HELP packet cidar is gross

[CCSA]

i bought a cidar kit from my local cidar place. we followed the directions. we rang the guy to ask about bottling it as the readings were lower then we were expecting and he said no thats what to expect from a cidar bottle away and now have had them sitting for 4-5 weeks .

so basically weve done as the packet said and done all the timeframes its said on the packet etc ... but my god is it yeasty .... WHY .. not like we made it from scratch we have followed instructions with the materials we had.

we did a ginger beer time before and that was the same ... followed instructions and YUK

also no where on the packet do the say make cidar today drink in 12 months old :'(


whats going on ?
thanks in advance

 

[CKuhns]

Could be any number of reasons but here are a couple of thoughts.
1 - Those kits typically do not have very good directions / instructions.
2 - I only did one once and decided never to try it again. Although it tasted OK it is much better to use other options.
3 - Did you clarify and rack off the yeast cake or allow to clear before bottling? (If not then you probably should have and have some suspended yeast and or sediment.)
4 - If you bottled and added priming sugar for carbonation you will get additional sediment while carbonating. That sediment is very yeasty tasting because it is yeast.

If in fact (3 or 4) then allow your bottles to settle and clear. The yeast will settle out at the bottom over time. Then be very careful when handling. "Don't disturb the turd." Very carefully open and decant the liquid by very slowly pouring into a glass just until you start to see a small amount of the settled yeast at the lip of the bottle. Stop and discard the remainder. You will lose an ounce or two but hopefully it will taste much better.

Just guessing but definately worth a shot!

 

[CCSA]

id say its a mixture of all those things. instructions hard to follow etc ... the place i bought it actually had it on tap when i bought the one i did and it was YUM.... i rang him for advice when to bottle it and he said go for it ... we have a set up now to doe the double vat thing before bottling ....

i think it was in there for a week before we bottled and its not been bottled for 4 weeks .. fairly clear but deff not so leaving it another month.... the bottle i opened was VERY carbonated and ended up with a huge head ... the one in the shop did too tho ??

we left a heap in the bottles with the ginger beer too to leave the sediment behind .... so no worries there..just annoying the yeast taste and also there is no mention on the kits that you have to wait months and months to drink them ... so will be making batches this winter in time for summer !!!!

thanks

 

[BeeDeeEff]

Though people often recommend aging time, it is not to deal with your yeast/clearing problem.

First question would be, how did you determine when you fermentation was done? Were you taking specific gravity readings or did you only wait the amount of time the directions told you to or wait until you stopped seeing bubbles come out of the air lock? It can take many times longer than any directions might state if the temperature it is working at is cooler than what is assumed in the directions.

After it was done fermenting, did you transfer it to a second container with a siphon leaving most of the yeast behind?

Then did you wait to let even more yeast settle out over another week or two? Then siphon it out a second time leaving behind even more yeast before you filled your bottling bucket?

 

[CKuhns]

See the sticky at the top of the forum by Yooper.

Lots of good advice in there.

I would suggest that hard cider can be drinkable in a month and in just a few weeks after bottling. Definitely ages well and gets better with time. Good cider does not take months. Great cider often does.

Read the Sticky!

Look for a PM - I have some thoughts and suggestions (that are much too long for a post) along with a recipe that has worked for me at least a dozen times, is pretty quick, very drinkable in just a month to six weeks and meets my needs.

 

[CCSA]

We were using the readings and i rang the guy at the shop asking him about the readings as over MANY days it didnt change so wasnt sure ... rang him and he said up good numbers bottle away ...bubbler had stopped readings had stopped we read up u can kick start the process but the guy said number was fine and to bottle.

No we didnt do 2nd container but now have one for any more we do in the future.
bottling bucket ??? hmm so a 3rd container .. might get a third one !!!

 

[CCSA]

See the sticky at the top of the forum by Yooper.

Lots of good advice in there.

I would suggest that hard cider can be drinkable in a month and in just a few weeks after bottling. Definitely ages well and gets better with time. Good cider does not take months. Great cider often does.

Read the Sticky!

Look for a PM - I have some thoughts and suggestions (that are much too long for a post) along with a recipe that has worked for me at least a dozen times, is pretty quick, very drinkable in just a month to six weeks and meets my needs.

Thanks will have a look

 

[CCSA]

Wondering tho... will what i have loose its yeasty taste or we just have to cut the losses on this one and drink it like it is ??

 

[BeeDeeEff]

Wondering tho... will what i have loose its yeasty taste or we just have to cut the losses on this one and drink it like it is ??

Unless you have a way to remove some of the yeast left in the bottles.

 

[k-moe]

Set it in the fridge so the yeast can drop to the bottom. Then siphon (or pour) off the cider, leaving the vast majority of the yeast behind.

 

[CCSA]

Set it in the fridge so the yeast can drop to the bottom. Then siphon (or pour) off the cider, leaving the vast majority of the yeast behind.

isnt the taste tho in the liquid itself ??? so sitting for a long time wont change anything ?? no matter how longi leave it itll still taste the same ??

 

[k-moe]

If you remove enough yeast the flavor will change. Have you ever had a Hefeweizen? The flavor changes a lot if the yeast is filtered from the beer. That one change might make a huge difference in your cider.

 

[CCSA]

has anyone else had this happen before ???
will leaving the bottles longer loose the yeast taste seeings as it in the bottles? or we just have to drink them as is ?

 

[Maylar]

It depends on what yeast was used in the kit. If you're lucky, it'll settle and pack on the bottom of the bottles and all you have to do is pour carefully when you serve and leave the sediment behind. But some yeasts are loose and will stir up when you tip the bottle.

 

[CCSA]

It depends on what yeast was used in the kit. If you're lucky, it'll settle and pack on the bottom of the bottles and all you have to do is pour carefully when you serve and leave the sediment behind. But some yeasts are loose and will stir up when you tip the bottle.

i beleive the kit came with the yeast as i only bought brewers sugar to go with it ... so it would be the kit yeast .... have learnt our lesson tho and will do triple filtering next time... this kit wasnt cheap