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Cider still good?

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billyO

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 20, 2013
50
1
0
Eatonville, WA
Hello all.
I recently acquired a number of 5-6 gallon carboys of hard cider that was made just over a year ago. They have never been racked because the original plan was to distill them, but my friend decided to quit drinking (which is a good thing for him). I'm planning on starting to rack them tonight, but am wondering if anyone with more experience with cider knows whether or not it's worth it as it's been sitting on the lees for almost a year. He's never taken SG measures, so there's no way (as far as I know) to tell what the alcohol content is. Should I rack then bottle?

On a slightly related note, a bad part of his quitting is that there was no annual cider press at his place this year, so I wasn't able to get any fresh cider for my cyser, which I have acquired a taste for and we harvested honey this past weekend and I'm wondering if there's any way to use this already fermented cider to make a cyser with a few gallons of my honey?

Thanks in advance.
 
Medsen Fey said:
Lees aged cider can be excellent. Taste it. If it is good, bottle it up.
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Agreed on the taste test. This is my second year making hard cider, I've made 25 gallons, and every batch tasted different depending on type of yeast, the source of the cider that was used, and the type of sugar I added or didn't add.
 
It might be a hard go to get this to ferment again if you add honey, but you could always try blending it with a finished traditional mead for a deconstructed cyser... (ugh, did that sound trendy or hipster? someone shoot me if it did!)

But if you do want to try using it in a cyser (presuming it still tastes good), estimate that it's between 5 and 7 percent (I've made cider for a couple years and the SG usually ends up at 1.050 for mine), rack it off the lees, add enough honey to boost it maybe 8-10%, then make an acclimated starter using a yeast that's good for restarts...
 
edblanford said:
Consider yourself shot.
Click to expand...

Well not yet. Only if she suggests serving the deconstructed cyser in one of those oil and vinegar bottles like this one:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1414505567.785496.jpg

Then gassing with a mini co2 cartridge


Sent from my galafreyan transdimensional communicator 100 years from now.
 
edblanford said:
Consider yourself shot.
Click to expand...

The jury is still out on this one. D-47 is a yeast that you can use for sur lie aging, and get some pretty nice flavors. If this was 71B, yeah, probably garbage. Definitely try it and see how it is. I'll second CG's advice: make a high-gravity traditional and blend them together, if your heart is set on a cyser.
 
Hello all. There is no verdict yet. When I read that keeping it on the lees was OK, I decided to relax a bit and take care of other things that have come up. (stormy season here in the PNW and I've gotten the 2 telltale signs that winter is on its way: I've been having to fire up the wood stove daily and have had trees come down on my fences and I've read somewhere that good fences make good neighbors. And I'd like to keep my cows off the highway.) Perhaps I'll get to it this weekend, but then again I've still got 4 gallons of honey left to bottle, wax to clean, and a few Christmas/birthday gift knives that need working on...I did read that lees aged can be quite good, right?
 
Well, if it was D47 like he thinks, a few more weeks one way or the other shouldn't make a difference... although if it was something else like 71B that isn't good for sur lie, it's probably already toast and a few more weeks won't change anything.

As long as he tastes it before he decides what to do with it, he'll be fine :)
 
Arggh...are we still waiting on an update on this one? ;-)

Did you taste it? Because that's the only authority we have to go on at this point, not knowing anything else. T-A-S-T-E. And if it tastes okay, or not-so-good, then you could still try to salvage it. Trust me, there's a lot of lee(s)way ;-) with ciders/cysers. If it tastes like garbage, then I would be tempted to pitch it out and do something else.
 
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