cider lab results

[The_italian_cider_maker]

Hi aaaall and happy new year!

I brought some last year cider samples to the chemical laboratory for some analysis.

The final results were:
Total acidity 5,3 g/l
pH 4,09
alchool 8,3
SO2 residual: 48 mg/l

What do you think about those results?
The TA is it good or too low?

Thank you all for your opinions!
All the best and stay safe!

 

[Kees]

How is its taste? Usually measurements are taken before fermentation to see if any corrections are needed and which ABV to expect. As soon as it is finished we just drink it and see whether we like it. I'm not sure much is known about hard cider chemical analysis results. ABV is pretty high so either you found high sugar apple juice or you added sugar or alcohol.

 

[Chalkyt]

Yep, taste is a good guide. However the pH is a bit high so might not protect the cider from bacterial infection in the long term. Typically the target for TA is around 5-7 g/L so there is room to add acid which will bring the pH down a bit. The preferred range for pH is 3.3 to 3.8 according to Andrew Lea. Sometimes adding some malic acid will "improve" an otherwise bland cider by giving it a bit of bite.

However, if you are planning to drink it now and like what you have, no need to fiddle.

 

[The_italian_cider_maker]

How is its taste? Usually measurements are taken before fermentation to see if any corrections are needed and which ABV to expect. As soon as it is finished we just drink it and see whether we like it. I'm not sure much is known about hard cider chemical analysis results. ABV is pretty high so either you found high sugar apple juice or you added sugar or alcohol.

Thank you @Kees, well I'm not a cider expert but someone more expert than me tasted the cider and told me that it has not so much acidity and persistance in mouth. Could I add malic acid at the end of fermentation or should I add before or during fermentation?

Thank you again.

 

[The_italian_cider_maker]

Yep, taste is a good guide. However the pH is a bit high so might not protect the cider from bacterial infection in the long term. Typically the target for TA is around 5-7 g/L so there is room to add acid which will bring the pH down a bit. The preferred range for pH is 3.3 to 3.8 according to Andrew Lea. Sometimes adding some malic acid will "improve" an otherwise bland cider by giving it a bit of bite.

However, if you are planning to drink it now and like what you have, no need to fiddle.

Thank you @Chalkyt
May I add malic acid at the end of fermentation, before bottling?

Thank you again!

 

[Yooper]

Thank you @Chalkyt
May I add malic acid at the end of fermentation, before bottling?

Thank you again!

You can add a pinch of it now into a glass of cider, and see if you like the results. Or a squeeze of lemon (citric acid). Acidity and tannins should be balanced for a nice cider with a bit of "bite". But if you like it yourself, that's the important thing!

 

[Chalkyt]

FYI, your questions were timely. This afternoon after a long day's mowing and slashing I opened a bottle of straight Red Delicious that has been maturing since June. It was from an experimental batch trying different yeasts etc. This batch was just left to ferment with no added yeast (natural ferment) and no SO2 simply because I had a surplus of Red Delicious Apple juice sitting in a 2 litre carboy.

Normally I would expect this to end up a quite bland, unexciting cider, but before bottling I added malic acid to taste. It brought the pH from 4.1 to 3.8 and TA to 7 g/L. It was a "rough and ready" trial, bottled at 1.010 and pasteurised when a squeeze bottle was firm. It ended up carbonated to 2 Vols CO2 and finished up at FG 1.005 after pasteurisation.

I would rate it 10/10... quite a surprise (I must admit I was a bit thirsty and felt sorry that I only made half a dozen bottles), all of which reinforces that a bit of adjustment with acid and time, time, time does wonders.

Plus, you never know how good something will turn out... all part of the fun.

Cheers!