Cider Questions

[Jake]

Just purchased a 18.5L jug of unpasturized cider from the market and was planning on doing my first batch of hard cider. I wanted to get some imput on how I should do it.

Should I get some campden tabs or not bother. I've read both sides of the argument on various websites and am not exactly sure. Any experience here?

If campden is recommended, what is the process here. Do I need to crush up and mix in the cider for a while before the yeast is added? I got one pack of the lalvin EC-1118 champagne yeast. Should this be enough for a 20L batch (assuming 7-8%)?

I'd like to boost the ABV to 7.5 or 8% ... I've read that most cider will ferment out to about 5 - 5.5% range ... should I just add a couple pounds of corn or table sugar (I have both available in the house). I also have a tub of high malt liquid glucose that I bought a week or so ago at noble grape ... anyone ever use this stuff?

I've also read on here a little about sweetening too. I hear that cider finishes really dry, and where the gf is going to be drinking, I'd like a little sweetness ... is this something I need to worry about after fermentation?

[Chris Craig]

carmstrong made this:http://nbcba.org/forum/index.php?topic=1026.0&hilit=cider and it was awesome.  

If you're sure you want to use 1118, then you'll have to back-sweeten it, or stop the fermentation with k-meta and potassium sorbate.  Since you don't know how sweet you want it, the first method is for you.

If you just pitch the 1118 into the juice, you're going to get something that tastes like apple wine.  Is this what you're after?

[Brian_S]

Hey Jake, I've done a few bacthes of straight hard cider but was never happy with them as they had too much of an acidic twang.  My most recent batch was 4 gallons pressed cider from my trees and 1 gallon ordinary bitter wort. I've found that mixing the 2 balances out the acid and can give some nice caramel notes.

Check out:

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-m ... er-117117/

B

[Jake]

Cool. I'm going to try this maybe today for comparison. I used the 18+ liters for just plain cider ... cider and the champagne yeast ... I'm going to try going the backsweetening route post fermentation. I'm going to try making this graff recipe this afternoon.

Have you tried it with unpasteurized apple cider or with canned apple juice? If I'm buying apple juice, does it matter if it's pasteurized or unpasteurized? ... if It comes in a can, are campden tabs necessary?

[Chris Craig]

I tried it with apple juice from Costco, and it was good.  The problem with unpasteurized juice is that there could be some bacteria and such in there.  I'm sure it'll be fine though.

[Richard]

Yeah that's possible... I'd pre-treat it with campden - I missed that it was unpasteurised... One tab per gallon, crushed up into boiling water. Mix it up, leave it 24 hours, pitch as usual.

[Brian_S]

I used unpasturized fresh pressed but froze the cider in 2L containers for awhile first and thats perhaps why I didn't need campden.

B

[Thomas]

Definitely use campden, or freeze your cider if it is unpasterized. The amount of bacteria, spores and wild yeast growing on fruits would blow your mind! Thats why cider was originally made by just leaving it long enough until it self-fermented.

When using store bough stuff, check to make sure the only added ingredient is ascorbic acid (vitamin C). If they list anything else, it will likely contain sulphites which will prevent yeast growth the same way campden does.

I did the same thing as you last fall, bought a 19L jug of cider from the market and fermented it with an additional 2 kilograms of dextrose. Like Richard said, crush 1 campden tablet per gallon and let sit for 24 hours (NOt sure if the boiling is nessisary).

[Richard]

(NOt sure if the boiling is nessisary).

No need to boil (pasteurise), but the Campden mixes in a helluva lot easier if you crush it into some boiling, or very hot water.