Love
New Member
I've tried searching the forum but don't know how to word this, so I came up blank.
I'm in the process of brewing a batch of cider. This is my first (slightly more) serious attempt. The short version of it all is I've been trying to figure out the process from a few different sources, but just now stumbled across these forums. The process that I went with initially didn't mention anything about leaving it in a second racking for any period of time whereas others are adamant that it sit in there for a while.
So as of right now I fermented 2.5 gal of Trader Joe's Honey Crisp Cider with white labs cider yeast. It sat in a 3.5 gal carboy for about 20 days (well past the completion of fermentation, but didn't have the time). I racked the cider from the carboy to a bucket, added priming sugar/ water, and then bottled it. I bottled a bunch of testers: 2 of stock apple cider (then pasteurized) for a baseline when tasting, 2 still fermented cider, 10 sparkling plain cider, 2 honey added and 3 with mulling spices added (spices added to raw cider boiled, cooled, added to second rack then bottled)
I left the bottled cider for about four and a half days then tried it. Carbonation was good but flavor was a bit harsh (don't think the fiance would drink it). At that point I pasteurized all of them at 106 F for between 12 to 15 minutes.
So here's the real question.
What probable effect is the short second racking going to have on the cider? Will it just slow the aging/ mellowing process or did I screw this up entirely? It was just pasteurized on the November 2nd, with the intent of serving it at Christmas parties in late December. What are the odds this stuff is going to be palatable versus me either drinking it solo or dumping it?
Any advice would be appreciated and I wrote down everything I could think of while in process, so I can try to be more specific if that helps.
I'm in the process of brewing a batch of cider. This is my first (slightly more) serious attempt. The short version of it all is I've been trying to figure out the process from a few different sources, but just now stumbled across these forums. The process that I went with initially didn't mention anything about leaving it in a second racking for any period of time whereas others are adamant that it sit in there for a while.
So as of right now I fermented 2.5 gal of Trader Joe's Honey Crisp Cider with white labs cider yeast. It sat in a 3.5 gal carboy for about 20 days (well past the completion of fermentation, but didn't have the time). I racked the cider from the carboy to a bucket, added priming sugar/ water, and then bottled it. I bottled a bunch of testers: 2 of stock apple cider (then pasteurized) for a baseline when tasting, 2 still fermented cider, 10 sparkling plain cider, 2 honey added and 3 with mulling spices added (spices added to raw cider boiled, cooled, added to second rack then bottled)
I left the bottled cider for about four and a half days then tried it. Carbonation was good but flavor was a bit harsh (don't think the fiance would drink it). At that point I pasteurized all of them at 106 F for between 12 to 15 minutes.
So here's the real question.
What probable effect is the short second racking going to have on the cider? Will it just slow the aging/ mellowing process or did I screw this up entirely? It was just pasteurized on the November 2nd, with the intent of serving it at Christmas parties in late December. What are the odds this stuff is going to be palatable versus me either drinking it solo or dumping it?
Any advice would be appreciated and I wrote down everything I could think of while in process, so I can try to be more specific if that helps.
