first time

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Oct 9, 2015
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
My first time trying to make hard cider. Tried to do as much research as possible and I picked the farmers brain a bit at the orchard. So... I got 5 gallons unpasteurized, 2 lbs white sugar, 1/2 lb honey, 5 cinnamon sticks, and raisins. Started all that jazz in a 6 gallon carboy, sat there for 4 weeks. I just racked it over to a 5 gallon removing all the raisins and setiment, and I topped it off with some fresh unpasteurized and a lil grain alchohol, just because I'm an is it like that. The brew tate very winey, boozy, did not taste any ingredients or cider really. It did not taste at all like vinegar and I should add even thing that touched the brew was cleaned and steralized. My question is 1, is this normal to taste this way now in the fermentation process. 2, could I or did I ruin this whole project by adding and topping off?
 
I didn't add any yeast, the farmer at the orchard told me there's natural yeast in the skins and to just add sugar, raisins, and it'll ferment. Did I waste my time and ruin this by not adding yeast?
 
I didn't add any yeast, the farmer at the orchard told me there's natural yeast in the skins and to just add sugar, raisins, and it'll ferment. Did I waste my time and ruin this by not adding yeast?

Yes there are wild yeasts, and for more predictable and consistent outcomes is why we pasteurize and add yeast, not to mention that along with yeast there are bacteria floating around. Sorry to say, in all the research you did you missed that, or decided for some reason to go with a wild fermentation. Perhaps some more experienced members can come up with ideas to "fix" this.
 
Do you have a hydrometer? I'd be curious to know how far it has fermented on wild yeast.

But, if you had lees (sediment) and it tastes like alcohol, I think it's safe to assume it fermented. Adding sugar increased the alcohol level. And you added grain alcohol too? Why are you surprised that it tastes like booze?
 
The grain I added was only 8oz and I tasted the brew before I added that. I did read to add yeast and my fault I went by what the guy growing the apples and makes his own suggested. I am green as a cabbage to making my own and am trying to figure what and where I went wrong so I can try for a better result next year. Any and help and criticism is very much so appreciated thank you
 
Have you asked the farmer who gave you the original advice what to do with it now? Or at least brought him some to sample to see if that's what he typically makes?
 
The grain I added was only 8oz and I tasted the brew before I added that. I did read to add yeast and my fault I went by what the guy growing the apples and makes his own suggested. I am green as a cabbage to making my own and am trying to figure what and where I went wrong so I can try for a better result next year. Any and help and criticism is very much so appreciated thank you

You might have done nothing wrong. People have been making cider with wild yeast forever. We don't recommend it here, because the results can be unpredictable. I wouldn't have added PGA though.

Have you asked the farmer who gave you the original advice what to do with it now? Or at least brought him some to sample to see if that's what he typically makes?

I think that's a great idea.
 
Back
Top