I've got a 4 gallon batch of cider consisting of:
4 gallons apple cider (white house brand)
1 can apple rasberry juice concentrate (old orchard brand)
1 can apple cherry juice concentrate (old orchard brand)
yeast cake from a wheat beer using Danstar Munich yeast
It's been 17 days since I mixed this up. Checked it today as I'm fairly certain fermentation is over, it looked over at 8 days(big yeast cake after all). The hydro sample was at 1.004 which may be all I get from this yeast. The flavor was clean with hints of clove and fruit with a tart finish, overall quite pleased but fairly bland.
What I need to know is what to do next? I've set it in my garage as we're in the midst of a cold snap hoping the cooling will help the rest of the yeast to drop (the brew was already down to 50 degrees after just a few hours.
My thinking is this:
Transfer to a secondary in a couple days before the cold weather ends.
Stabilize with potassium metabisulfite/camden tabs.
Back sweeten with apple juice concentrate, maybe apple-rasberry.
Tweak it with acid blend? Is this a good thing (I bought some just in case I need it).
Bottle still.
Age for 6 weeks, enjoy?
OR
How would I treat it using potassium metabisulfite vs not using it, I know I can't back sweeten without killing the yeast. I enjoy the sparkling meads and fruit meads I've made in the past so I'm interested in carbonating this effort. I don't know how to treat it to get a better flavor from it, help?
Thanks for the help,
Phillip
4 gallons apple cider (white house brand)
1 can apple rasberry juice concentrate (old orchard brand)
1 can apple cherry juice concentrate (old orchard brand)
yeast cake from a wheat beer using Danstar Munich yeast
It's been 17 days since I mixed this up. Checked it today as I'm fairly certain fermentation is over, it looked over at 8 days(big yeast cake after all). The hydro sample was at 1.004 which may be all I get from this yeast. The flavor was clean with hints of clove and fruit with a tart finish, overall quite pleased but fairly bland.
What I need to know is what to do next? I've set it in my garage as we're in the midst of a cold snap hoping the cooling will help the rest of the yeast to drop (the brew was already down to 50 degrees after just a few hours.
My thinking is this:
Transfer to a secondary in a couple days before the cold weather ends.
Stabilize with potassium metabisulfite/camden tabs.
Back sweeten with apple juice concentrate, maybe apple-rasberry.
Tweak it with acid blend? Is this a good thing (I bought some just in case I need it).
Bottle still.
Age for 6 weeks, enjoy?
OR
How would I treat it using potassium metabisulfite vs not using it, I know I can't back sweeten without killing the yeast. I enjoy the sparkling meads and fruit meads I've made in the past so I'm interested in carbonating this effort. I don't know how to treat it to get a better flavor from it, help?
Thanks for the help,
Phillip