Adding FAJC in the primary

[Evilgrin]

Trying something a little different this time.

2 12oz cans Old Orchard FAJC
1/2 gallon Sam's Choice apple juice from fresh pressed apples
Almost 2 gallons of Kirkland apple juice from fresh pressed apples
1/2 tsp FermaidK
Wyeast 4766
OG 1.058-1.059...a bit hard to read but its just under 1.060

I found a carboy i had forgotten about. Its a odd size glass 2.8 gallon, kinda short and fat. First time using the Wyeast 4766 so i wanted to see how well it does with no added sugar besides the additional sugar in the FAJC.

BTW those Wyeast smack packs are a little bit of a PITA to break the inner pack. Waiting for the smack pack to expand now.

 

[MarkKF]

I think the cool thing about using FAJC is you can adjust the S.G. without adding sugar by using more or less water.

If you usually bump up your cider with added sugar try adding one or more cans of FAJC next time. I just wish it came in different varieties.

 

[Evilgrin]

I added no water to this batch. I typically use FAJC to back sweeten only. Im trying for a dry but strong apple flavor. Thats why im trying the Wyeast 4766 also. I may use some FAJC to try and bottle carb after it ferments dry. I did this by accident once with a cran-apple and i thought it turned out very good.

On a side note the Wyeast 4766 is a really slow starter. There was not much if any air lock activity until this morning. I was beginning to worry a little.

 

[Evilgrin]

Airlock activity slowed way down today. Could the 4766 have gone most of the way through a 1.058 OG already? Its been pretty cool in the basement.

 

[buMbLeB]

Airlock activity slowed way down today. Could the 4766 have gone most of the way through a 1.058 OG already? Its been pretty cool in the basement.

Totally possible - 1st time I did cider was from 1.080 to 1.006 in 4 days with EC-1118, and that was a barely heated room in January in Vancouver. I think I overheated the yeast and freaked it out.

 

[Evilgrin]

EC-1118 is a work horse and i would have expected it. Wyeast 4766 started out super slow and has a much lower alcohol tolerance. I guess i will need to take a gravity reading today.

 

[Evilgrin]

Tried to get a reading but its too "bubbly". I could have waited for the bubbles to ease up but after tasting it...Well its obvious there is still enough sugar left. Its not dry at all.

Notes.
Tasted a sample....Wow...never thought a hard cider this fresh could taste that good. Rhino fart smell and sulfur taste is very very low.

 

[Evilgrin]

Gravity today is 1.00 and the cider has cleared exceptionally well without cold crashing. Lees seem to be very minimal vs all other yeasts ive used for cider.

Flavor is very interesting. Although dry it seems sweeter than higher ABV ciders ive made with more added sugars. IMO carbed it would be very very good with very little if any more aging.

I may have to try bottle carbing with 2-3ml of FAJC.

 

[Hankhill11]

I'm interested in following your results. I also wonder if using all that FAJC adds any perceived body to the final product.

 

[eigua]

Trying something a little different this time.

2 12oz cans Old Orchard FAJC
1/2 gallon Sam's Choice apple juice from fresh pressed apples
Almost 2 gallons of Kirkland apple juice from fresh pressed apples
1/2 tsp FermaidK
Wyeast 4766
OG 1.058-1.059...a bit hard to read but its just under 1.060

I found a carboy i had forgotten about. Its a odd size glass 2.8 gallon, kinda short and fat. First time using the Wyeast 4766 so i wanted to see how well it does with no added sugar besides the additional sugar in the FAJC.

BTW those Wyeast smack packs are a little bit of a PITA to break the inner pack. Waiting for the smack pack to expand now.

Curious that that much concentrate added to juice only gets you an OG of 1.059. I just bottled a cider a few days ago made from 1G Kirkland apple juice alone and had an OG of 1.062. Either the Sam's Choice juice has very little sugar or the Kirkland apple juice's sugar content varies greatly.