My first batch of cider is done fermenting...

[georgeisabamf]

So just to let yall know, I've never brewed anything before. This was basically an experiment that I wanted to give a shot and see how it ended up. I bought a gallon of organic apple juice (took out some from the top, so it is a little less than a gallon), added 3/4 cup of sugar, and threw in a little less than a whole pack of fleischmann's bakers yeast (I KNOW not the best, but again my first time, and the only homebrew store in my area is quite far away). I crafted a diy airlock with a jar and some aquarium tubing and it has been sitting for 6 days now. Now I'm pretty sure fermentation is almost entirely over as the bubbles coming out only do so once every 1-2 minutes.

Now here are where my questions are. I was planning to not do any form of secondary fermentation. I do want it to taste okay (obviously) but I also want it to be carbonated. How do I carbonate it? Before racking it I was planning to add some frozen apple juice concentrate. Would the sugars in the can be enough to produce CO2 WITHOUT exploding my bottles? Also how much should I add to a little less than a gallon? Is there easier ways to do it, or better alternatives?

My last question is about clearing. What is the easiest way to clear this stuff before I rack it? I heard adding gelatin can work for beer, how would I go about adding it, and how much gelatin should I add?

Thanks in advance for your time and all help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

[georgeisabamf]

No views, come on I need some help here. Someone has to have some insight. I did a bit of research and bought some knox gelatin that I plan on adding like 1/8th of a teaspoon per gallon, I don't know if that little bit will do anything. But that's my current plants.

Then for carbonating I'm going to rack into a can of grape (unfortunately that's all my store had really) concentrate. and possibly backsweeten with splenda to try and kill the horrible yeast taste that I'm expecting to get from the yeast I used.

Would these be good ideas? Any help is appreciated!!

 

[sa101]

So just to let yall know, I've never brewed anything before. This was basically an experiment that I wanted to give a shot and see how it ended up. I bought a gallon of organic apple juice (took out some from the top, so it is a little less than a gallon), added 3/4 cup of sugar, and threw in a little less than a whole pack of fleischmann's bakers yeast (I KNOW not the best, but again my first time, and the only homebrew store in my area is quite far away). I crafted a diy airlock with a jar and some aquarium tubing and it has been sitting for 6 days now. Now I'm pretty sure fermentation is almost entirely over as the bubbles coming out only do so once every 1-2 minutes.

Now here are where my questions are. I was planning to not do any form of secondary fermentation. I do want it to taste okay (obviously) but I also want it to be carbonated. How do I carbonate it? Before racking it I was planning to add some frozen apple juice concentrate. Would the sugars in the can be enough to produce CO2 WITHOUT exploding my bottles? Also how much should I add to a little less than a gallon? Is there easier ways to do it, or better alternatives?

My last question is about clearing. What is the easiest way to clear this stuff before I rack it? I heard adding gelatin can work for beer, how would I go about adding it, and how much gelatin should I add?

Thanks in advance for your time and all help would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Ok, did you want to end up with a sweet or dry finished product? This will decide when you should be racking and bottling.
Judging by the decreased airlock activity after only 6 days, I'm presuming you didn't add any yeast nutrient? How was the activity during those 6 days, was the airlock bubbling away like crazy? I reckon you've still got a relatively low alcoholic cider brewing.........no hyrdrometer reading?

I would recommend racking. It clears the cider up, leaving all the yeast at the bottom, but that's your call. Also, about clearing, you should normally add a teaspoon of pectic enzyme (pectinol) 12 hours before you add the yeast to the juice. Although if you add it before bottling and store in a cool place, it still has an effect on the final product, albeit not as pronounced if you'd added it beforehand.

If you want to carbonate, it's suggested to add one teaspoon of dextrose (that's what I use, but you can use whatever you want) per bottle. But I think due to the fact that you've still got plenty of sugar left in your cider, and that you'll be adding concentrate, you wont need any added sugar for this process. Are you bottling into plastic or glass?

Answer those questions and I'm sure more people will be willing to help

 

[georgeisabamf]

Ok, did you want to end up with a sweet or dry finished product? This will decide when you should be racking and bottling.
Judging by the decreased airlock activity after only 6 days, I'm presuming you didn't add any yeast nutrient? How was the activity during those 6 days, was the airlock bubbling away like crazy? I reckon you've still got a relatively low alcoholic cider brewing.........no hyrdrometer reading?

