Hello all,
Firstly, disclaimer is that this is my very first batch and I am very much a noob in the brewing stages. The consuming I have not a problem!
I took an Instructable cider recipe, after a bit of looking around and googling
http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Brew-Hard-Cider-from-Scratch/?ALLSTEPS
And roughly followed it, increasing the apple volume and taking notes as I went
Long story short, my 20.5 kgs of apples yielded some 13.5 litres of raw juice, which I then pasteurised by heating to somewhere between boiling and simmering (not particularly fussed about cloudiness). My yeast starter matured for about 36 hrs ( 1/3 jar hot juice, cooled to warm, 2tsp yeast nutrient, 2 tsp dextrose and a packet of EC1118 champagne yeast). The last batch I pasteurised had a kg of dextrose added to it to dissolve. I ran the pasteurised juice through a square of muslin (boiled to sterilise) and into my Carboy, let cool to room temp and pitched the yeast starter in, stirred vigorously and sealed. It was bubbling away quite madly within 12 hours.
Basic recipe, indeed.
OG was at 1.100, which I checked every two days.
I'm thinking due to the Instructable using imperial measurements and myself being accustomed to metric, and my increasing the quantities, I added too much dex compared to the quantity of juice I had haha
One week later, the gravity has appeared to have dropped to 0.993, which to me seems rather low but expected due to dex being completely Fermentable and in excess. The chick at my LHBS suggested it as opposed to raw sugar, which would've been my first choice. Anyways,
Does the current Sg seem okay? It is rather dry, strong alcoholic taste, almost wine like. From my hydro sample I added a tsp of sugar and let sit, tastes a bit better, but not like I'm used to (strongbow clear being my go-to.
It hasn't been racked at all yet,
Any suggestions as how to proceed from here?
Would like to deactivate the yeast and bottle, possibly carbonate half the batch.
Also, I googled a calculator to find out the approx alcohol volume and it put it at 14% or thereabouts! which seems rather high haha
Just general thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated!
P.S, that half cup I sampled from my hydro reading has knocked me for a six, perhaps 14% sounds spot on!
Firstly, disclaimer is that this is my very first batch and I am very much a noob in the brewing stages. The consuming I have not a problem!
I took an Instructable cider recipe, after a bit of looking around and googling
http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Brew-Hard-Cider-from-Scratch/?ALLSTEPS
And roughly followed it, increasing the apple volume and taking notes as I went
Long story short, my 20.5 kgs of apples yielded some 13.5 litres of raw juice, which I then pasteurised by heating to somewhere between boiling and simmering (not particularly fussed about cloudiness). My yeast starter matured for about 36 hrs ( 1/3 jar hot juice, cooled to warm, 2tsp yeast nutrient, 2 tsp dextrose and a packet of EC1118 champagne yeast). The last batch I pasteurised had a kg of dextrose added to it to dissolve. I ran the pasteurised juice through a square of muslin (boiled to sterilise) and into my Carboy, let cool to room temp and pitched the yeast starter in, stirred vigorously and sealed. It was bubbling away quite madly within 12 hours.
Basic recipe, indeed.
OG was at 1.100, which I checked every two days.
I'm thinking due to the Instructable using imperial measurements and myself being accustomed to metric, and my increasing the quantities, I added too much dex compared to the quantity of juice I had haha
One week later, the gravity has appeared to have dropped to 0.993, which to me seems rather low but expected due to dex being completely Fermentable and in excess. The chick at my LHBS suggested it as opposed to raw sugar, which would've been my first choice. Anyways,
Does the current Sg seem okay? It is rather dry, strong alcoholic taste, almost wine like. From my hydro sample I added a tsp of sugar and let sit, tastes a bit better, but not like I'm used to (strongbow clear being my go-to.
It hasn't been racked at all yet,
Any suggestions as how to proceed from here?
Would like to deactivate the yeast and bottle, possibly carbonate half the batch.
Also, I googled a calculator to find out the approx alcohol volume and it put it at 14% or thereabouts! which seems rather high haha
Just general thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated!
P.S, that half cup I sampled from my hydro reading has knocked me for a six, perhaps 14% sounds spot on!
