No ABV% in my cider.

[Hairathien]

Hello there,

I'm very much a newbie when it comes to brewing, this has been the first time I've tried it after being gifted a home-brew kit from my parents, I already expected that my first attempt wouldn't be completely perfect
I've followed the instructions given by the kit and waited the suggested period of time, over the past few weeks I've been trying it to see if its been getting better, but no change. I then recently found a hydrometer in the house and tested my cider.... It's about as potent as water.... is this normal for first attempts, or have a messed up in a major way. I'll provide a picture of the hydrometer in the cider for reference for the experienced brewers out there if you need it.

Thank you for any help you can give me, I'd really like to get into the home-brewing of cider and be proud of what I can make!

 

[Harleybrew32]

did you get a gravity reading before you pitched the yeast in?
1.000 would be a dry cider, which is kind of normal. did you taste it?
you should be able to taste the alcohol in it.

couple quick notes for you.
1. have fun with brewing.
2. clean everything really good
3. sanitize everything and if your not sure sanitize it again.
4. take gravity readings before you pitch yeast
5. take at least 2 readings at the end. (dont dump them back into the fermentor)

oh yeah RDWHAHB (Relax Dont Worry Have A Home Brew)
cheers

 

[Hairathien]

Thanks for the feedback,

I didn't take any reading before I pitched the yeast as the instructions I was following didn't say anything about taking any.
I've tasted it several times but haven't dumped anything back it. It tastes like fruit water with a bit of bitterness to it, I can't taste any alcohol in it.
Is there a way I could restart the fermenting, or would you recommend just restarting and try a new batch?

But regardless I have enjoyed the brewing process, and won't let this setback stop me.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks for the feedback,

I didn't take any reading before I pitched the yeast as the instructions I was following didn't say anything about taking any.
I've tasted it several times but haven't dumped anything back it. It tastes like fruit water with a bit of bitterness to it, I can't taste any alcohol in it.
Is there a way I could restart the fermenting, or would you recommend just restarting and try a new batch?

But regardless I have enjoyed the brewing process, and won't let this setback stop me.

What is the hydrometer reading? If it's close to 1.000, it's done fermenting.

Tell us the ingredients and we can help figure out the ABV. It's likely 4-5% if you followed the directions.

 

[Harleybrew32]

you could repitch some yeast in it and see if it takes off. is it room temp?
do you remember what yeast you added to it?

 

[Yooper]

you could repitch some yeast in it and see if it takes off. is it room temp?
do you remember what yeast you added to it?

If it's reading 1.000 or so, there are 0 fermentable sugars in it. That's what I think they meant by "as potent as water", so adding yeast won't do anything except make it yeasty.

 

[Hairathien]

After leaving leaving the hydrometer in the cider for around 30 mins, its now reading above 1000 / 0 maybe 0.5 from the looks of it...

It was a kit so here's its list of ingredients: Apple juice concentrate, Glucose-fructose syrup, Fruit juice concentrates (11%) (blackcurrant, blackberry), Preservative (SODIUM METABISULPHITE), Natural flavourings, Yeast (in sachet).

Although I've recently revisited the product page to see what the reviews are like, as this was brought spur of the moment as a gift to me and all the reviews are saying they have similar results.

For the future would you be able to recommend any other kits or methods, I'm based in the UK.

 

[Harleybrew32]

yeah 1.000 slipped my mind after reading it not sure how all that sugar disappeared with no trace of alcohol.
if you put that hydro in some room temp water what does it read?

take some of that juice/must out and add some sugar maybe 2 cups worth bring to a boil then cool it down and add it back the fermentor.

or dump it and grab some apple juice from your local store and add some sugar or brown sugar to it.
pitch some US-05 dry yeast and watch it go.
the hardest thing for me was with ciders was to backsweeten them after fermentation, then i started kegging and now its not a problem.

 

[Hairathien]

Thanks for helping!

On a side note, I took out a cup of the 'cider' and there are some black bits floating about in it, is this common and simply just filter them out if I bottle later?

 

[Yooper]

No, you should not have any black bits! Maybe brownish from sediment or yeast, but not black anything.

If you put those ingredients in the mix, and now the hydrometer is reading below 1.040 or so (where it probably started), it is fermented out. You cant taste the booze maybe, but thats a good thing as it's unpleasant to drink boozy cider.

You don't want to filter when you bottle, as that will oxidize the heck out of it. Simple siphon to the bottles as gently as you can, and leave any sediment behind.

Your cider is finished. It has alcohol in it. I can't say exactly how much, but it fermented out completely.

 

[jseyfert3]

I mean, I personally don't usually taste alcohol in (commercial) beer and cider in the 5% range. Isn't it entirely possible, no, almost certainly that this is fully alcoholic?

Drink a pint and see if the alcohol is there.

 

[Yooper]

I mean, I personally don't usually taste alcohol in (commercial) beer and cider in the 5% range. Isn't it entirely possible, no, almost certainly that this is fully alcoholic?

Drink a pint and see if the alcohol is there.

Absolutely. No one wants a boozy 4-5% drink, as that is a huge fermentation flaw, the kind that causes killer headaches from fusel alcohols.

If you can actually taste a alcohol burn in something like a cider, then it's not a good thing.

 

[Harleybrew32]

yeah no black floaties should be in it.
there was nothing floating on the top/surface? no black or fuzzy stuff(mold).
that would mean to dump it.
I've only brewed a few batches of cider and they all were 10% or more. very dry, once i back sweetened in the keg they were pretty easy to drink.
can you post a pic of it?

 

[nxc3441]

Prior to pitching the yeast into your brew, it's crucial to take a gravity reading. This step ensures that you have precise control over how much alcohol volume (ABV) it will produce in your homemade beverage. Personally, I wouldn't serve any of my home-brewed drinks to guests without having the correct ABV, as it ensures a more enjoyable and responsible experience for everyone involved.

 

[fluketamer]

i would argue that its not crucial to take starting gravity reading. you can get a pretty good idea from a web forumula based on how much sugar is in there.

one could argue that you can taste when a brew is done by how sweet it is ( obviously not accurate)

what kit did you use. i tried a cider kit and the ingresients looked very simialr to yours. the kit made crappy cider much worse than just using store bought apple juice. i am not sure why a cider kit would have glucose fructose syrup in it.

the cider kit i tried made very thin watery tasting cider i bet you are experincing the same.

try grahams english cider its super quick super easy and alwys comes out great
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/grahams-english-cider.107152/
my favorite is wham cider - just pour a few gallons of apple juice onto a yeast cake and in two weeks - wham - cider.

( i realize you dont have a yeast cake but consider it next time you rack your next cider. )

the dead yeast cells in the cake make for enough nutrients for the yeast to chew threw subsequent cider

stay away from cider kits IMO