Recent content by smythe012

I'm thinking of doing the same thing except using real maple syrup to back sweeten. You can lose a lot of flavor from the sugars consumed during fermentation. I'm going to try a test batch in the next month, I'll post a report if I can remember.

What did you think of the Wyeast 4766 cider yeast? I haven't read a lot as far as positive reviews.

In the process of making Upstate Mike's Carmel Apple cider, I racked to my secondary and topped off with more Apple juice. I ended up putting almost an entire gallon of new apple juice back into the carboy (I only put about 4.5 gallons in to begin with). That was four days ago and I have had...

You're about five days in front of me. I'm planning on doing the exact same thing next week. Sorry I can't add input beforehand but let me know how it goes!

I was going to suggest what I'm planning on doing for my first Carmel apple batch. I'm going to put the Carmel mixture in a double boiler and add a few of the cans of AJC to thin it out. That way I'm not actually boiling the Carmel and everything that goes in the double boiler goes directly...

I was going to use wine tannins instead of the english tea; thoughts on dosage for a 5 gallon batch?

I just finished up my first batch of cider, and while I'm a big fan (suprisingly drinkable!) I was hoping for a bit more tartness. I used the typical ingredients (juice, nutrients, yeast, concentrate to carb/backsweeten) with the hope that carbing it up would brighten it up a bit. I'm still...

I just bottled my first batch of cider this last Saturday. I'm going with the "plastic bottle tester" route as well but due to paranoia and impatience, I popped open a bottle last night to check. It was a little low on carbonation, but then again I was going to a dry sparkling cider, so I'm...

Do you typically put the peaches in the primary or secondary? I've read on here that if you put them in the primary, the yeast will strip more of the flavor out.

I'm assuming that your second "strawberry batch" started fermenting again once you added the fruit right? I'm thinking of doing the exact same thing with peaches, but shouldn't I start at a lower OG than if I weren't adding fruit in the secondary? Hopefully that makes sense.

Was there much of a change in sweetness from when you back sweetened with the concentrate to when you opened a carbonated bottle? Looks awesome by the way, congrats!

Just wondering, how much concentrate are you planning on using for the batch? I'm in the process of making my first two batches and the original plan had been to ferment to complete dryness, then back sweeten with xylitol and carbonate with individual doses (per bottle) of dextrose. I should...

Updates: Needed to make revisions to the batches once I started adding all the ingredients: Batch A: I added 2 cans (24 oz) of Old Orchard Apple Juice concentrate instead of the 9 oz. in order to get the OG up to 1.054. I ended up only adding 1 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient. I read a few...

Tagged for answers. I'm starting my first batch tomorrow morning with the same type of cider in mind. The plan was to ferment to completely dry, then prime with corn sugar and back sweeten with xylitol.

Howdy all, I’m getting ready to try my first two batches of cider, and I figured I would post the two concepts on here with as much detail as possible to see if you all could help check my homework. I’m working with (2) 3 gallon batches, so here goes: Batch A: 3 gallons 100% Unfiltered...