Cheap juice, best?

[bracconiere]

Yes, it's a fining agent. I've been using pectic enzyme in every batch of cider I've made in the last 10 years. Add it at pitch. It works well.

View attachment 739870

what's the FG on something like that?

 

[Maylar]

what's the FG on something like that?

My ciders always finish dry, between 0.996 and 1.002 depending on yeast and temp. Stabilized and back sweetened to 1.008-1.010 in the keg.

 

[bracconiere]

My ciders always finish dry, between 0.996 and 1.002 depending on yeast and temp. Stabilized and back sweetened to 1.008-1.010 in the keg.

that's what mine finish at too....was hoping you got something like .984 for a pure ethanol water mixture.....at ~11% anyway...(if the chart i looked at is to be believed)

 

[Maylar]

that's what mine finish at too....was hoping you got something like .984 for a pure ethanol water mixture.....at ~11% anyway...(if the chart i looked at is to be believed)

I use fresh pressed orchard cider (I live in apple land) which typically have OG of 1.050, which gives me 6.5% ABV.

 

[Upstate12866]

Hey OP, I just did some cider with Target brand, seems identical to other store brands I've used (Walmart and Aldi and my local grocer). The one difference that might be worth noting is the country of origin stamped on the bottle. If you have feelings about what you prefer or which country makes the best apples (I don't, but I can tell my friends about their exotic drink made with real South African apples, oohlala).

And as others said, the nutrition facts will tell you useful info about sugars. You can compare apples to apples

Ive memorized that 1g sugar in 100ml is 1brix.

So if AJ has 28 g per 240ml serving...

28/ 2.4 = 11.6 brix

11.6 bx = 1.047 gravity (actually 1.0467
...I look that part up on my phone).

Not always very useful but it lives in my head until I forget it.

 

[Garfield43]

Question for bracconiere what kind of sugar are you using to get 8%?
What refractometer do you use?
I hear so many people saying they don't work or they won't work once there is alcohol in whatever you are testing.
I would love to figure out how to use one. I am on my second hydropometer already.
Thanks!

Also thanks for the tip that different apple juices can have different specific gravities.
I had gotten lazy and just wrote a number down in my book the last time I tested OG of straight apple juice. Now I know I need to check it for each brand if I am trying for really accurate numbers. I tested the first few batches. Found out my stuff seems to ferment down to about 1.000 then I dump in AJ concentrate that will lover the ABV some but makes it taste much better and gives it bubbles. The bubbles seem to make it taste sweeter. I don't know how to figure out abv after it has been back sweetened. If I could wind up with somthing that still tasted like apples and was 7 or 8% I would be thrilled.

Thanks everyone!

 

[bracconiere]

Question for bracconiere what kind of sugar are you using to get 8%?
What refractometer do you use?
I hear so many people saying they don't work or they won't work once there is alcohol in whatever you are testing.
I would love to figure out how to use one. I am on my second hydropometer already.
Thanks!

Also thanks for the tip that different apple juices can have different specific gravities.
I had gotten lazy and just wrote a number down in my book the last time I tested OG of straight apple juice. Now I know I need to check it for each brand if I am trying for really accurate numbers. I tested the first few batches. Found out my stuff seems to ferment down to about 1.000 then I dump in AJ concentrate that will lover the ABV some but makes it taste much better and gives it bubbles. The bubbles seem to make it taste sweeter. I don't know how to figure out abv after it has been back sweetened. If I could wind up with somthing that still tasted like apples and was 7 or 8% I would be thrilled.

Thanks everyone!

you can calculate ABV after fermentation, using BOTH a hydro, and refrac and punch the readings both into a calc for it...i've done it with hard alco-pop, works great....i use a milwaukee MA-871 digital one. if you want one i'd recomend lurk on ebay they pop up for a decent price every once in a while. i saw one go to a board member for just $60....

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I've won ribbons with Wal-Mart apple juice made ciders. I've also tried Lidl's and Aldi's brands. I always prefer the Wal-Mart ciders.

 

[Garfield43]

I think milk is the only food item that Wal-Mart owns a factory for and makes themselves.
Everything else comes from someone else's factory.
Many factories make the brand name and the generic at the same plant.
As Duquesne beer used to say in their ads, Believe Your Taste!
Hard to put much faith in brands anymore.
Many companies like Pabst, don't own factories anymore and contract out their manufacturing.
The higher priced brand name may have come out of the same plant as the cheaper generic.

 

[bracconiere]

I think milk is the only food item that Wal-Mart owns a factory for and makes themselves.
Everything else comes from someone else's factory.
Many factories make the brand name and the generic at the same plant.
As Duquesne beer used to say in their ads, Believe Your Taste!
Hard to put much faith in brands anymore.
Many companies like Pabst, don't own factories anymore and contract out their manufacturing.
The higher priced brand name may have come out of the same plant as the cheaper generic.

yeah maybe...i just bought a jug of clorox bleach though, even though i'm sure the bleach is the same...the generic lid wouldn't screw on or off right....

 

[Garfield43]

I tend to stock up on Clorox when I catch it on sale.
There shouldn't be a difference between it and the generic, it is 6% whatever the active ingredient is and water.
However it seems to work better than the cheap stuff.
I have bought name brand stuff to get the better container and then refill it with the cheap stuff after I empty it.

 

[Maylar]

I have 2 apple orchards in my area that produce canned hard cider. Neither has an apple mill or fermenting capabilities. They ship their apples to some large facility in Massachusetts that makes cider for lots of places. You can't even be sure that the cider you're drinking was made exclusively from that orchard's apples. The ciders are a bit different from each other, but that could be done via processing or sweetening steps to make one unique from the other. Both are quite good BTW.

