Having trouble with 1st try at Hard Seltzer

[Misterobots]

So.. update (again). It seems that the "Chia seed cap" seems to be holding co2 in. Haha. I've taken another gravity reading and it's reading 1.020 (refractometer). I completely understand that these "hard seltzers" can take a while to drop to desired fg, but what I find interesting is that the sample I take from the fermenter seems to almost be a bit carbonated(explained by cmac62) and pretty clear, surprisingly. The batch is still thumping away(bubbling through the blow off at about once per minute or so). The sample definitely tastes of sugar and alcohol haha. I've just never had a fermentation behave like this and I have been unable to get any information on what part the Chia seed addition is responsible for(other than keeping co2 in suspension) and what else the Chia seeds may be helping with or causing.

 

[Marz]

So I found this thread from a google search. I am doing a seltzer with ec-1118 (never used ec-1118 before) and I first pitched the yeast dry (I normally use a different dry yeast which does not require me to prime it with warm water) and there was no activity at all in ferm for 3 days so I had another packet of ec-1118 and properly primed it and activity started within 12 hours. My starting gravity was 1.028 when the recipe claimed 1.034 and it has only been 2 days since the second addition of yeast and is already down to 1.010 as of 30 minutes ago but the smell is nasty and I did a sip taste and was very bitter/sour which I would not have expected considering this is just sugar and water. Is my batch tainted or something? Or does it normally taste/smell like this using ec-1118 and Fermex nutrient?

 

[Misterobots]

So I found this thread from a google search. I am doing a seltzer with ec-1118 (never used ec-1118 before) and I first pitched the yeast dry (I normally use a different dry yeast which does not require me to prime it with warm water) and there was no activity at all in ferm for 3 days so I had another packet of ec-1118 and properly primed it and activity started within 12 hours. My starting gravity was 1.028 when the recipe claimed 1.034 and it has only been 2 days since the second addition of yeast and is already down to 1.010 as of 30 minutes ago but the smell is nasty and I did a sip taste and was very bitter/sour which I would not have expected considering this is just sugar and water. Is my batch tainted or something? Or does it normally taste/smell like this using ec-1118 and Fermex nutrient?

What does the "nasty smell" smell like? Does it smell coppery or acidic? You said you never used 1118 before. Ec-1118 is a champagne yeast, I noticed a particular smell(of champagne) when I used it in a sugar wash, but it seemed to go away after keg/cold. condition/carb.

 

[Marz]

What does the "nasty smell" smell like? Does it smell coppery or acidic? You said you never used 1118 before. Ec-1118 is a champagne yeast, I noticed a particular smell(of champagne) when I used it in a sugar wash, but it seemed to go away after keg/cold. condition/carb.

It has a egg/sulfur smell

 

[NewJersey]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PDTC5WM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_vxVcGbQF169PDhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DCL6C8V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_qyVcGb45R66K5
I've read on here and elsewhere around the internet that these 2 combined with high temperature lead to a very fast fermentation and clear end product.
My hard seltzer attempt is currently at 1.000 after starting at 1.036 on Jan 11th. It has been the weirdest fermentation of my life as it's dropped a point or 2 over the last 5 days. It's extremely slow, but pretty steady.
I used dextrose, tap water with a campden, oxygenated with pure o2, one packet of SO5, and have added fermaid several times. Started at 65⁰ and have bumped it up little by little to 70⁰.
I'm definitely ready for this to be done, but want it to finish on its own.

 

[NewJersey]

I'm gonna use table sugar next time as it's much cheaper and I'll flavor it with something colored so I don't have to worry about the 1 srm that table sugar supposedly yields.

 

[NewJersey]

Well, my hard seltzer completely stalled at .999
Beersmith said it should have gone down to .991
Oh well.
Anyone gotten down to .991??

 

[Marz]

Well, my hard seltzer completely stalled at .999
Beersmith said it should have gone down to .991
Oh well.
Anyone gotten down to .991??

No. My update on my issue is that there is no issue other than the first packet of EC-1118 not activating but second packet did but I was not happy with the original gravity of 1.028 so I added another pound of sugar to the fermenter and yeast reactivated again and got the FG down to 1.000 on the dot. Egg smell is gone completely (turns out that this yeast CAN give off that smell if it is starving so if it DOES give off a egg/sulfur smell then don't worry about it, it'll go away) and I did a taste test during bottling and was not sour at all so all seems fine and currently conditioning. I did cold crash after 3 days of the Isinglass being added and made the seltzer super clear so I added a couple flakes of SafeAle-05 I had laying around to each bottle before capping so that they can carbonate.

