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mannye

mannye

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Oct 10, 2012
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So I have a gallon of cider bubbling away after adding a bunch of Wyeast 1388 to it. Added some nutrient up front.

Now do I just wait? I have no idea what the SG was as I didn't take any measurements.

How long do I wait? The way it's going I can't imagine it's going to take very long to finish.

Will it clear like mead? It wasn't clear to begin with. It was all natural unfiltered pasteurized apple juice.




Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.
 
Apple cider generally has an SG of 1.04ish. It will go to 1.00. Use your hydrometer. It needs pectinase to fully clear.

Cider needs some age usually, but maybe 1388 will work another miracle?


Better brewing through science!
 
loveofrose said:
Apple cider generally has an SG of 1.04ish. It will go to 1.00. Use your hydrometer. It needs pectinase to fully clear.

Cider needs some age usually, but maybe 1388 will work another miracle?


Better brewing through science!
Click to expand...

I agree about the pectinase but in my experience the cider can easily drop below 1.000, but I tend to use Premier Cuvee or QA 23. Aging certainly improves cider but you can drink it after a few weeks - and in some cultures cloudy cider is not viewed as an issue (scrumpy): quite the opposite, although I prefer my cider to be bright and clear.
 
My experiments with cider making using D47, kept ~60ºF to 62ºF, went something like this: Cider pre ferment was 1.050, added yeast, done in 5 to 7 days, drinkable right out of the fermentor. And mine were a 5 gallon batches. Fast, tasty even with yeast in it, no rocket fuel fusels, so good it never got bottled...
 
Depends on if you like it dry or sweet... Getting a sweet one, backsweetening is the only real method I can think of...

Someone coined a wonderful phrase about American hard cider being "alcopop". So you need to know if you want sweet, dry, tannic, acidic bite, carbed, aged???

I plan on some this Autumn as they are fast and very sessionable...
 
I always use pectinase for anything involving fruit so that will be a good thing to prevent haze, but a lot of the cloudiness in unfiltered apple juice is larger particles that will settle out so I do find it usually clears pretty rapidly. I usually get a similar SG to EJM3's. I often forget completely about nutrients and the fermentation still goes pretty quickly, yeasties love apples. I often leave things sitting for way too long so I don't know how early it was drinkable but oftentimes lower-alcohol stuff is drinkable faster.
 
Pectinase is a new thing for me. When do I add it? Is there any specific brand I should look for?


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.
 
I usually add pectic enzyme to the fruit or juice 12 hours or so before pitching the yeast - while defrosting the fruit. Word on the street is that alcohol lessens the effect of the enzyme, but on occasion I've used double (or slightly more) the recommended dose (1/2tsp per gallon of juice or 1/10th tsp per lb of fruit) well after primary has started with clear results.
 
Pecinase

An excerpt from winemakermag.com:

[FONT=georgia, serif]If you don’t want to add pectic enzyme before fermentation, or if you added it and the wine is still hazy, you can add it following fermentation, although more enzyme will be needed. If you added enzyme at the beginning of fermentation and the wine is still hazy, Daniel Pambianchi recommends in his book “Techniques in Home Winemaking,” to test for pectin by combining 50 mL of wine with 200 mL of methanol. Methanol should not to be confused with ethanol. Use caution when handling methanol and do not ingest as it can cause blindness. If there is still excess pectin present, the wine will produce a white sediment. Also, if you want to fine with bentonite, which can remove the pectic enzyme, plan to wait a few days to add bentonite after you've treated the wine with the pectic enzyme so that the enzyme has some time to break down the pectin.[/FONT]



winemakersacademy.com:

The effectiveness of pectic enzyme is impacted by both alcohol concentration and the temperature of the wine. High alcohol levels and low temperatures each negatively impact the enzymes ability to break down pectin.



Additional reading gave me this:

Wines should be 80ºF for maximum effectiveness of pectinase.
DO NOT just keep adding it and hoping it will take care of it.



A wonderful breakdown of what, where, why, etc:

http://www.slideshare.net/kashmaalaa/pectinase
 
I would be interested in seeing what happens when I add Super Kleer. (I swear they need to pay me...lol) However, I have a feeling this won't be around very long once it goes dry.
 
Well it sure smells great. I haven't tasted it because I don't want to open up the bottle as I think this is about as sensitive as beer if not more to oxidation. I figure low booze content and apples right? They oxidize in seconds.


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.
 
My tank (5 gallon glass carboy) was drained slowly over a 1 month period, twice. No perceivable oxidized flavors, color was stable as well, no infections. I used vodka to sterilize the inside as well as the outside of my syphon, as well as all equipment that may contact the cider. But it never quite degassed and had a LOT of yeast in it making for some interesting flavors and textures, all good. Maybe this year I will be able to actually bottle some for aging. Speaking of aging, I am getting some supplies together for my own homemade wax sealing materials, but that's for another topic elsewhere....
 
mannye said:
I think this is about as sensitive as beer if not more to oxidation. I figure low booze content and apples right? They oxidize in seconds.
Click to expand...

Even beer can be opened, racked, filtered, etc. without being damaged if you are gentle. Cider will not be harmed by careful sampling or other treatments. Just use very good sanitation and keep the container topped-up.
 
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