Why age my cider?

[kurtism]

Can anyone explain exactly what happens when you "age" your cider. I really can't wrap my head around what is chemically changing under sealed conditions.

Presently, my brew is in secondary. Once ready, I'm going add Super Kleer for 48hrs, filter through activated carbon and a 0.45um filter, add kmeta and ksorbate to the filtered brew and bottle. I will force carbonate as necessary so I'm not adding any priming sugar to the bottles. I have been considering bottle pasteurization as well but that will probably not happen.

My goal is to have no activity in the bottle. I really don't understand how there should be any flavor change after all the steps above and the brew is sealed in glass. I've read that "apple flavor" returns...but that doesn't make any sense at all. Others have said that cider tastes "hot" and it mellow out...but that still doesn't make any sense. I am aiming for 18% ABV cider so that's always going to be a strong drink as long as the air doesn't get to it.

Please help.

 

[Yooper]

You don't need to add sorbate or kmeta, unless you're sweetening. Sorbate imparts a taste, so I prefer to not use it unless I "have to".

Aging changes wines, meads, ciders, beers, etc significantly. In wine, the tannins mellow and smooth and the hot alcohol flavors fade. Sometimes, the more "jammy" elements will come forward and new elements will open up. In beers, the flavors continue to meld and hops aroma and bitterness will begin to fade. In cider, the alcohol flavor and aroma will fade and the "apple" nuances will come forward.

An 18% ABV cider isn't a cider anymore- it's a wine. Cider is usually just fermented apple juice, while wine has sugar added to boost fermentables. I add tannin and acid blend to my apple wine. An 18% ABV beverage may take a year or two to really come into its own.

 

[kurtism]

i know it isn't really a cider anymore. with 1lb of gala apple puree, 5lbs of dextrose and 7.5lbs of dark brown sugar and added to 5 gallons of 100% pure apple juice, (potentially 25% ABV based on if everything fermented) the goal was to get to the 18% tolerance and kill all the Lalvin KIV-1116 yeast, leaving some sugars non-fermented and therefore no need to backsweeten. Also, the goal was, because the target was 18%, to ensure enough sweetness to balance the alcohol taste.

So...with such a high starting gravity, the likelihood of reaching the tolerance of the yeast and all the steps (clearing and filtering for example) I am pretty sure I won't have any active yeast around...making the Ksorbate unnecessary for preventing a fermentation restart. However, I read Ksorbate is also a flavor preservative. So what kind of taste does it impart on its own? Does anyone here use it as a flavor preservative or only to prevent more fermentation.

I have also read alot about adding an acid to help with final tastes. Can you elaborate on your tannin/acid blend additives...i.e. what is the blend and when do you add these things?

If I were to use additives, be it what you use or something else...I can see how that might need to sit to blend....but without adding anything....I don't understand how a apple juice and sugar mixture, fermented out (to the yeast's ability) then chemically cleared and filtered, would get better over time in a sealed glass container.

This is my first brew...so I know I have a lot to learn...but let's think about it in terms of a commercial product....beers, rums, wines and whiskeys do not change in the bottle sitting at the liquor store. Commercial spirits and wines are aged in oak before bottling. Commercial beers end up skunky after a few months.

I'm so confused.

 

[OneCerebralSamurai]

I've had some of the same questions... and gotten some good answers from the folks here.

Basically -

1. The chemical reactions that occur during wine aging are not completely documented. (I'm assuming that goes for cider as well).

2. Some of the reactions that do occur are alcohols + acid → esters and phenols (harsh tasting) → polyphenols (smoother tasting).

Remember that any fermented beverage is a whole chemical soup of organic compounds... and many of these reactions can take months or years, which is why the taste of such beverages changes with time.

I think someone could get a Ph.D. In Organic Chemistry if they wanted to do all the research into this.

 

[david_42]

Really only one reason: it will taste much better in a year. Fermented beverages are complex and keep changing long after the fermentation is complete. Apple wine isn't as complex as a grape wine, but there are still dozens of compounds involved. The compounds are NOT totally stable. No organic compound is and you cannot stop the process.

 

[kurtism]

thanks everyone.

i feel i should clarify something. i have had home brewed hard cider (rather more of a mead but my boss called it hard cider) and commerical stuff too. That's not at all what I was after.

I buy cheap vodka (gordon's vodka, $17.99 for a 1.75L bottle around me) and filter it in my pur filter a couple of times. it changes it enough to make it worthwhile. i buy cheap because it is what i use for mixing. i don't sip vodka they way i do rum or whiskey.

A few months ago, I mixed a bottle of gordons with equal volume of apple juice. So I basically had a 20 ABV apple spirit or apple vodka (whatever you want to call it). I enjoyed it straight from the fridge or over ice. Obviously the gordons imparted a vodka flavor and that did mask a bit of the apple flavor, but I expected that and enjoyed it. That is the inspiration for what I am currently making because to make 5gallons of this apple spirit, I'd have spent about $120 on gordon's alone, and another couple bucks on Mott's and a pur filter.

So, if this brew (which cost me $35 in apples, juice, sugar and yeast) tastes similar the vodka/apple juice mix I made, then I'll be quite happy.

Now, that having been said....if what I am missing is the fact that vodka is distilled and therefore it has made most of the esters/aldehydes/methanol removed from it...then I guess that's where I am wrong.

Also...I have seen alot of people use the word "hot" when talking about alcohol. I really don't know what the means. would you describe any commercial products as "hot." does hot just refer to the aftertaste you get when drinking rum or whiskey straight?

 

[cyberwollf]

Hot would be the feeling opposite of smooth. Like cheap stuff vs 18 year Jameson or something similar. Very fresh at 18% you will get a harsh burn, where as after a year it will be much smoother and not "burn"