 

[Cookin’chickens]

What minerals were in your mineral packet? Since you started with distilled water it's likely that your water is deficient in something... calcium, magnesium, and zinc are all necessary for yeast metabolism. Also, what's in your yeast nutrient? Sometimes yeast nutrient only contains DAP (Diammonium phosphate) and no other vitamins or minerals. You'd probably have better results using one of the following as they are a more complete nutrient:

Wyeast Yeast Nutrient - 1.5 oz | MoreBeer

White Labs Yeast Nutrient - WLN1000 | MoreBeer

@cswis86

I brewed two hard seltzer’s: one that came out to final gravity of 1.000 and had a white cloudy translucent color, and one that came out to FG of 0.992 (did not take OGs of either) and is yellow cloudy color.

To both seltzer’s I added Fermax Yeast Nutrient twice.

Any clue what makes the yellow color?

thanks,

Cookin’ Chickens

What minerals were in your mineral packet? Since you started with distilled water it's likely that your water is deficient in something... calcium, magnesium, and zinc are all necessary for yeast metabolism. Also, what's in your yeast nutrient? Sometimes yeast nutrient only contains DAP (Diammonium phosphate) and no other vitamins or minerals. You'd probably have better results using one of the following as they are a more complete nutrient:

Wyeast Yeast Nutrient - 1.5 oz | MoreBeer

White Labs Yeast Nutrient - WLN1000 | MoreBeer

 

[Marz]

@cswis86

I brewed two hard seltzer’s: one that came out to final gravity of 1.000 and had a white cloudy translucent color, and one that came out to FG of 0.992 (did not take OGs of either) and is yellow cloudy color.

To both seltzer’s I added Fermaid Yeast Nutrient twice.

Any clue what makes the yellow color?

thanks,

Cookin’ Chickens

Did you use pure cane sugar? I just did a hard root beer and used pure cane and noticed it turned yellow. My seltzer I used corn sugar and it also turned yellow but after cold crashing and using isinglass, the seltzer came out SUPER clear

 

[Cookin’chickens]

@Marz

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I used pure cane powdered sugar from Costco (50-lb bag). I kegged last night and put both seltzer’s into the keezer at ~36-degrees Fahrenheit to cold crash and let let particles settle. Next step will be fining, carbonating, then flavoring.

 

[Cookin’chickens]

Did you use pure cane sugar? I just did a hard root beer and used pure cane and noticed it turned yellow. My seltzer I used corn sugar and it also turned yellow but after cold crashing and using isinglass, the seltzer came out SUPER clear

@Marz

is the corona bottle filled with your seltzer?

 

[Marz]

@Marz

is the corona bottle filled with your seltzer?

Yes, the Corona bottle is the seltzer I did. The fining should resolve your yellow problem. As you can see, mine is BARELY yellow. Are you kegging and force carbonating or natural carbonating in keg or bottles? If you are not force carbonating with CO2 tank, I would recommend using some champagne yeast or Safeale-05 and adding about 5 flakes of yeast per bottle so that it has some yeast to carbonate, I feel the fining took out most if not all of the yeast because of how well it works and you need some left over to carbonate in keg/bottles if not using CO2 tank.

 

[Cookin’chickens]

Yes, the Corona bottle is the seltzer I did. The fining should resolve your yellow problem. As you can see, mine is BARELY yellow. Are you kegging and force carbonating or natural carbonating in keg or bottles? If you are not force carbonating with CO2 tank, I would recommend using some champagne yeast or Safeale-05 and adding about 5 flakes of yeast per bottle so that it has some yeast to carbonate, I feel the fining took out most if not all of the yeast because of how well it works and you need some left over to carbonate in keg/bottles if not using CO2 tank.

@Marz

I am kegging with a CO2 tank and force carbonating. The yellow is a unique color. For funsies I might add a food die or real fruit juice to make a more palatable color than yellow. Black cherry will be going in one keg.

What flavor should I use for the other keg?

Thanks,

Cookin’chickens

 

[NitrogenWidget]

Time to make some more of this to prepare for summer!
I think this yr I will switch to crystalized citrus instead of homebrew extracts.
Amazon sells packets of True crystalized lemon, lime, grapefruit, and orange in 32 packet boxes or 25g of the stuff.
Northern brewer includes 18g of the stuff in their 5 gallon seltzer kits so it should be enough.

now i'm thinking mojito selzter. I have some mint leaves I dried last yr I could make some tea from.

 

[Chuckbergman]

I know the difference is probably semantic, but I'm interested in making a hard flavored sparkling water. Not really a hard naturally carbonated mineral water (ala Perrier), but something along the lines of the Sparkling Ice brand of flavored waters.

