1st Cider Tomorrow, A Few Questions

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

Long time all grain brewer here that is making cider for his wife. I do not drink cider so I will be relying upon here palate for direction. She likes Euro ciders over American ciders. Magners is probably her favorite with traditional Strongbow as well. Favors tart over sweet.

I will be making two gallon batches so we can experiment. I purchased some 100% juice from Target and am ready go tomorrow but have a few questions if you would be so kind:

1) Acid - I have some acid blend but am unsure when and how much to add. From reading some posts it looks like 1/2 - 1 teaspoon per gallon. Does this sound right if she wants a tart cider?

Also, when to add, primary or in the keg?

2) Yeast Nutrient. I purchased some but am unclear how much to use. My yeast will be Safcider.

3) Krausen - How much space do I need to leave at the top of the fermenter? Does cider foam any less or the same as beer?

4) Fermentation length - What is the usual length for a complete fermentation? I will be cold crashing before going to keg for carbonation.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Maylar]

1) Make any adjustments at bottling / kegging time. Acidity is definitely a "to taste" thing, you'll have to sample the final product and experiment. Be aware though that your cider ~will~ be tart from the natural acid in the apples.

2) Usually one tsp per gallon.

3) Foaming varies with yeast selection, but yes leave some room.

4) Your hydrometer is your friend. Figure 2-3 weeks though.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for your reply. So for "brew day" I am only going to sanitize, dump 1.75 gallons of juice in with ~2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient @65f. 2-3 weeks then cold crash. Taste samples from the cold fermenter to determine acid additions and transfer to keg.

Sound good? Thanks.

 

[Maylar]

You do have a hydrometer, right?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I am only going to sanitize, dump 1.75 gallons of juice in with ~2 teaspoons of yeast nutrient @65f.

I'm guessing it might work better if you add some actual yeast....

 

[bernardsmith]

Gotta agree with Maylar - Not only is tasting critical to know how much acidity your cider MAY need but apple juice pressed for the soft drink market (your Target apple juice) is far more likely to be more tart than apples pressed for the hard cider market - simply because of the need to balance the sweetness with some acidity for the juice not to be cloying. What the apples may not have is a great deal of tannins but again, that requires you to taste your cider and not guess.

 

[DownstairsBrewing]

I would not worry too much about the tart/sweet issue - left alone, most yeasts are going to ferment almost all the sugar and leave a very dry/tart cider. People spend a lot more time thinking about how to backsweeten to get some sugars back in than worrying about getting cider dry.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for your help. Will be interested to see how the first batch turns out (with the yeast added!). I use a refractometer in my brewing which is not ideal for post fermentation. So I will just watch the batch and the yeast activity. Not crucial although I am aware the sugar level has a large impact on the flavor. I would imagine two weeks with less than two gallons should be a fair amount of time. I will use the entire yeast package which will put a lot of yeast on the batch.