Recent content by smegger

That smell means the yeast is probably a little stressed. Either from lack of nutrients or some other unfavourable condition like temperature. Don't worry too much, that smell will dissipate and probably be gone by the time it is finished fermenting. Some people sometimes add a little yeast...

It depends on personal taste and to some degree, on its ABV. Most people suggest at least a few weeks, if not a few months, some people even manage to let theirs sit for years (not many can wait that long) but I'm not sure it'd generally benefit from ageing that long. Ciders get better with age...

I couldn't tell you for sure. I imagine it wouldn't be exactly the same. But some people can taste the sulfites and stuff used to stop a fermentation if that helps at all.

Dry is super easy. Adding sweetness is a little harder. Basically you'd sweeten to taste, add priming sugar as needed then pasteurise when its carbed enough. There is a great thread on pasteurising stickied on this forum. Check it out, pasteurising is probably the most complicated part, but...

As dr_al said, if you have a keg setup, it will be way easier to get the sweetness to a level you prefer and still carbonate. Otherwise the next easiest way would probably involve some combination of back sweetening, bottle carbing and pasteurisation. As for recipe, the caramel apple cider...

Keep it well sealed and clean/sanatize well before bottling/kegging and you shouldn't have to worry too much about acetobacteria or vinegar. Just keep air space to a minimum.

Well, it should hopefully be pretty clear by now. I'd highly recommend using a bottling bucket and a syphon. Mainly because if you move your fermentation vessel too much you will probably disturb the sediment. Once you got it all in the bottling bucket you can backsweeten and prime as you like...

Temperature would play a part in the speed of fermentation. As for it being sweet and alcoholic, there is a good chance that it may still be an active fermentation. Bubbles in the airlock are not an accurate indication of activity. I've had a few fermentations where they haven't bubbled for days...

If you have no other option for preservative free cider, I have heard of people making really big yeast starters for the fermentation. The preservatives don't "kill" the yeast as such, apparently they only inhibit their ability to reproduce. So perhaps a strong starter may get you on your way?

Yeah man, gotta relax and be a little patient. Not every thread gets an immediate response. And this hobby requires a fair bit of patience. I've used black rock before. It came out alrite. Its a reasonable kit for the price. If you got black rock, I assume you're in australia/nz? If so I doubt...

The general answer is no, try and find something without preservatives. It'll probably end up being more trouble than it is worth to successfully ferment it.

I'd say its more likely to do with too much sugar. If the yeast gets stressed out, that's often when it produces undesirable effects. Too much sugar could have allowed the yeast to produce more alcohol more quickly than it would have preferred. We don't talk about distilling here, but it is a...

I am not familiar with fourloco. But I assume it isn't a fermented drink. If so, wouldn't it be a lot easier and effective (and probably closer to the product he is attempting to replicate) to just buy a bottle of vodka or something and orange soda?

I wouldn't do it. The bottles may "melt" at 250 degrees, but that is probably the temperature that it will liquify. The plastic will start to soften long before it gets to melting point, and the pressure from the liquid inside the bottles will not help at all. Not to mention that the plastic...

"Best tasting" is very subjective. Some people like it sweet, semi sweet, dry, etc. I know I am personally not a fan of the very dry tasting ciders, but others live for the stuff. Check out the recipes page and some of the threads in this forum. There are a tonne of variations on the basic...