Do I have Cider or wine?

[Coldonecraver]

Ok so here's the deal, I am new to brewing all together but always wanted to try it and since my apple trees did so well this year I borrowed a press from a friend and decided to give hard cider a go. All my knowledge just comes from what I read online but here is what I did in steps to get my brew to where it Is.
My trees yielded me about five gallons of fresh cider so I sanitized everything with bleach and put it all into a 6 gallon fermentation bucket with an air lock. I did not pasteurize my cider I pitched it wild. I used "cider house yeast" and wanted a stronger alcohol content so I added 1 cup of light brown sugar in with the yeast then stired that up for several min with a stainless spoon. Sealed it with the airlock and let sit in my dinning room undisturbed for 3 weeks and it bubbles like crazy after a few days then began to slow to almost nothing. until tonight when I racked it for the secondary fermentation I gave it a taste and wow... It smells like wine and tastes like wine. So I continued as normal and it is back in a fermentation bucket afixed with an airlock. So my question is how can I be sure if it's wine or cider? Are the steps different in finishing it if it has turned to wine? Why did it turn to wine did I just add to much sugar? Any help would be great and please excuse me if I used terms wrong or if these questions are stupid because as I said this is my first time brewing!!!

 

[seabrew8]

I believe the difference between wine and hard cider is just basically the alcohol by volume - and traditional wine is made from grapes.

From everything i read if you added just 1 cup of sugar its well under %10abv so its not considered a "wine".

btw if you think its too dry of winey like, one method is back sweetening. Hopefully others can help you there.

 

[Coldonecraver]

So that wine like taste is just from the lack of sugar left in my cider? I looked into back sweetening and saw that 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of olive nation Apple concentrate per gallon will bring back my apple taste without making it taste fake and that you have to use alcohol sugar for sweetening? So that it dosnt ferment in the bottles and bust or loose the sweetness. I have to use Splenda? Or? What's everyone else using?

 

[Caliper]

More time seems to work for me. A few months sitting in glass with a very minimum of headspace will let the apple flavor come back more. It will still be a dry drink however. Honestly, I like them at this stage and am just experimenting with adding various flavors to a dry, aged cider.

However, you can stabilize the drink with potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfate to stop the yeast, then sweeten with anything. I wouldn't use splenda personally because I hate the taste of it, but YMMV.

 

[Maylar]

1 cup of sugar in 6 gallons is nothing. You have cider, at about 6 1/2% alcohol.

When cider is finished fermenting it is dry and tart, like some white wines. Sweetening it will make it more like cider that you're used to. Read the sticky on this forum "Cider for beginners" to get an idea of what to do next.

 

[dmtaylor]

Congratulations, you have just made real honest cider! A cup of sugar didn't make much difference at all. What you are tasting is exactly what traditional cider should taste like.

Splenda tastes terrible in a cider -- I have done it and it just tastes too chemically. I have never tried xylitol but there are many people who swear that it works the best. Otherwise I would recommend sorbate + sulfite + 1 can of apple juice concentrate.

Also be patient before bottling. Check gravity now then wait another week or so, check gravity again and make sure it isn't still fermenting. Otherwise you could get bottle bombs even with sorbate and sulfite since these chemicals do not kill the yeast but rather only injure them and prevent reproduction. Patience is very key with cider. Give it more time than you think you need to.

 

[Maylar]

So that wine like taste is just from the lack of sugar left in my cider? I looked into back sweetening and saw that 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of olive nation Apple concentrate per gallon will bring back my apple taste without making it taste fake and that you have to use alcohol sugar for sweetening? So that it dosnt ferment in the bottles and bust or loose the sweetness. I have to use Splenda? Or? What's everyone else using?

I haven't used Olive Nation flavorings, but I do use Nature's Flavors apple cider concentrate. Like you said, 1/4 tsp per gallon. Xylitol is my favorite non fermentable sugar - it doesn't leave an aftertaste. About 3 table spoons per gallon is good.

I bottle in 1 gallon batches, which yields 10-12 beer bottles. I can always squeeze that into my fridge. So what I've been doing is letting the cider finish dry then sweeten with frozen applejuice concentrate to SG of 1.012 or so. When the bottles carbonate, they go into the fridge. This works with ale yeasts (they go dormant cold).