I would recommend racking. It clears the cider up, leaving all the yeast at the bottom, but that's your call. Also, about clearing, you should normally add a teaspoon of pectic enzyme (pectinol) 12 hours before you add the yeast to the juice. Although if you add it before bottling and store in a cool place, it still has an effect on the final product, albeit not as pronounced if you'd added it beforehand.

If you want to carbonate, it's suggested to add one teaspoon of dextrose (that's what I use, but you can use whatever you want) per bottle. But I think due to the fact that you've still got plenty of sugar left in your cider, and that you'll be adding concentrate, you wont need any added sugar for this process. Are you bottling into plastic or glass?

Answer those questions and I'm sure more people will be willing to help

I like sweet/dry but more leaning towards the sweet side, if that makes sense. If you've ever had woodchuck cider, to me their 802 is the best blend, the amber is too sweet and the granny smith is too sour. and you are right, I did not add any form of nutrient. Would this be detrimental in the long run? I'm sure it would affect ABV, and I really had no way of testing gravities to determine ABV's which is a big downfall for me but if it ends up with at least 4% abv with the bare minimum ingedients I used, I'd be happy enough.

and I plan to bottle in glass. I heard that using a juice concentrate at a ratio of about 24g of sugar to a gallon would be fine for carbonating. I don't know if the glass may explode from the carbonation, but I am using twist top varieties if it makes a difference.

Again this is my first time, though if it's remotely good I will head to the closest brewing store I can and buy more legit yeast, a hydrometer, a real airlock and a carboy. I just wanted to see what could be made with some basic basic materials.

and also during the first 3-4 days it was bubbling quite often, once every 5-10 seconds. The 4-5 day it was basically once every 17-30 seconds, and now it's at once every 1-2 minutes, way slower than at first. It did start fermenting quite fast, I mean literally 1-2 hours after mixing everything the airlock was shooting out bubbles quite rapidly.

also taking into consideration about carbonating and the fact that I didn't use nutrient, would not using nutrient KILL the yeast, or SLOW it down more or less? I guess in other words, if the yeast stopped fermenting so quickly, would it still be able to produce enough CO2 to carbonate the bottles? Or should I possibly repitch more? I used a whole bag of the crappy yeast to a gallon, I feel like that's quite a bit, but without nutes I am not sure

 

[georgeisabamf]

and just so I know for the future, what kind of yeast should I use for future batches? I've heard good things about ale yeast. I also want to backsweeten the next batch and will actually measure gravities and shoot for a high ABV just to see what comes of it. I mean all I had to spend for this experiment was probably 6 bucks, so I'm not wasting much if it turns out horrid it's just a learning experience in the long run.

haha I'm stupid and didn't realize I had a hydrometer (not for brewing, but for my salt water fish tank) that I never use laying around too bad I didn't read it before I pitched in the yeast so I can't figure out the ABV. But at least for future reference, I know I have one, and it also measures temp too, quite handy!

 

[phatspade]

I just cracked open my first batch and i used just a can of concentrate for 4 gal of cider. The carbonation lvl is just right for what i want but it took 2 wks. If your batch is bubbling that slow now id just bottle now. When i bottled i had an FG of 1.006 and didnt have an explosion yet. So im assuming a can of concentrate doesnt have a lot of simple sugars.

Ale yeast doesnt make a totally dry cider and leaves residual flavor. I used s-05 yeast and my simple batch tastes like asti with apple aroma.

 

[georgeisabamf]

I just cracked open my first batch and i used just a can of concentrate for 4 gal of cider. The carbonation lvl is just right for what i want but it took 2 wks. If your batch is bubbling that slow now id just bottle now. When i bottled i had an FG of 1.006 and didnt have an explosion yet. So im assuming a can of concentrate doesnt have a lot of simple sugars.

Ale yeast doesnt make a totally dry cider and leaves residual flavor. I used s-05 yeast and my simple batch tastes like asti with apple aroma.

sweet man. I just threw in a mixture of gelatin and water (about 3/4th's teaspoon to 2/3rd's a cup of water) and mixed her in to my batch (still in primary vessel). I hope it clears after 48 hours or so, but if not, no biggie.

I plan to bottle it with the fruit concentrate. I figure it will either help corbonation or as least add SOME sweet flavor. But thanks for the yeast tips! I hope my local brew store (it's about an hour drive from my place) has what I need. It's actually a supply store that apparently carries a large amount of ingredients (hops, yeasts, wood chips, etc.) but not so much brewing gear kind of stuff. I really need to get some carboys and start mixing more legit/larges batches. Nowadays I find myself drinking more cider than I do beer (NEVER thought that'd happen) and brewing my own would save a lot of money

I still am unsure about if carbonation will work or not with the yeast being so inactive.

