I am making my first Cider. It started out being a bit acetic however, it has not dropped in ph. I was ablw to start my brew at 1.065 and in four days it fermented to 1.000. I tasted it after these four days to get an idea of where it was at, and it tasted a bit sour. I am hoping that this is the taste of an imature cider with no sugar. I added four more pounds of sugar to keep the fermentation going after racking it of it's lees, and added some yeast nutrient. I am hoping that it is not turning to vinegar though. Should cider fermented for four days tast like this? What do you guys think? Any help would be great!
Question please
- Thread starter MrJinchao
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all of your basic "cider" recipes will usually finish to dryness, around 1.000 to .996 and tart. If you are looking for a sweeter/apple taste, you're going to need to backsweeten or cold crash your fermentation early. The alcohol burn will age out, but the tart/sour, dry taste and feel will not. That's just the way simple hard cider recipes are.
Good luck
Dan
Good luck
Dan
gratus fermentatio
Well-Known Member
Odds are that you're just tasting "young" cider. Let it age for about 6months & it will most likely be much better. If it's still not to your taste (and not turned to vinegar) you might try Brandon O's Graff recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/ Regards, GF.
vespa2t
Well-Known Member
If its got acetobacter, it wouldnt have a tiny vinegar taste, it would be way vinegar unless you caught it early.
Cold crashing is when your primary is done at the SG you pick (most crash at 1.010-1.020) and you rack out of the primary to get it off the yeast cake, put the secondary straight into the fridge to stop the ferementation (doesnt kill yeast). After it crashes for 1-2 days (in which it will clear) you then rack to a third container (or your primary) and bottle.
Cold crashing is when your primary is done at the SG you pick (most crash at 1.010-1.020) and you rack out of the primary to get it off the yeast cake, put the secondary straight into the fridge to stop the ferementation (doesnt kill yeast). After it crashes for 1-2 days (in which it will clear) you then rack to a third container (or your primary) and bottle.
This can be done with campden tables as well i belive that I have read. In my microbiology class though I learned that the yeast will actually hybernate though. Wouldn't it start again if left at a higher temp than 65 deg. F? Like I said, I am new. I have a ton of theory, and ideas of how things should work, but not a lot of experience on how it actually works, lol. Thanks for answering my question though! 
CvilleKevin
Well-Known Member
The idea behind cold crashing is that most yeast will flocculate at cold temps, so the yeast will be left behind when you rack. A lot of the yeast nutrients drop as well. The result is a stable, sweet cider - although you will need to use a keg to force carbonate if you want it to be sparkling.
You can do something similar with k-meta, followed by sorbate, but that will leave a discernible taste. Adding nutrients will make it more difficult to stop, regardless of whether you use cold crashing or chemicals.
You will get a lot more apple flavor if you stop the ferment before all the natural apple sugar is fermented out. That last bit between 1.005 and 1.000 is where a lot of the complex sugars that give the apple its taste get fermented out. Once you get to 1.000, you can make it sweeter by adding sugar, but you cant replace the original apple taste. See the sticky for more details on cold crashing, etc.
You can do something similar with k-meta, followed by sorbate, but that will leave a discernible taste. Adding nutrients will make it more difficult to stop, regardless of whether you use cold crashing or chemicals.
You will get a lot more apple flavor if you stop the ferment before all the natural apple sugar is fermented out. That last bit between 1.005 and 1.000 is where a lot of the complex sugars that give the apple its taste get fermented out. Once you get to 1.000, you can make it sweeter by adding sugar, but you cant replace the original apple taste. See the sticky for more details on cold crashing, etc.
