Being Gentle with my First time

[Medomade]

Hi Everyone!

First off very happy to be in this community!!
So i wouldnt say I'm a novice, i have made alot of different things so far.. Honey Whiskey, Rum, Vodka, schnapps, Grappa, and so on.. however i have never attempted to make a Cider. I know. . Im ashamed.

BUT the time has come where my fermenter is free and after Birthdays, Christmas ans New years my shelves are empty. Well not empty but a little low. Since its Summer here in Australia i thought a nice apple cider would not go amiss!!

Something i have learned is that aging is what really gives you the flavours and depth you want. Im not a patient person and so i am making my first batch of Cider without the intention of letting it age. This will be drank before the end of Summer. If this goes well i will be looking at making more (big quantity (maybe 50ltrs +) and leaving it. Maybe even until next Summer [emoji15]

So here is what i have managed for day 1, which just so happens to be 1st day of 2018!


Since i dont have a press for fruit YET or the time currently i have just opted for the smash and dash supermarket grab. 2ltrs Apple Juice on special for $2. I grabbed one of those little Old lady Trolleys and ran to the check out with 20ltrs and a bag of Sugar ($1).

Using the old trusty Sodium Percarbonate ive cleaned my fermenter and all equipment id be using and got to work.

Ive poured in 5 of my 2 ltrs bottles into the fermenter and checked the SG which was 1.040. Ive then emptied 2 of the remaining bottles into the fermenter and then added my bag of sugar to the half filled bottles. Shaken. And poured in. The remaining apple juice thrown in stirred for 2 mins and checked my SG again.. a perfect 1.060.

Ive sprinkled the yeast on top stirred it all through, sealed and airlocked and my Uncles name is apparently Bob..

Now we wait.. oh the waiting.. [emoji33] [emoji33]



temp of fermenter sitting comfortably at 20°C by tomorrow morning we should have some action!!

Thanks for reading and any comments are most welcome!

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Medomade - and welcome - and a very happy New Year. Aging does do wonders to cider but you can drink cider young too. You don't say what yeast you pitched and in my opinion choosing the right yeast is 50 % of the cider. The other 50 % is using the right blend of juice. Apple juice blended for the non alcoholic market tends to be low in its complexity of flavor, low in tannins, low in acidity and low sugar . So, while brewers on this forum often go for supermarket juice, cider makers tend to go for orchard-pressed juice. Different varieties of apples produce very different flavors. What's the old saw? You cannot make silk from a sow's ear... But that said, I am sure your cider will be very drinkable... it just may not be great .

 

[Medomade]

Hi Medomade - and welcome - and a very happy New Year. Aging does do wonders to cider but you can drink cider young too. You don't say what yeast you pitched and in my opinion choosing the right yeast is 50 % of the cider. The other 50 % is using the right blend of juice. Apple juice blended for the non alcoholic market tends to be low in its complexity of flavor, low in tannins, low in acidity and low sugar . So, while brewers on this forum often go for supermarket juice, cider makers tend to go for orchard-pressed juice. Different varieties of apples produce very different flavors. What's the old saw? You cannot make silk from a sow's ear... But that said, I am sure your cider will be very drinkable... it just may not be great .

Hi thanks and happy new year to yourself!!

I have this yeast i just got from the brew shop

I have pectic enzymes and tannin, malic and citric acids i can pitch in also. Wasnt sure if that is something i should do. Should i do before the fermentation begins??

Thanks for your input!!

 

[Medomade]

Also have 100g of Galaxy Hop pellets thinking of maybe adding some in to get an interesting mix of flavours. Cant say i have any idea how that will turn out but galaxy hops have a very fruity aroma etc to them

 

[Cyclman]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado

 

[Medomade]

Welcome to the hobby, and the group, from Colorado

Thanks! New to the joys of Cider but not to the taste [emoji7] love the hobby and rather do it all myself than head to the local

 

[bernardsmith]

You want to add the pectic enzyme before you pitch the yeast (perhaps 12 hours before). Alcohol denatures the enzyme so its effectiveness drops in the presence of alcohol. Other additives like tannin you can add with the yeast. As for acids - I would taste the cider before bottling. That will tell you whether you need /want to add acids. Any recipe that calls for the addition of acids to the primary is garbage - and adding after should only be done to taste (or if you have the equipment , when you measure TA (you want most wines and ciders to have a TA - NOT the pH but the titratable acidity - of about .65 g/L (pH is the strength of the acids in the wine . TA is the amount of acids - It is the amount that affects taste)). Apples have malic acid so if you want /need to add acids I would add malic. Citric acid will distort the flavor of the cider. But malic is a very sharp tasting acid - that's why aging cider is good - it allows some of the malic to become lactic and lactic acid is a less sharp tasting acid. In fact, I make my ciders with a yeast variety called 71B and 71B is noted for transforming almost 40 percent of malic to lactic. This is NOT the same as what is called MLF fermentation - a bacterial fermentation that is often used to transform malic to lactic. 71B has an affinity for malic and within 9 months or so the taste of cider has entered a very different league...But if you like the sharp edges offered by malic then that is not something that might be of interest.

Hops are another story. If you are a brewer then you know how to extract alpha acids or flavors or aroma (or all three). But note : beer is inherently sweet (finishes at around 1.010 -1.015) so hops counter the sweetness. Your cider may finish bone dry.. so you need to think about balance.
I know the folklore that presupposes that hops NEED sugar to isomerize. I think that that is nonsense. Hops benefit from a little acidity in the water - so there is no need to cook the juice to make jam or jelly just because you want hoppy cider but adding water dilutes the cider... Does that mean you are left only with dry hopping? Your call... Good luck.

 

[bmd2k1]

Welcome & Cheers!

 

[applescrap]

Welcome!

Much to everyones chagrin I shook the cider every day to degas it. It is my understanding this speeds drinking quality up, but I am only going off what someone else said. Just thought I would throw that out there. Also, I didn't use any sugar so it was lower alcohol, which I think help speed things up to.

 

[ncbrewer]

Welcome, and good luck with your cider.