when can i drink my cider

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like2brew

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gonna be in the primary for ten days next saturday. gonna bottle it then. carb it and wait. i know time will do wonders but i am impatient:) 5 gallons of motts and a packet of safale-s04. what do you think
 
I'd not even bottle it for at least a month. At 10 days, it might not be done fermenting, it might not be clear, and it might taste really yeasty.

Ideally, you'd bottle it at about 3 months old or later. I can understand wanting to rush it, but you don't want yeasty bottle bombs.
 
Agreed, it is most definitely not ready to bottle after 10 days. I say wait unless until it clears completely, even if you are too impatient to age it at all.
 
I am impatient too. I say after 10 days you could stick it in the fridge for a couple weeks (in the primary) then it will be fine. Though this will only work if your are not carbing or force carbing as there will likely still be some sugar left
 
Looks like I made my first experimental cider(s) about the same time you did. They were pretty much done fermenting so I racked them today to new jugs for the clarification benefits, which are substantial. See cooking, roasting, brewing: first hard apple cider, part 4 if you are curious.

It was also good chance to sample...and no, of course that wasn't my primary motivation! They are definitely pretty green at this point. I would recommend having a taste so that you can get a sense of how the cider progresses over time.

Steve
 
Just make more, that way you have some aging while you are drinking the last batch. Drinking it all early will get you hooked on drinking it young, when you could be enjoying it so much more if you let it age. Trust me, it is worth the wait.

I personally won't bottle till it is crystal clear, if not letting it bulk age for a few (or 9) months. If you get a bit of assembly line going, when one batch is ready to start drinking the next will be aging and ready to drink when you run out of the last. It is definitely worth it, not sure how else to stress it.
 
I am impatient too. I say after 10 days you could stick it in the fridge for a couple weeks (in the primary) then it will be fine. Though this will only work if your are not carbing or force carbing as there will likely still be some sugar left

That's the one thing I wouldn't do- 10 day old cider will taste like ass. Sticking it in the fridge will slow the aging process, and maybe prevent the yeast from continuing to finish it up, but that will really give hard cider a bad name.
 
I'd not even bottle it for at least a month. At 10 days, it might not be done fermenting, it might not be clear, and it might taste really yeasty.

Ideally, you'd bottle it at about 3 months old or later. I can understand wanting to rush it, but you don't want yeasty bottle bombs.



i think i can wait a month at least, if its gonna make it better. i read a few posts with guys drinking apfelwein in just a month or so so i figured what the hey i'll be alright with my cider. i will be patient and in the mean time get another one going. thanks guys for saving me :D
 
Good. Wait that month. In the mean time, buy another fermenter and start another batch.
 
That's the one thing I wouldn't do- 10 day old cider will taste like ass. Sticking it in the fridge will slow the aging process, and maybe prevent the yeast from continuing to finish it up, but that will really give hard cider a bad name.

hmm, i just did this with some cran and grape juice. Both were amazing after some time i the fridge. It clears them right up.
 
you CAN drink it at a month, on the other hand, you'd really be thanking yourself if you wait for 3 months at least, on my plain ciders I wait 4-5 months before even thinking about opening one, they get much better with age, and I really think you're doing yourself a disservice by drinking them all before they are at their prime. Would you drink a barley wine at one month? how about a belgian dark strong? a wine? so why drink your cider young?
 
well, took a sample when i said i was gonna. tastes awesome! a little bit on dry side with a wine like taste but wicked clear and no yeast taste at all. i am gonna bottle it in a bit with 5 oz of priming sugar. got my bottles all ready to go and my primary up on the counter with some books underneath! will let you know how it tastes now in a bit
 
its been bottled and taste awesome. the safale formed a really compact cake and i was able to siphon off most of the cider before i disturbed the yeast. my only problem is i dumped the priming sugar a little at a time in the bottling bucket while it was flowing. was i supposed to mix the sugar with warm water first?? i'm having a brain fart here as i kegged my last few batches of beer
 
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