Maybe it is just my tastebuds, but I can't stand the "carbonated" flavor of seltzer water, so not really a fan of most seltzers. Honestly haven't tried many hard seltzers so I can't rate them at this time. But I really enjoy Sparkling Ice brand and would like to make a hard homebrew variation.

Yes, I know that I can just add vodka to Sparkling Ice, but wanting to make my own. Do you think it is amount of carbonation that is the key? Maybe a less carbonated hard flavored water would have less of that "CO2" flavor that you get from a seltzer.

I've been making homebrew for 10 years, but never tackled a hard seltzer. Input appreciated.

 

[Marz]

I know the difference is probably semantic, but I'm interested in making a hard flavored sparkling water. Not really a hard naturally carbonated mineral water (ala Perrier), but something along the lines of the Sparkling Ice brand of flavored waters.

Maybe it is just my tastebuds, but I can't stand the "carbonated" flavor of seltzer water, so not really a fan of most seltzers. Honestly haven't tried many hard seltzers so I can't rate them at this time. But I really enjoy Sparkling Ice brand and would like to make a hard homebrew variation.

Yes, I know that I can just add vodka to Sparkling Ice, but wanting to make my own. Do you think it is amount of carbonation that is the key? Maybe a less carbonated hard flavored water would have less of that "CO2" flavor that you get from a seltzer.

I've been making homebrew for 10 years, but never tackled a hard seltzer. Input appreciated.

I have never had a Sparkling Ice before but you have peaked my interest as I do not enjoy the taste of carbonated water either and although my seltzer came out pretty good, I only drank 1 and gave away the other 47ish bottles of it and they enjoyed it haha.

I looked up the ingredients of a Sparkling Ice to see what things could change the flavor to be less of a "CO2" flavor compared to a seltzer and I am wondering if maybe the different vitamins added will mitigate some of the carbonated water taste.

Blue Raspberry - Sparkling Ice Ingredients:

Carbonated Water, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Potassium Benzoate (To Ensure Freshness), Fruit Juice (For Color), Sucralose, Caffeine From Natural Sources, Gum Arabic, Green Tea Extract, Calcium Disodium Edta (To Protect Flavor), Ester Gum, Retinol (Vitamin A), Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), Biotin, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6).


So maybe finding some of these chemicals that make up the "vitamins" in this drink or any other Sparkling Ice could be the key. Also the fruit juice they added might have helped along with the green tea extract might have a small impact as well on the ending flavor. I presume these Sparkling Ice drinks have a slightly sweeter flavor than a seltzer so maybe make a seltzer but back sweeten it before racking or cold crash to curb fermentation so that it leaves a little sugar in there. My batch of Seltzer has virtually no sweetness to it and my FG was exactly 1.000 so there was virtually almost no sugar left in it.

Hope this tiny bit of info helps and I'd like to know how your batch turns out so that I could maybe reconsider my stance on brewing another seltzer in the future

 

[Chuckbergman]

I have never had a Sparkling Ice before but you have peaked my interest as I do not enjoy the taste of carbonated water either and although my seltzer came out pretty good, I only drank 1 and gave away the other 47ish bottles of it and they enjoyed it haha.

I looked up the ingredients of a Sparkling Ice to see what things could change the flavor to be less of a "CO2" flavor compared to a seltzer and I am wondering if maybe the different vitamins added will mitigate some of the carbonated water taste.

Blue Raspberry - Sparkling Ice Ingredients:

Carbonated Water, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Potassium Benzoate (To Ensure Freshness), Fruit Juice (For Color), Sucralose, Caffeine From Natural Sources, Gum Arabic, Green Tea Extract, Calcium Disodium Edta (To Protect Flavor), Ester Gum, Retinol (Vitamin A), Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3), Biotin, Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B12), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6).


So maybe finding some of these chemicals that make up the "vitamins" in this drink or any other Sparkling Ice could be the key. Also the fruit juice they added might have helped along with the green tea extract might have a small impact as well on the ending flavor. I presume these Sparkling Ice drinks have a slightly sweeter flavor than a seltzer so maybe make a seltzer but back sweeten it before racking or cold crash to curb fermentation so that it leaves a little sugar in there. My batch of Seltzer has virtually no sweetness to it and my FG was exactly 1.000 so there was virtually almost no sugar left in it.

Hope this tiny bit of info helps and I'd like to know how your batch turns out so that I could maybe reconsider my stance on brewing another seltzer in the future

Thanks Marz. I didn't think about the vitamins as affecting flavor. I did consider the fruit juice. Yes, Sparkling Ice brand is sweeter than other seltzers or carbonated beverages. Maybe more back sweeting, using more concentrated fruit juices, and slightly less carbonation would yield a less "CO2" flavored carbonated water.