Cranberry Cider Fermentation

[Virginia_Ranger]

So I have done a few hard apple ciders which came out well so I figured I'd give cranberry cider a go. Typically my apple cider is down in the 1.003 - to 1.006 range by day two of fermenting under pressure. Right now my spunding valve is showing the same amount of activity / pressure I expect for 48 hours but my SG is coming out at 1.039 only about 0.010 down from my OG of 1.048.

I am also using a Tilt device for my gravity readings which hasn't failed me in the past but who knows.... I pitched about 2/5 to 3/5 of a US-04 packet into a 1.5 gallon batch so that should be plenty of yeast.

 

[TechFanMD]

The cranberry might make it a bit more acidic and slow fermentation a bit. I am curious why you ferment under pressure on a cider.

 

[Virginia_Ranger]

I do just out of habit --- I do all of my beer under pressure. For me, its mostly peace of mind knowing everything is sealed up tight, temperature fluctuations aren't as detrimental, and its a plus to have some pressure in the keg to just hook up a picnic tap and draw a sample with out needing to open it up.

 

[TechFanMD]

I do just out of habit --- I do all of my beer under pressure. For me, its mostly peace of mind knowing everything is sealed up tight, temperature fluctuations aren't as detrimental, and its a plus to have some pressure in the keg to just hook up a picnic tap and draw a sample with out needing to open it up.

Cool. I know for me I get a lot of sulfur carried out with the CO2 when I make cider, and I wondered if brewing it under pressure might force some of that sulfur to stay in solution.

 

[Virginia_Ranger]

Interesting, how would describe the sulfur taste? The only cider I have had an off flavor with so far was one that was just a hint to tart despite being the same FG as all the others I had done.

 

[MarkKF]

Interesting, how would describe the sulfur taste?.

Rino Farts