Beginner question - does this seem about right??

[Richard Kutschman]

Hey all -

New to home brewing and I started with a cider.

I used 6 gallons of Musselman’s Fresh Pressed Apple Cider from Walmart. It had a OG of 1.044. I added 3 lbs of brown sugar to my Chronical BME conical. If I calculated correctly, gives me an OG of 1.065 (0.007 increase per 1lb of sugar in 6 gallons). Used a Wyest Cider/Mead Smack Pack yeast - 1 packet good for 6 gallons. Fermenting at 68.0F now 9 days and bubbling slowed to about one bubble every 3-4 seconds - had been about 2 bubbles every second or so.

Checked the SG today and it’s at 1.020. Tasted pretty “tart”.

My thoughts are to let it keep going in primary and check the SG again in a few days to see if it’s done. My plan was to dump yeast/trub once finished and then give it a couple weeks in secondary before bottling w/ priming sugar. My goal is to finish with a sparkling sweet cider similar to Julian hard cider or Angry Orchard.

I’ve also been toying with adding a 3 lb can of cherry purée when I go into secondary and see if I can mimic the Julian Hard Cider’s Cherry Bomb. Wife and I love it.

Thoughts?

Thanks for your expertise!!

 

[KaiB]

If your end desire is a "sparkling sweet cider"...you won't get there with your plan.

The yeast will ferment to dry soon enough. A transfer to secondary is a good thing as it will help age and clear...but will also allow a finish to as dry as the yeast will allow (Let's just call this 1.000).

Any bottling primer you add (say 28g/gal sugar) will also ferment dry - and produce carbonation. This process yields a wonderful DRY cider which will age for six months and be very refreshing. But NO sweet. (at drinking, one way around this is the addition of a tablespoon or so of AJC per glass...)

Others will chime in on processes which will allow bottling of sweeter ciders...not my thing and I can offer nothing there.

I would say you are on the right path; why not continue with the plan above, create a nice sparkling dry cider and adjust at drinking. Start another as soon as you can!!!

Cheers...

 

[Richard Kutschman]

If your end desire is a "sparkling sweet cider"...you won't get there with your plan.

The yeast will ferment to dry soon enough. A transfer to secondary is a good thing as it will help age and clear...but will also allow a finish to as dry as the yeast will allow (Let's just call this 1.000).

Any bottling primer you add (say 28g/gal sugar) will also ferment dry - and produce carbonation. This process yields a wonderful DRY cider which will age for six months and be very refreshing. But NO sweet. (at drinking, one way around this is the addition of a tablespoon or so of AJC per glass...)

Others will chime in on processes which will allow bottling of sweeter ciders...not my thing and I can offer nothing there.

I would say you are on the right path; why not continue with the plan above, create a nice sparkling dry cider and adjust at drinking. Start another as soon as you can!!!

Cheers...

Thanks for input. I was reading somewhere else about using a non-fermentable sugar (lactose?) to sweeten as a way around this problem. Another home brewer said to “backsweeten” before bottling and bottle pasteurize to kill yeast so no bottle bombs. I may adjust and simply keg instead of bottle. I’m not a big fan of dry ciders. I may try the method you offered of adjusting at drinking.

Thanks again.

 

[Maylar]

Thanks for input. I was reading somewhere else about using a non-fermentable sugar (lactose?) to sweeten as a way around this problem. Another home brewer said to “backsweeten” before bottling and bottle pasteurize to kill yeast so no bottle bombs. I may adjust and simply keg instead of bottle. I’m not a big fan of dry ciders. I may try the method you offered of adjusting at drinking.

Thanks again.

If you can keg, the world is your oyster.