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Just wanted to add a data point here: I've done two BIABs now with medium gas-heat applied directly to the kettle during mash. I lifted the bag partially out on the first batch for fear of scorching. The second batch I just stirred and left the bag in. Not only was there zero scorching on the...

I'll take one off your hands if any are still available.

Thanks, that helps. Last thing: your .4 gram/gal CaCl2 recommendation gives me 56.7 ppm chloride, almost 20 ppm over the water profile. Leaving aside the question of sulfate balance, is 56.7 a little high? Or is it negligible here? Oh, and "ceteris paribus"? Do you happen to have a...

Thanks to both Martin and Ajde for your very helpful comments and entertaining discussion/debate. The water report is indeed from the bottler, and I guess I won't dilute at all. My Maris Otter is from Fawcett, not sure what that profile is like. I will be mashing all grains together to keep...

Hi All, I'm doing a BIAB dry stout, standard bill: 62.5% Maris Otter, 25% flaked barley, 12.5% roasted barley. 4.3 gals of spring water with 1 gal of distilled, no sparge. This is my water addition plan so far, with questions below: Projected room temp pH is 5.5. 1. Basically...

Sugars mask acid, which comes out nicely after the sugar has been fermented. You are lucky to have found a juice source which is not too acidic. Mark my words, ferment it out to relative dryness and you'll taste the malic. I love the German Apfelwein too, but it's important to remember that...

Hey Phug, I did. From a previous post: - 5 gallons of water in a 7.5 gallon pot, - Water to 169 F - 10 355 ml bottles of cider (moderate carbonation) at room temp (74F) - In for 11 minutes According to my measurements, the cider reaches 149 F during the 11th minute, well below the boiling...

QuercusMax is absolutely right about store-bought juice. In particular, there are constant levels of nitrogen in grocery store juice. The more "natural" or "orchard-fresh" it is, the less predictable the fermentation will be (unless it's your orchard, of course). You can test acid in any...

If your liquid hits 150F, everything will completely die. 1 minute at this temperature gives you 7 PUs (pasteurization units), and with the warm-up and cool-down times, you can count on an extra 8 PUs. Commercial breweries/cideries (I am told) shoot for 15 PUs, so that temp is more than...

I do not find that aging a high-acid cider does much to it. I've had MLF drop a cider 15%, but that's it. I honestly don't know what people are talking about when they say that aging mellows cider significantly. I have a 2 year-old batch that doesn't taste any better. If you're working with...

I've been looking for ways to get better 'mouthfeel' for ages now, and depending on the kind of mouthfeel you're looking for, there may be no substitute for using juice from what are called 'true' cider apples. You can add complexity (raisins, lactose) and this will help to offset the pure...

Hi Cheyneco, This was exactly what my first experiences were like. Confused the hell out of me. Best thing I ever did was to buy a titrable acidity kit ($15). This allows you to measure the level of malic acid in the juice before and after you ferment it. The test takes 3 minutes and you...

Hey pug: good call on the pectinase. Two things: why sulfite beforehand ? Does this get you any added benefit? Second, 36 hours of maceration seems like a very long time. Do you get higher yields by letting the pulp sit this long?

Bob: would plastic work? Like, a simple old plastic bag or sheet with a hole in it?

Wvmj, since people have been making cider this way for 500 years, i wouldn't worry about the seeds, right?

I got just about 70% the other day as well. Kind of disappointing, was hoping for higher. Thanks for the tips on pressing!

Store-bought apple juice usually has a moderate amount of sugar and lots of malic acid. The sugar "balances" the acid on the palate so it is less noticeable. The simple story is that fermentation has removed the sugar and left the acid, hence the vinegary taste and smell. I remember being...

Not to disagree with the inestimable Frau Yooper, but according to Claude Jolicoeur (cider expert) racking does slow your fermentation. That's why he recommends, in his book, an "early racking" around 1.030 to slow the fermentation down. It's not clear that it will result in a higher FG...

Hey Rosen, I'm using US tsp. Don't really have the time to convert to grams, sorry! That said, there was no clear "winner". It was only in the 1 and 1.5-tsp/gal batches that the tannin made any serious difference, and again, it provided a very harsh "bite", not a soft tannic mouthfeel...

Hey Rosen, I'm using US tsp. Don't really have the time to convert to grams, sorry! That said, there was no clear "winner". It was only in the 1 and 1.5-tsp/gal batches that the tannin made any serious difference, and again, it provided a very harsh "bite", not a soft tannic mouthfeel...