Recent content by Fern0022

Wow guys! The difference between fermenting fresh juice to a desired flavor, compared with backsweetning fully fermented store bought juice is night and day. Lalvin K1-1116 will be my choice moving forward. From start to finish, the aromas and taste given off by this yeast are amazing. Within...

Any experience using Lalvin K1-1116? I mostly stick to Red Star Champaign & Mangrove Jack M02

Alright, I’ve taken all your advice to heart boys. I found a guy at a local farmers market who presses his apples up in North Carolina and hauls about 300gal down to SoFlo to sell while visiting family. It’s damn good, but I have no idea what kind of apples it’s from. This could possibly be my...

What about unfiltered store bought juice? Would it make any difference?

I apologize for the confusion. I should have said “prime” and not “backsweeten” in my op. I prefer dry carbonated cider. I prime with the ajc to add fermentable sugar for bottle carbing along with the additional apple flavor.

I’ve been using McCustcheon’s apple cider, Market Pantry, Natures Nectar, and Mott’s.

I wish. I’m in South Florida, the nearest orchard is just too far for it to be economical. Why would the store bought juice cause tartness? Could it have something to do with acidity? I’ve never taken the ph before fermentation.

I was going to start yet another batch of cider today, but couldn’t find the motivation. Every cider I make turns out overly tart. The apple (and other fruits) flavors are there, but theyare hidden under this tart (almost berliner weisse) flavor. I’ve tried sweetening & mixing with apple juice...

Just finished bottling. The colors came through pretty well for frozen fruit. Can’t wait to try them out after they age for few months. Do you guys typically age your ciders? If so, do you bulk or bottle age? Thanks again for all the help! Cheers, -F

Wow guys… talk about a “teach a man to fish vs give him a fish” moment! Thank you for taking the time to educate an new brewer. I really learned a lot here. This is one of the many reasons I’m hooked on brewing. There’s always more to learn and figure out. Cheers!

So that I'm understanding correctly... I am assuming that the 'New OG' values are the SG of each mixture at the beginning of secondary fermentation... is this accurate? YES This leads to super high SG values for the juices - were they concentrates? No, the juice is from frozen packs of fruit...

I brewed 5gal of cider in a single carboy. Then I added fresh pressed fruit juice to five separate 1gal carboys and topped each of them off with the fermented cider. They all experienced a healthy secondary fermentation, have cleared beautifully, and taste great. But I have no idea how to...

Quick follow question on ABV when adding fruit juice to secondary. 5gal recipe and results… 5 gal Nature’s Nectar Apple Juice 1 packet Mangrove Jack Cider Yeast M02 5 tsp yeast nutrient 2.5 tsp pectic enzyme OG: 1.047 FG: 1.00 (~6.2% ABV) I added fresh pressed juice from each...

Any luck id’ing the equipment?

Thanks Deric!