Brewer's Best Cider House Select Mixed Berry - Top Up to 6 or 5 gallons?

[dallasdb]

I've searched and read through all the threads regarding these kits.

Very limited information on whether to follow the instructions and top up to 6 gallons per the instructions or only top up to 5 gallons.

Trying this out for SWMBO and since she's the cider drinker.

I found one guy on YouTube that topped up to 6 gallons and said it tasted watered down.

Anywho, I plan on kegging and adding the sweetener and flavoring directly to the keg instead of following the instructions and putting the flavoring and sweetener in the fermenter for 48 hours. Instructions were for bottling anyways!

Oh and I plan on only using half the sweetener.

Any tips from people that have experience with the Brewer's Best Cider House kits is greatly appreciated!

Thanks.

 

[kristiismean]

The pear tasted watered down, but was still acceptable and tasted great.

I say 5 gallons... a little more potent, but should have a stronger taste..

 

[kristiismean]

In fact, if you want, and have not made it. I can mail you (have on pear cider left) so you have some idea. It was made following the directions 100%,

 

[dallasdb]

I went with my gut and only did 5.25 gallons. I figure that'd yield 5 gallon after fermentation is complete.

I decided to rehydrate the yeast, I added two TSP of yeast nutrient to try and eliminate the potential for rhino farts.

The only thing I screwed up was I forgot to check the temp before pitching the yeast. The temp was 81 degrees.

So I have a damp towel around the carboy with a fan blowing on it to bring it down.

The syrup in the pouch smelled really good!

I'll report back with the progress.

 

[dallasdb]

I forgot to mention the OG was 1.042, adjusted for temp it is 1.045.

The kit doesn't give a target OG but it does say ABV is 5.4%

According to my calcs that would mean an OG ~1.051

I didn't even top up to 6 gallons... how can my OG be that far off?

EDIT: I just realized I stirred up the 5 gallons really well, pitched the yeast and then topped up another .25 gallons.

I'll bet the hydrometer reading was low due to the .25 top up.

 

[kristiismean]

Probably. With cider in Brewers Best Kit form, one cannot mess up OG, well, you have to work really really really hard to do it.

 

[dallasdb]

Update... turns out the temp strip on the carboy is dead.

I had a feeling when I took the hydro reading the temp was 81 yet the carboy temp strip wasn't registering even though it goes up to 86.

I did the towel and fan and it was definitely cooler but since the temp strip was dead I was concerned about maintaining a consistent ferm temp so I took my Johnson A419 temp controller and switched it from heat (I used it with a heatstick) to cool by moving the jumper, hooked it up to the kegerator and set the temp to 68.

As of this morning it's fermenting away and no sulphur smells

 

[dallasdb]

Update:
I was surprised to see the foam had all disappeared from the carboy.

It is still actively bubbling away and it honestly looks like a carbonated beverage after just being poured aggressively.

I pull the airlock off and took a whiff... the smell went from pleasant yesterday to a little funky today!

I sanitized a spoon and pyrex measuring cup, took a 1/4 cup of bottled water, stirred up 2 TSP of yeast nutrient and added it.

It was kinda crazy, when the nutrient hit the cider it foamed up like crazy and then dissipated 30 seconds after.

I've never seen anything like it.

BTW it is really hard to find good reliable info on using yeast nutrient.

Was I supposed to boil it up or just add it to the fermenter... I've read both.

 

[Maylar]

You did fine. If you hadn't dissolved it in water first it would have foamed up much much worse. Look up "nucleation points". If you ever add any powder like nutrient or pectic enzyme before pitching the yeast, this isn't a problem. It's only after there's CO2 in there that the foamup happens.

 

[dallasdb]

Thanks for all the help Dave!

 

[dallasdb]

Fermentation has slowed a bit but it is still very active. Probably two "bubbles" a second being pushed through the airlock.

I will be honest... the smell of cider fermenting is not as pleasant as beer fermenting.

Even with two TSP of yeast nutrient in the rehydrated yeast and an additional 2 TSP added yesterday to the fermenting cider... it STINKS.

It's not overwhelmingly stinky but just a little funky

Maybe it's just a cider thing.

 

[WTFOMGBBQ]

You'll have to let me know how this turns out for you, I've got one of their basic cider kits in a bucket right now and it's pretty sour after fermenting down to 1.004 over 11 days.

 

[dallasdb]

I was concerned about the hydrogen sulfide smell so I transferred to secondary and the smell was pretty faint. I'm just used to beer fermentation smelling better!

I didn't splash rack. I figure the smell will fade and didn't want to risk oxidation.

At this point the cider is done fermenting. It's been about 10 days and the hydrometer reading was 1.06 which I'm shocked because I think the lowest I've seen in my beer brewing is 1.09.

EDIT:

Crap... I didn't realize that ciders can ferment down to 1.00?!?!?

The stupid kit didn't have SG or FG listed.

UGH... last night I transferred it to secondary and cold crashed it to 50 degrees.

Oh well. It is what it is. I'm going to add the mixed berry flavor and 1/2 the sweetener tonight and keg on Thursday night.

 

[dallasdb]

All hope is not lost... the BJCP guidelines say I fit the guidelines for a Medium cider

Medium: in the range between dry and sweet (0.9% to 4% residual sugar, final gravity 1.002 to 1.012). Sometimes characterized as either 'off-dry' or 'semi-sweet.'

http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/ciderintro.php

 

[dallasdb]

Turns out the instructions had FG but didn't have OG. The FG was anything below 1.009 so I'm good.

But I misread the instructions and should've added the sweetener when I pitched the yeast. Oh well, I will add it tonight with the mixed berry flavoring.

 

[BFD175]

I wish I saw this Thread a couple of days ago. I started a Pear 2 days ago. I would have definitely only topped to 5 Gallons. Oh well.

 

[dallasdb]

Well I added the berry flavoring and 1/2 the sweetener when I transferred to the keg and carbonated for a week at 15 psi.

NOTE: The sweetener should've been added before pitching the yeast but I misread the instructions.

Took a taste and it's pretty decent. Not too sweet. Actually SWMBO said it was tart! I guess our palates are different because I thought it was a bit sweet.

Slight sulphur dioxide smell is lingering but I'm going to let it sit for another week as it wasn't fully carbed. Hopefully the fart smell will go away soon!

 

[dallasdb]

I tested the cider again this evening. First glass I poured was FLAT!!!!

Then I realized I just poured the beer from the 10 feet of beer line. Poured a second glass and it's nicely carbed but the nose still smells funky.

Tastes nice but a little stinky aroma. Probably need more time to carb. For a cider it was a little undercarbed, turned up the CO2 a tad.

 

[dallasdb]

Well I got the review back from the boss this morning. She said the cider was delicious and the reason she woke up with a slight headache this morning! Apparently she had a few glasses last night