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Re: First Cider

Posted: Sun Nov 24, 2013 10:16 am
by ssorck
Well I decided to go ahead and hit the cider today. As a first 'experiment' I just left the cider in a primary jug for 4 weeks and just poured it carefully into a couple of growlers leaving the dregs behind and stuck plastic wrap over them and in the fridge. I'm gonna drink a good bit of this today!

I went from OG of 1.067 to FG of .0992 for a 9.84 % alcohol. Tart and dry, I like it!

So if I wanted to bottle and age future batches and didn't want to bother carbing could I just bottle as is? Any risk of bottle bombs doing so? I wouldn't think so as long as the yeast is done but not sure...

Re: First Cider

Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 8:31 am
by Root Skier
ssorck wrote:Well I decided to go ahead and hit the cider today. As a first 'experiment' I just left the cider in a primary jug for 4 weeks and just poured it carefully into a couple of growlers leaving the dregs behind and stuck plastic wrap over them and in the fridge. I'm gonna drink a good bit of this today!

I went from OG of 1.067 to FG of .0992 for a 9.84 % alcohol. Tart and dry, I like it!

So if I wanted to bottle and age future batches and didn't want to bother carbing could I just bottle as is? Any risk of bottle bombs doing so? I wouldn't think so as long as the yeast is done but not sure...
Hey 9.84%, that's awesome! I think if you got down to 0.992, the yeast got all the sugar it could. I think you'll be ok so long as you store them below the yeast's temp range or drink them fast enough. What kind of yeast did you use?

My 3rd batch I racked to a secondary Friday after 17 days. I just used a leftover Mr. Beer gold packet and went from 1.076og to 1.002fg for 9.71%. It's delicious. The best I've made yet. It still had a bit of residual sweetness that's just the right amount for me.

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Re: First Cider

Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:35 am
by Yankeedag
Root Skier wrote:
ssorck wrote:Well I decided to go ahead and hit the cider today. As a first 'experiment' I just left the cider in a primary jug for 4 weeks and just poured it carefully into a couple of growlers leaving the dregs behind and stuck plastic wrap over them and in the fridge. I'm gonna drink a good bit of this today!

I went from OG of 1.067 to FG of .0992 for a 9.84 % alcohol. Tart and dry, I like it!

So if I wanted to bottle and age future batches and didn't want to bother carbing could I just bottle as is? Any risk of bottle bombs doing so? I wouldn't think so as long as the yeast is done but not sure...
Hey 9.84%, that's awesome! I think if you got down to 0.992, the yeast got all the sugar it could. I think you'll be ok so long as you store them below the yeast's temp range or drink them fast enough. What kind of yeast did you use?

My 3rd batch I racked to a secondary Friday after 17 days. I just used a leftover Mr. Beer gold packet and went from 1.076og to 1.002fg for 9.71%. It's delicious. The best I've made yet. It still had a bit of residual sweetness that's just the right amount for me.

Image
I've been doing ciders for a while.
Yes, you can bottle as is without fear of bottle bombs. I don't carb my ciders, unless I put it in the 3 gallon keg I have. I stopped trying to carb the cider as it never really came out with consistant pressures..maybe my fault. In about a year, most of that 'tart' will be gone. I use lactose in my ciders just so it can be drank within 90 days of bottling.

Re: First Cider

Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 1:03 pm
by radonc73
Are you supposed to kill the yeast? I had googled a recipe for the 5 gallons my wife bought me and some call for stovetop heating to kill they yeast to avoid bottle bombs. If I don't have to I would rather not heat it up too much. Seems like a recipe for bottle bombs its self.

Re: First Cider

Posted: Sun Dec 01, 2013 1:37 pm
by Root Skier
I want to make an applewine of around 15% abv that still has some residual sweetness. I figure I will need to start around 1.120og and I'd let it go to around 1.004fg. I plan on using EC-1118 yeast for this.

How do I figure out how much sugar I'll need to hit that og?
What else???