 

[sa101]

I like sweet/dry but more leaning towards the sweet side, if that makes sense. If you've ever had woodchuck cider, to me their 802 is the best blend, the amber is too sweet and the granny smith is too sour. and you are right, I did not add any form of nutrient. Would this be detrimental in the long run? I'm sure it would affect ABV, and I really had no way of testing gravities to determine ABV's which is a big downfall for me but if it ends up with at least 4% abv with the bare minimum ingedients I used, I'd be happy enough.

and I plan to bottle in glass. I heard that using a juice concentrate at a ratio of about 24g of sugar to a gallon would be fine for carbonating. I don't know if the glass may explode from the carbonation, but I am using twist top varieties if it makes a difference.

Again this is my first time, though if it's remotely good I will head to the closest brewing store I can and buy more legit yeast, a hydrometer, a real airlock and a carboy. I just wanted to see what could be made with some basic basic materials.

and also during the first 3-4 days it was bubbling quite often, once every 5-10 seconds. The 4-5 day it was basically once every 17-30 seconds, and now it's at once every 1-2 minutes, way slower than at first. It did start fermenting quite fast, I mean literally 1-2 hours after mixing everything the airlock was shooting out bubbles quite rapidly.

also taking into consideration about carbonating and the fact that I didn't use nutrient, would not using nutrient KILL the yeast, or SLOW it down more or less? I guess in other words, if the yeast stopped fermenting so quickly, would it still be able to produce enough CO2 to carbonate the bottles? Or should I possibly repitch more? I used a whole bag of the crappy yeast to a gallon, I feel like that's quite a bit, but without nutes I am not sure

In my opinion, you're better off picking up the essential brewing gear to get an accurate idea of what making cider is all about. You're not going to get a decent drink from what your making in that 1 gallon batch in my eyes. Might as well fork out a little bit of money for the basic gear and expand from there. This is what I would suggest;
1) Brewing bucket (30 litres, with spighot)
2) Bottling bucket
3) Hydrometer
4) Yeast nutrient
5) Pectic Enzyme
6) Airlocks
7) Ale yeast (Nottingham is popular)
8) Sugar (I use dextrose, can use brown sugar)

do it!

you won't need to use additional sugar, there'll be plenty in there to carbonate depending when you want to do it. I suggest shaking up your bottle a bit to enhance activity

 

[georgeisabamf]

Alright thanks for the info everyone, I know I do need more legit equipment. But that will have to wait for the next batch. When I bottle these to carbonate them, should I put them in the fridge after I rack them? Or store them at room temp or so until they carbonate?

 

[snortwheeze]

Shaking the bottle will oxygenate the brew and allow for the production of apple vinegar. Don't shake, if you need to, gently stir. Otherwise, enjoy!

 

[phatspade]

It's not really too late to get pectic enzyme either. I didn't add it until 2 weeks in and it still cleared up the cider. I can reassure you that just using concentrate will carb the cider, but will take a bit longer than using regular sugar.

Seeing that you're from Land O' Lakes...I'm assuming that the closest brew shop is Southern Brew? That's the place I got the tip to use an ale yeast instead of champagne or even a cider yeast. They are spot on for good knowledge on any type of brewing. Just don't expect to see a huge selection for beer stuff since it's mainly a wine shop.

 

[saramc]

You mention you are seeking something on the sweet side, so unless you add a non-fermentable sugar source, like Splenda as you mentioned, you will likely still end up with a dry cider. Simply because unless your bread yeast have died from alcohol toxicity (which that yeast can exceed 12% & you have not come close to that threshold with 1 gallon juice + 3/4 cup sugar) they will just continue to eat the sugar. So a priming sugar (or using any residual sugar at time of bottling) plus a non-fermentable for sweetening purposes is what you will likely need.
Also when you are shopping for yeasts, remember that wine yeasts in dry packs are typically $1 or less, while Safale US-05 and the like are usually $3-5 (at least in my area). Wine yeasts are easily adapted to hard cider too.
A good experiment to get your feet wet, but I think you will like fermenting with the real goods and a bit more research. It can get dangerous if you go into it blind (ie: bottle bombs, etc).