hazy and some that are definitely clear and I think really what it comes down to is how it tastes. I haven't noticed a connection between clarity and taste. If something tastes awesome to me and it's a bit hazy, so be it. Really don't want to add anything else to make it clear. On the same note, I do understand that cloudiness can mean that there is still yeast activity. But if I racked something and let it cold crash and it's still not clear after sitting for a couple weeks...if it tastes good to me then I'm happy. Lately I've been brewing storebought juice with Nottingham or S-04 and not adding any sugar whatsoever (maybe some concentrate to get it close to 1.06) and they've been turning out very clear.
 
If i bottle after i wait till it reaches its end result cal it be stored bottled without risk of turning into vinegar? I have 12 gallons, 2 different types of cider. But now im worried that it will turn before we can enjoy it. I had planned on bottling in regular cork wine bottles and storing it in my basement until we were ready to grab a bottle.
 
I am a first time cider brewer, amature beer brewer, I know that when brewing beer you can add Irish moss for clarity of the brew. Can you do the same with cider? Will it ruin the product? Or is it more desirable as a cloudy product? Any help would be great!


Unless you are using fresh juice and you heat it, cider will always turn out clear. hazy cider is usually the result of pectin that has been set when fresh juice has been heated. Something a little pectic enzyme can easily fix when adding to the beginning of the must. Also keep in mind that in most cases if a cider is not clear (other than pectic haze) than that is a good indicator that there is still yeast in suspension which is making it cloudy and indicates an active ferment.
 
Thats awesome, after reading (alot) in this forum is was considerably worried about the acid levels, and the possibility of it turning on me. Absolutely i will sanitize and bottle. I think though after sampling "Angry Orchards" cider brand, i am going to go with a still cider as opposed to priming for a bottle carb. I like the smoothness of it, and it doesn't give me heartburn like woodchuck! On another note, would adding pectic enzyme before fermentation assist with clearing? And should i add campden tablets to produce the still cider that i am going for? Or that other stuff the sanitizing additive. I cant remember the name... (metabisufite) ???
 
Making cider is not much different than making a wine. Isn't Hard Cider is just low ABV apple wine?

Your risk of ending up with vinegar should only occur if you introduce oxygen during or after fermentation. The bug that makes vinegar and thrives on apples requires Oxygen to multiply.

The Acid in the apple juice will make fermentation slow to start; it helps if you make your starter a few days in advance with a small portion of your must (or something very close to your must). I have found that yeast nutrient helps.

Back sweeting can be done with wine conditioner (still only) or splenda without risk of secondary fermentation.

Irish Moss requires boiling so I would think it's use is limited with cider; maybe try gelatin if you think you need it.
 
I have 2 six gallon batches in primary stage. Its been about 6 weeks for both batches. My question is, i won't be able to rack into tje secondarys until tje weekend, which i assume is long overdue. Is the length in the primary going to effect the cider overall???
 

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