I have a batch of cider that should be nearing completion. It began as 1 gallon of 365 Organic apple cider that comes from the store in a 1 gallon carboy.
I added 1 cup of corn sugar, some peptic enzyme, yeast nutrient shook the heck out of it then waited an hour and pitched half a packet of Red Star Champagne yeast.
At day 10 I didn't see anymore activity at all. Day 12 I racked it into another 1 gallon carboy and put an airlock on it just in case. After 1 week in there I racked again into 4 1L bottles with clamp style stoppers. I added 1/2 tsp of sugar in 2 of them and the other 2 I wanted to be still cider. It's been about a week.
Ok so I planned to drink one of them yesterday and the cider smells really good but has a slightly sour and soapy taste somewhat raspy, it's hard to describe? Not terrible but certainly not delicious. Did I do anything wrong? I took a sip almost 2 weeks ago and there was still active yeast in there because it made me slightly nauseous (oops) but that didn't happen this tasting.
The cider is very clear and there is just a tiny bit of white sediment at the bottom of the bottle (nothing floating). I'm not sure if that's yeast or undisolved priming sugar. Does the taste smooth out and get better over time?
I'd rather do a recipe with a quicker turn around so I can drink more often. In the future would it be better if I don't add any sugar at all? I don't want to make wine and I'm not very patient... just want something simple like a Woodchuck Cider. Store bought six packs are almost $10 around here! I want to get a good simple recipe for a better cost. I didn't take the hydrometer readings unfortunately but the stuff is pretty strong probably around 10% would be my guess after a small sampling my face started to get warm haha. I don't need it that strong. Most information I've read is that higher gravity mixtures take much longer to condition.
One more new guy question: how do I know if I have an infection in the batch or if it just needs more aging to mellow out?
I added 1 cup of corn sugar, some peptic enzyme, yeast nutrient shook the heck out of it then waited an hour and pitched half a packet of Red Star Champagne yeast.
At day 10 I didn't see anymore activity at all. Day 12 I racked it into another 1 gallon carboy and put an airlock on it just in case. After 1 week in there I racked again into 4 1L bottles with clamp style stoppers. I added 1/2 tsp of sugar in 2 of them and the other 2 I wanted to be still cider. It's been about a week.
Ok so I planned to drink one of them yesterday and the cider smells really good but has a slightly sour and soapy taste somewhat raspy, it's hard to describe? Not terrible but certainly not delicious. Did I do anything wrong? I took a sip almost 2 weeks ago and there was still active yeast in there because it made me slightly nauseous (oops) but that didn't happen this tasting.
The cider is very clear and there is just a tiny bit of white sediment at the bottom of the bottle (nothing floating). I'm not sure if that's yeast or undisolved priming sugar. Does the taste smooth out and get better over time?
I'd rather do a recipe with a quicker turn around so I can drink more often. In the future would it be better if I don't add any sugar at all? I don't want to make wine and I'm not very patient... just want something simple like a Woodchuck Cider. Store bought six packs are almost $10 around here! I want to get a good simple recipe for a better cost. I didn't take the hydrometer readings unfortunately but the stuff is pretty strong probably around 10% would be my guess after a small sampling my face started to get warm haha. I don't need it that strong. Most information I've read is that higher gravity mixtures take much longer to condition.
One more new guy question: how do I know if I have an infection in the batch or if it just needs more aging to mellow out?