Frustrated First-timer

[matrim]

So heres the story from the beginning:

I had some apples, washed, cored, and juiced them right into a 6 gallon carboy through cheese cloth. I ended up with a little over 5 gallons of juice.

The OG was about 1.065 and pH was 3.75 so I did NOT add any acid or sugars to the juice (tasted delicious - killed me to not just drink it.)

Everything looked good so I crushed five campden (1 per gallon right?) tablets and swirled them into the juice and let it sit for about 36 hours.

I then pitched WLP300 as per instructions along with half a teaspoon yeast nutrient dissolved in water. Then I fitted a bung and airlock

After about two days there was no action in the airlock. I figured it must be too cold so i prepared a warm water bath. Upon moving it I noticed a slightly sulfury smell. After a little bit of a panic and a search on this site I splash racked it and went ahead with the water bath. Shortly after, there was action in the airlock. yay

Fermentation continued for almost a month and slowed way down. The SG was about 1.005

Cold crashed then racked into a five gallon carboy (still a sulfury smell - but people keep saying its normal.)

I let it sit in this carboy for another month. At this point the cider was crystal clear. I opened it up to measure SG and it smelled fairly strongly of sulfur. The SG was 1.001

At this point I thought the cider was beyond repair and tried splash racking four times. I decide to bottle anyways - because I couldnt bring myself to dump it - so I mixed in 140 grams of corn sugar dissolved in water and bottled.

It tastes like very very watery dry cider with a bit of sulfur. It was pretty much undrinkable.

Do these have any chance of getting better in the bottles?

Where did I go wrong?

What should I do differently next time?

Im picking up some juice today (gonna skip the juicing step this time)

 

[LeBreton]

What apples did you use? Many modern sweet apple varieties do not have enough body to make good cider.

 

[matrim]

Heh, I asked the people who owned the trees and they didnt know. <shrugs>

I used three different varieties. One was super sweet. One was on the tart side and the other was right in the middle.

The juice tasted fantastic tho.

 

[LeBreton]

Judging by the SG and pH of the juice (both high) I would say your blend is off and you only put in sweet apples. I've had success buying high quality sweet juice and juicing 50% from selected sharps and bitters.

Minimize sulfur by keeping your yeast happier, follow guidelines for pitching, temperature, pH, and nutrients. Remember most yeasts are designed for wine and beer and require special consideration when it comes to cider.

 

[matrim]

Thanks for all the help

What would be an ideal OG and pH?

What varieties would be considered sharps and bitters?

Do you have any suggestions for what yeasts to use?

 

[brewingmeister]

Splash racking?

 

[matrim]

"From Jack Keller's website:
Rotten-Egg Smell: Hydrogen-sulfide gas manifests itself as the smell of rotten eggs. Pour the must or wine from one container to another for a few minutes to aerate it. Refit the airlock and wait a few hours. If the smell persists, repeat the procedure. If the smell persists after four such procedures, destroy the batch."

An attempt to reduce the sulfur taste/smell

 

[LeBreton]

Your OG is fine, it's just an indicator of the type of apples you may have used. Personally, I like cider to be nice and crisp so 3.3-3.5 is typically what I aim for in acidity.

Sharps are high acid apples and will help you cider have a nice tart ending. Also called baking apples, these are varieties like Granny Smith and Northern Spy.

Bitters are high tannin apples and will give a better body to the cider. These are not commonly grown commercially or sold and can be hard to find. You can use crab-apples here.

I've never used WLP300 or any hefeweizen yeast and it may be contributing to the sulfur smell. Maybe someone else with hefe yeast experience can weigh in here. I've had success with ale and lager yeast as well as champagne.

 

[mikeysab]

Any cider i've ever made, no matter the yeast, juice, or sg, experienced a stinky ferment. Bad enough to think of dumping it. Even through bottling, some were pretty terrible. I stuck with them and they all turned out fine. My gravities have ranged from 1.050 yo 1.100. I say stick with it and it'll clear up

 

[matrim]

Thanks, I'll try mixing in some tart apples next time.

I guess I'll hold off until next season. Too bad, I can get great fresh pressed juice for 6/gallon.

Well, that's a little encouraging. I guess I'll just keep them for a few months and then start trying them. Hopefully those apples didn't all go to waste.