Cider question

[Brewhousen]

Last week I bought a coopers DIY kit. Found out I can brew cider with it too. I'm a total beginner but may have totally mess up. I mixed a brigalow cider, 1 kg of brown sugar, 200gm of caster sugar, 6L of Coles apple juice and 14L of water. It's got some bubbles fizzing a bit and is at about 25deg. Am I going to get anything decent, or is it going to be rocket fuel. Smells kinda nice. How long will it take to ferment? Couldn't get a good og so I have no idea, an experiment I guess

 

[Brewhousen]

I'm thinking there's too much sugar, I don't even know if I should add sugar in secondary

 

[Maylar]

So, you have about 2.6 lbs of sugar plus a bit of apple juice in 5 gallons. My calculations say you'll get about 4% alcohol and it'll taste like water. Should've asked us first.

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Brewhousen - and welcome. Maylar is right. Cider ain't beer - and apples ain't grain. You diluted your apple juice with water... taste the dilute solution you made and see what it tastes like. When you make cider or wine or mead you want to taste your products from the moment you mix 'em to the minute before you bottle. Working blind is like driving at night with your lights off... Not the wisest thing to do on any throughway... and it's not any wiser when it comes to wine making...

 

[John Doe]

Can he add some frozen juice concentrate to help save this?

 

[bernardsmith]

That will certainly provide some more flavor.. but frozen apple concentrate typically tastes like crap doesn't it? I might freeze the dilute apple juice hard and then allow it to thaw while capturing the first runnings up to 1 gallon. That will have just about all the sugar, all the flavor and all the apple in it. The rest will be more or less water and that will liquefy after the fruit and sugar (the melting point of the sugars is lower than the water).

 

[gunhaus]

I don't agree that all FAJC tastes like crap Bernard. I have used a couple of brands in the past that are tasty enough. I think for a newbie, it might prove easier to try the concentrates, over jacking the weak blend above. It is not that costly an experiment though either way!

 

[bernardsmith]

No question. If you can find a reasonable frozen apple concentrate then that might work. I never have but my experience might be very limited and very skewed. But it's hard to imagine anyone concentrating any fruit juice that they could sell fresh... and it's even harder to imagine that anyone would be able to pleasurably drink the fresh version of any frozen concentrate.. But hey! Your experience may be very different. (I have a hard time imagining that anyone would drink a coke or a pepsi voluntarily..or a bud lite.. )

 

[gunhaus]

BERNARD!!!! On that last point you and i are, and ALWAYS will be in COMPLETE agreement! I will dig out the notes on what brand of juices concentrates I have used - I have an apple and an apple cherry that I have been happy with - Maybe you'll stumble on them in your neck of the woods and can give them a try! Only a couple of bucks to see!

 

[gunhaus]

Hey Bernard - I think i am gonna make it my mission to bring you over to the redneck darkside! Frozen AJC, cheap store brand honey, EC-1118 or better yet good old bread yeast, I smell a cyser experiment WAITING to happen!!!!!! (Sorry for the slight hijack!)

 

[bernardsmith]

Sorry - I am from a parallel universe and am just visiting your world for a little while. For us life is just too short to spend it drinking crap.

 

[Drewed]

Even if he can get FAJC that doesn't taste like dog butt, each can mixes with 36 oz of water. That would be about 3.5 cans per gallon or about 17.5 cans for the 5 gallons. It would also be almost 2 extra gallons of liquid.
At this point I'd pitch the sugar water that the OP is fermenting and start over. And start small until you figure out your style. Get a gallon of fresh pressed cider ( or fresh frozen ) and pitch some yeast at it. I like Irish Ale yeast currently, but your results will vary because of your base cider and your tastes. Let it ferment for 3 months or so, then rack it off the lees. Let it set in the secondary until it clears, or another 3 months or so. Bottle, carbonate if you want, and enjoy.

 

[bernardsmith]

But Drewed, all the water is already in the must. IF - and that is a big "if" the OP can find a frozen AJ concentrate that comes close to passing for apple juice then all he needs to do is add that .. um... frozen matter to his fermentation vessel. Fourteen liters of water is 14 quarts and 14 quarts is about 3.5 gallons so he will need whatever the dilution rate is to make 3.5 gallons of apple juice from concentrate...but not one more drop of water..

 

[Brewhousen]

Thanks for the info. guys. An update. I've tested the sg it's 1.001 it's only been 4 days. It was 1.250 after one day. It tasted good when I made the wort. Four days later it tastes like champagne, not too bad really. If it's 1.001 I'm thinking I should wait till the sg stops increases

 

[Brewhousen]

So, you have about 2.6 lbs of sugar plus a bit of apple juice in 5 gallons. My calculations say you'll get about 4% alcohol and it'll taste like water. Should've asked us first.

Also had a cider kit with malt etc... Called brigalow cider

 

[Maylar]

I've no idea what you'll get then.