super quick cider?

[silentorpheus]

So I did a very simple cider (idea stolen from EBCornell in the brewlog) with a gallon of wholefoods organic apple juice and a packet of Safale us-05 ale yeast. Pitched on Monday evening with a gram or so of fermaid-k, shook the be-jeebus out of it, and airlocked it, then plopped it down near my sliding door so that it stayed in the low 60's temp wise. Didn't really see much activity till tuesday morning, and it never got crazy - just steady bubbling, no foam or scum.

Moved it to the counter Wednesday night before I went away for Thanksgiving - in case it made a mess, kitchen cleanup is easier than rug cleanup. closer to 70° on the counter. Came back this evening (Friday) and there's virtually no airlock activity. Shook it a bit, and it bubbled as co2 was shaken out of the solution, but then settled again, and back to virtually nothing, with a healthy quarter to half inch of yeast settled on the bottom. Starting gravity was originally 1.058, so I took a reading today. It's just under 1.010.

Added just a touch more nutrient, and topped off with a half cup of reserved juice, and it's bubbling just a touch now - but 3 and a half days to ferment almost completely? EBCornell's cider didn't hit that point for at least 10 days. Any thoughts as to if this is a normal occurance, or how much further I should expect it to go? I sort of figured I was in for a couple week primary, then rack to clarify and bottle soon after. Now it looks like I might be able to rack and clear in less than a week, and that makes me a little cautious, I guess.

 

[wildaho]

It's not uncommon for a low sugar must such as this to ferment out completely in 2 or 3 days. It just means that everything is going right!

If I remember correctly the SafAle 05 is the Sierra Nevada strain. It should take it all the way down to 1.000. You are just about there.

 

[silentorpheus]

looks like I spoke too soon. with the addition of less than a quarter tsp. of nutrient and that top off of reserved juice, it was foaming into the airlock.

Guess I've got a few days left to go. Now lets just hope this yeast leaves me with a decent taste, and I'll be golden.

 

[EBCornell]

Any updates on your cider? My was disappointing, but I've been looking at it as an experiment. I bottled half as is and backsweetened the other half and I'm going to leave it in a growler for while to mini-bulk age.

 

[silentorpheus]

Any updates on your cider? My was disappointing, but I've been looking at it as an experiment. I bottled half as is and backsweetened the other half and I'm going to leave it in a growler for while to mini-bulk age.

I've been letting it just sit there, for lack of deciding what to do with it. I think the beginning product wasn't stellar, so the fermented product wasn't great either. Last time I checked it just tasted kinda boring, not overly apple like, and barely alcohol-like. It also hasn't even come close to anything that resembles clear, even though I racked it off the gross lees a month ago or so. I figure I might try and bottle it, and prime it with apple juice concentrate, to give it at least a little bit of apple flavor, and try again with some real cider, from the local orchard down the road.

To that end, does anyone know what amounts I'd be looking at to prime using apple juice concentrate? I'll most likely bottle in EZ-cap flip top bottles.

 

[fatbloke]

You should all remember, that most "cider" (that'd be hard cider in the US), is made from bittersweet/bittersharp apples a.k.a. "cider" apples.

Most pressed juices will be from either sweet/sharp/mixture of apples.

If you bit into a proper cider apple, damn you'd know the difference....

I've got a 3 US gallon batch on the go at the moment, but I do as I normally do, not being able to get hold of proper cider apples, and that's to add additional acid and tannin.

I used a wine yeast, either 71B or D47, I forget. It's cleared ok, but I haven't racked it yet.

Oh and because I had to get hold of the apples early (tree's were beside a public road) I know that they weren't as ripe as they could have been so I also added about 3lb of cheap supermarket honey that I had kicking around.

Ha! I should really rack/taste it shouldn't it.

For info, the ferment was slow(ish). I seem to recall that the starting gravity was about 1060 or so, so it's not going to be very strong. I was intending to bottle it in used plastic cider bottles (2 litre size) and prime them with a teaspoon or two of honey (or sugar - I haven't decided yet).

I'll see if I can get some photo's to post.

regards

fatbloke

 

[wayneb]

Fatbloke is right on with his observations on proper cider apples. For those of us in North America not familiar with (or able to get our hands on) any of the traditional cider apples (funny, despite the renewed interest in cider on this side of the pond, few growers have invested in heritage cider varieties so far...), get some crabapples late next summer and bite into a few of those. They're not quite the same, either, but they're a damned sight closer to heirloom cider apples than table apples mostly available here.