I would rather drink piss.

[mrSilkie]

As the title says, i would rather drink piss then my current brew (2nd, first one wasn't even a proper brew). I'm getting a horrid taste in my apple cider, following this recipe; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/caramel-apple-cider-235368/ infact, it is so bad to the point where i gag on the taste.

I know how hard it is to explain a taste over the internet but here it goes. It's the same sort of taste of that of cheap, boxed wines. It's a kind of burnt, bitter taste that comes after the 'smooth, caramel taste' as described in the recipe. Atleast i got that right. I followed the recipe exactly apart from the fact that i used beer yeast and not champagne yeast. I wouldn't say i burnt the caramel/apple cider mix at the start because i didn't even let it caramelise, the sugar rather disolved and i said "into the bottle ya go". I also tasted the flavor before i let the yeast settle, however, it wasn't as strong but i still wouldn't drink this stuff.

I don't know what else to say; hopefully somebody could help me pinpoint what has gone horrifically wrong with my brew.

 

[Dev110]

I am in no way, shape or form an expert, but my first thought would be the yeast.

 

[mrSilkie]

Hmmm...

I hope you're right. Any way to get this stuff out though? Would pasteurizing it work?

 

[Miclip]

Don't know if off flavors are the same for beer as cider, but have you looked at this http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html/

 

[mrSilkie]

just going through, none of them seem to match. It's the same bitter sour taste that i get when i drink wine though, it seems to stick around forever aswell. I'll probably ask my parents what they think the after taste tastes like.

 

[neosapien]

My guess would be the yeast? Or perhaps just not giving it enough time to age out?

On a positive note, it's real easy to get your hands on urine...

 

[mrSilkie]

what do you mean by aging? Is that where you put it into your bottle and just leave it?

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

Sounds like you just don't like the taste of anything that isn't sweet. Wine and cider (when neither are backsweetened or have any residual sugars) has acidity without all the sugar to make it sweet like beer does. It's supposed to be like that.

The only "fix" is to add unfermentable sugar.

 

[mrSilkie]

Really, i'm taking in any suggestions. Also, you could be right ReverseApacheMaster. Should i just add raw sugar to a cup, mix it in well and taste it again?

 

[jmprdood]

How long has it been in the bottle? Most ciders take 3-6 months of bottle aging to come into their own...

 

[Yooper]

If you used a poor quality ale yeast (like Cooper's), that could explain that bad flavor. I found that Cooper's yeast gave me a really bad flavor in my beer, and I can only imagine it would be worse in cider.

 

[mrSilkie]

Well... fermentation took 2 and a half weeks and i've let the yeast settle for 3 days now.

 

[jmprdood]

Your problem is it's way too young - bottle it, put it away for 8 weeks and check back. Patience is the key...

 

[mrSilkie]

Yes sir. Also, it was the only yeast i had at the time, it was a small, white packet with "Premium Brewing Yeast - 5g" on it.
So i just need to pasture it and pop it away. Where should i let it age? in a cool dark cupboard i supose?

 

[TopherM]

What beer yeast did you use? I make alot of ciders, and always use either S-05 or Nottingham, and both make great ciders. If you have not yet pasteurized it, then you have not followed the recipe exactly. Pasteurizing kills the yeast, retaining some of the residual sweetness in the beer. Sound like you have a dry, non-apply, carmel cider right now. That would taste about like you mixed carmel into a bottle of seltzer water.

Also, as someone else stated, especially in a dry cider, it takes months of conditioning for the apple flavor to show back up.

Also, I find that most newbies to cider think they are making a Woodchuck type cider, when they are really making a dry cider. It is pretty much a PITA procedure to make a sweet cider if you are bottling. On the otherhand, backsweetening a cider is simple if you keg. Most people DO NOT like the taste of dry cider, which is what you've made here.

If you want the actual backsweetening procedure to make these more like commerical examples, let me know and I'll give it to you, but like I said, it is a real pain. You DO NOT want to just start adding raw sugar to each bottle.

Otherwise, just let this one sit for a good 3-4 months and it'll improve.

 

[mrSilkie]

The brewing yeast is unlabeled sorry, i know you brewers have all sorts of fancy names for your yeasts but mines called premium brewing yeast.

I would love to back sweeten it as you have called it to make it taste more like a commercial apple cider whilst hopefully retaining the amazing caramel taste / honey smell.

So, just making a checklist here. I need to pasturise it. Back sweeten it, then finally, let it age yes?

 

[TopherM]

Do you want a carbonated cider, or uncarbonated?

 

[mrSilkie]

I don't really mind either way. I've always had a carbonated cider so i'll go with that, not to mention, it's already a bit fizzy it seems.

 

[TopherM]

Everything is already bottled?

 

[mrSilkie]

I can't get bottles for another two days. I have to go up to the bottle-o tomorrow and buy some beers and drink them all... just for the bottles...
Anyways, i'm having a piss up with the mates tomorrow so i guess i'll be drinking beer, i won't be able to actually pasturise untill sunday. at the moment it's sitting in the freezer ready to be moved into the fridge, just trying to slow down the yeast so they don't make the cider any drier then it actually is.

So yes, it's still in it's plastic bottle, unpasturized.

 

[TopherM]

Ah, that's actual really good news that it is still in primary! You aren't going to need to pastuerize at all, and you can use real apple juice to backsweeten instead of artificial sweetener or lactose, which tastes MUCH better. Here's what you want to do:

1) You have it in the freezer?? Don't ever do that again! Anything under about 50F will hybernate most yeast, so fridge temps will do that. I can't think of any good reason to put a beer or cider in the freezer!!

Take it out of there and and let it sit at room temp for 3-4 days (after thawing) to let it finish fermenting out dry. You need healthy, active yeast to cabonate, and you are backsweetening anyway. Once it is all thawed out and the liquid is at room temp, you probably need to give it a few swirls to re-suspend the yeast.

2) I guess you made a gallon of this, as per the recipe? Go to the store and get regular 100% apple juice. RIGHT BEFORE bottling, add 16 oz of the apple juice per 1 gallon of cider and stir it in very gently, avoiding oxidation.

3) Bottle.

4) Here's where this gets a little tricky. You need to let the bottles sit at room temperature until they are carbed to your tastes. Not a day longer, not a day before. All fermentations are different, so it's really impossible to get this 100% right without sacrificing a few bottles in the process. I would let them sit for about 10 days, put one in the fridge for 24 hours, and try that one. It is VERY important to give this sampler 24 hours in the fridge to fully absorb all carbonation in the headspace of the bottle.

If it is nice and carbed, then go ahead and throw the rest of the batch in the fridge. This cold crash will stop yeast activity, leaving behind the rest of the sugars from the apple juice addition. If it is completely uncarbed after a week, it probably needs another 10 or so days. If it is close, give it another 5 or so days.

Once the whole batch of bottles is in the fridge, you really still need to give thema good 14-21 days to sit and condition. You can drink them young if you want, they will be pretty good, but ciders are SOOOOO much better with a good conditioning period than they are young.

That'll do it! Feel free to PM me if you have any problems along the way!