Hey all,
I've been making cider for about two years, and have recently run into a problem I can't figure out. I have cider that starts around 1.055 and ends around 1.01-1.008. I transfer it from primary to secondary after about a week, week and a half when the gravity is in the upper teens. It tastes great here! Then, I let it sit in secondary for another week or so as it gets closer to 1.01-1.008 and transfer it to bottles. Again, I taste it and love it! Then I leave it in bottles from anywhere from a week to a month or two and try it again and I hate the taste. It tastes almost chalky. At first the cider is nice, but then it leaves a bad chalky, biting / harsh taste around your mouth. Leaving you wanting to rub the taste off with your tongue. It is almost skunky. I do add a little priming sugar to some (1/4 tsp to a 16oz bottle) and none to some, but the taste is the same.
Here is the weird part. I clean all my bottles, siphons, carboys, hydrometers, etc. with PBW and then Star San (wash it out a little with boiling water). I am pretty confident everything is clean!
Here is what I think might be wrong:
1. The bottles are about a year or maybe a little more old (swing top), is that too old?
2. There is something in my siphon or bottle that just won't come out with cleaner...
3. Is it just the taste of carbonation with a higher gravity?
4. I have no idea!
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? I know some people swear by letting it go longer, but why would it taste great before being bottled and then bad afterwards if that was the case?
I've been making cider for about two years, and have recently run into a problem I can't figure out. I have cider that starts around 1.055 and ends around 1.01-1.008. I transfer it from primary to secondary after about a week, week and a half when the gravity is in the upper teens. It tastes great here! Then, I let it sit in secondary for another week or so as it gets closer to 1.01-1.008 and transfer it to bottles. Again, I taste it and love it! Then I leave it in bottles from anywhere from a week to a month or two and try it again and I hate the taste. It tastes almost chalky. At first the cider is nice, but then it leaves a bad chalky, biting / harsh taste around your mouth. Leaving you wanting to rub the taste off with your tongue. It is almost skunky. I do add a little priming sugar to some (1/4 tsp to a 16oz bottle) and none to some, but the taste is the same.
Here is the weird part. I clean all my bottles, siphons, carboys, hydrometers, etc. with PBW and then Star San (wash it out a little with boiling water). I am pretty confident everything is clean!
Here is what I think might be wrong:
1. The bottles are about a year or maybe a little more old (swing top), is that too old?
2. There is something in my siphon or bottle that just won't come out with cleaner...
3. Is it just the taste of carbonation with a higher gravity?
4. I have no idea!
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? I know some people swear by letting it go longer, but why would it taste great before being bottled and then bad afterwards if that was the case?