Recent content by lilschmutz

I used Nottingham Ale Yeast.. bottled thursday night. Opened one today to test and there was barely any carbonation at all. I'm going to wait another 4 or 5 days for it to carb then pasteurize.

Tried another batch with apple juice instead of cider. Sulfer smell. Bigtime. Any idea how to get rid of it? It's been 6 days in the fermenter..

So I guess the better question would be, is this smell/taste normal for the ingredients I've used and at this stage of fermentation? I'm hoping this gets better with time. Master cider makers out there- what would you do at this point? Ferment dry and backsweeten?

Recipe I threw together was.. 2 gallons motts apple juice 2 lbs caramelized brown sugar 2 cans apple/raspberry frozen concentrate Red Star Cote Des Blancs yeast OG = 1.070 This was totally an experiment to see how it would turn out, but now I'm under a time constraint so I need it done within...

Give the hydometer a good spin, like you would snap your fingers. That should do it. I'm going to start a new batch of this tonight. My first turned out great, but this time I'll be using Safale US-05 instead of Nottingham and apple juice instead of fresh cider. Should be interesting to see...

I'm no cider expert but I don't see why not, so long as you're going to be keeping them cold. The yeast is still very much alive at bottling time for this recipe so it will keep fermenting away inside those plastic jugs unless you keep it cold. If you're going to be drinking it within a few days...

How long do you let this sit after adding the honey?

Not warm, I guess, but room temperature. I noticed the cold ones lose a lot of carbonation and have a more dulled down flavor. I think I prefer drinking them at room temperature. Anyone else?

I went a full 36 hours waiting for them to carb. I definitely could have gone more. When I drink them cold, they lose a lot of the carbonation.

Thanks! Me and a friend designed it for my hard cider. Means "dirty" in German. Also a bit of an inside joke.. like how grandmas always say "ya got a little schmutz.." and use their thumb to wipe dirt off your face.

simple

Just started my own variation of this. 2 Gallons Motts Apple Juice 2 lbs brown sugar 2 cans Old Orchard Apple-Raspberry juice concentrate 1/2 gallon(ish) water to top off the 3 gallon carboy 4/5ths of a pack of Red Star Cote Des Blancs (it's what I had left) Started off by adding a...

OG was 1.068 and I bottled at about 1.036. I live in an old drafty house. The heat is set at 68 during the day, but in the corner of the kitchen where they are it's probably 60 or so. No priming sugar. Got home tonight and checked the carbonation. It's fairly fizzy after 24 hours. When I...

I ended up bottling last night at 9:30 or so. They're carbing up now. It's been 16 hours in the bottle and they're not carbed up enough for my taste. I wont be able to get to them until about 10pm tonight but I'm thinking that should be ok. Popped one to test and only heard a light fizz.

Second batch is just about down. OG was 1.068, I'm at 1.036 now after 6 days. ~4.2% ABV. Snagged a sample and hot damn is it tasty. Much better than my first attempt. The cinnamon is really coming through in this batch. Much "warmer" taste, less harsh. Definitely sweet, can't taste the alcohol...