 

[Upstate12866]

I've won ribbons with Wal-Mart apple juice made ciders. I've also tried Lidl's and Aldi's brands. I always prefer the Wal-Mart ciders.

Are you the type that shares your recipe? I would love to compare against my own (just Walmart AJ and Safale 04, fermented in the low 60s if possible. Main variation is 1/4-1/2 cup hibiscus flower tea and or 5-6 sachets of green tea added to primary).

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Are you the type that shares your recipe? I would love to compare against my own (just Walmart AJ and Safale 04, fermented in the low 60s if possible. Main variation is 1/4-1/2 cup hibiscus flower tea and or 5-6 sachets of green tea added to primary).

I have in the past:

4 1/2 gallons of Wal-mart apple juice. Ferment with your favorite house yeast (I mostly use Wyeast 1028), until it's dry.
Transfer to secondary or to keg.
Add 1/2 tsp Kmeta, 2 1/2 tsp sorbate Potassium.
Add 1/2 gallon more apple juice when kegging, a little more or a little less based on how sweet you like your cider.
Force carbonate.

 

[Upstate12866]

Thanks!

 

[RolandD]

Wal-mart's Great Value Apple Juice in the 96 oz bottle is the cheapest I can consistently find around here. I get an OG of 1.049, usually from it. If you want to bump up the ABV, add FAJC.

My favorite is to add a gallon of Old Orchard Tart Cherry Juice to 5.25 gallons of apple juice. I tastes great, but just about doubles the cost. The batch I have going now is getting chocolate extract when I keg it, to make Cherry Chocolate cider. It's my most expensive batch at around $8 per gallon. I have to remind myself that is still about half what the cheapest commercial cider costs.

 

[teddyearp]

I've won ribbons with Wal-Mart apple juice made ciders. I've also tried Lidl's and Aldi's brands. I always prefer the Wal-Mart ciders.

I've never entered mine, too thirsty. But as another posted the 96 oz. Great Value from concentrate is the cheapest I've found and others I've tried don't come out as well. I use pectin in every batch as well, see results <----- in the picture. Perhaps I was always sloppy, but when I used to take measurements, my % always varied by a percent or so. Now a days, it's about 1-1/2 cup regular sugar and I get about 9-10%

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I've had perfectly clear ciders from Great Value juice without adding any enzymes. If the jug has solids (think Musselman's cider), I add pectic enzymes to clarify it.

 

[bracconiere]

I've had perfectly clear ciders from Great Value juice without adding any enzymes. If the jug has solids (think Musselman's cider), I add pectic enzymes to clarify it.

well i have a pound of pectic enzyme in my fridge now, was about to pull the trigger on $30 of juice to see if it bumps my ABV up. but had to admit to myself i can't afford it right now..... (here in a few weeks though, i plan to try it! )

 

[Newsman]

Hey OP, I just did some cider with Target brand, seems identical to other store brands I've used (Walmart and Aldi and my local grocer). The one difference that might be worth noting is the country of origin stamped on the bottle. If you have feelings about what you prefer or which country makes the best apples (I don't, but I can tell my friends about their exotic drink made with real South African apples, oohlala).

And as others said, the nutrition facts will tell you useful info about sugars. You can compare apples to apples

Ive memorized that 1g sugar in 100ml is 1brix.

So if AJ has 28 g per 240ml serving...

28/ 2.4 = 11.6 brix

11.6 bx = 1.047 gravity (actually 1.0467
...I look that part up on my phone).

Not always very useful but it lives in my head until I forget it.

So Kirkland (Costco) AJ has 30 carbs for 240 ML. My Kirkland Wild Honey has17 carbs / 21 Grams

Looking at Brewers Friend, it looks like I will end up with about 11.9%ABV +/- ON MY cyser. Not bad. May want to cut it with some more juice or something

 

[bracconiere]

So Kirkland (Costco) AJ has 30 carbs for 240 ML.

hmm, my boss goes to costco once in a while. maybe i'll have him pick up 10 gallons for me!

about 11.9%ABV

to hell with bumping it to 11! take it to 11.9! lol

 

[Newsman]

to hell with bumping it to 11! take it to 11.9! lol

Well, I DO have another 5# of honey....

 

[Falstaff]

Somebody might have said this already, but when I go cheap I use the frozen concentrate. It's cheaper and there is only vitamin c in it (absorbic acid).

 

[bracconiere]

Well, I DO have another 5# of honey....

well the the dial on yeast only go to 12 normaly....wouldn't want to push it tooo far

 

[bracconiere]

Somebody might have said this already, but when I go cheap I use the frozen concentrate. It's cheaper and there is only vitamin c in it (absorbic acid).

be easier to carry too! plus less trash! i'll have to toss the idea around....

 

[Newsman]

well the the dial on yeast only go to 12 normaly....wouldn't want to push it tooo far

I have two packages of QA23 in there now
I'm making a starter of a single package and I've added 1/2 top of yeast nutrient and several squirts of honey.
Think I'll pitch it into the existing wort tomorrow morning. "Just to be sure."

 

[Falstaff]

well the the dial on yeast only go to 12 normaly....wouldn't want to push it tooo far

Jack it and you got 30. Just don't jack it too much or you might go blind. From the concentration of fusels, that is.

 

[bracconiere]

I have two packages of QA23 in there now

i'm familar with S-23 lager yeast?

 

[Newsman]

Yeah. Don't think I better add that additional 5# of honey. QA23 only goes up to 16%

 

[bracconiere]

Jack it and you got 30. Just don't jack it too much or you might go blind. From the concentration of fusels, that is.

LOL, i'm ...well....