Good afternoon all, my wife and I have recently began brewing hard cider with the Brew Demon kits and we've just placed a homemade recipe with mango in the fermenter to see how we can improvise without a pre-measured kit periodically using local ingredients available to us in Belize. Since we now live in the tropics (and it's getting HOT) keeping the must cool while in the fermenter and during bottle conditioning has become a challenge during these summer months.
The first batch (blackberry) produced likely never got much below 88*. For the second batch, after advice from members here I began using an ice bath directly after cooking the must to get down to 66* prior to placing in the fermenter and then change out ice packs wrapped around conical fermenter. This batch (Red Devil Wheat) was nice out of the fermenter and is presently bottle conditioning. Is anyone dealing with higher temps this summer?
Also, the first blackberry batch came out nice and bubbly but dry. I would like to lean my ciders more on the sweet, bubbly side.
Any advice you can share with this newbie would be greatly appreciated.
Have a great day and CHEERS!
fermenting and conditioning temps (live in the tropics)
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Re: fermenting and conditioning temps (live in the tropics)
I'm fermenting in "higher temps" but to me that's a stable 72 degrees, so I just use yeasts that like it between 72-90 this time of year. But they would all make weird cider. But if you wouldn't mind tropical or orange flavors in your cider, then any of the Omega yeast hothead or kviek strains will actually ferment it and be ok up to 90 degrees. All ale yeasts will eat simple sugars, although you would want to use some yeast nutrients. Unless *** (see below)
Most cider yeasts are going to ferment out dry, apple juice is just simple sugars. You could try some WLP720 and see if it leaves enough sweetness behind (if you can get White Labs yeast). It would require you keep your temperature below 75 degrees.
If you want it sweeter then whatever that gives you, I'd suggest either using or adding some lactose which will not ferment, or else using a little bit of DME *** (malt extract) along with the juice, and then using an ale yeast of some sort as the fermenting yeast. The DME will also happen to make ale yeasts happier about being in a more simple sugary solution as it has the nutrients they want. The recipe in the link below will give you an idea. Note that it talks about back sweetening with more apple juice, but if your trying to make a fizzy cider that is bottle carbonated that's not going to work so well. You could back sweeten with apple juice and bottle it and let it carb and then throw everything in the fridge when carbed. But you have to be careful, if you wait too long you will get super crazy carb and then bottle bombs. They *have* to stay in the fridge once carbed if you do this. I would not recommend it. If you have kegs and can keep it cold and force carb it then you can do that. If you are bottling the best way to add more sweetness is lactose, as it will not ferment, so you won't get bottle bombs.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... ted-cider/
Most clean ale yeasts like the "English ale yeast" they mention however will not like it much if your temp is more then 75 (and won't be so clean that hot anyways), and are probably better if you kept it closer to 70... somehow. IE S-04 or Nottingham would be great normally, except not more then 70 degrees. (S-04 sometimes tastes like sour dough if you go more then 70). Exceptions being stuff like the Hothead/kviek yeast like I mentioned above, or saison strains. But saison strains are going to give you bubblegum and pepper like spice, and I'm not sure you want that in a cider. Tropical fruit from Hothead/kviek yeast, maybe ok though.
That's about all I got. I come from more of a mead and maple wine background, but the principles are similar.
Every cider I've ever made has been a malted cider, or an even more beer like cider hybrid like a fictional Steven King type of beverage called "Graf" (from Dark Tower) which if interested I think you can find info on AHA about or google. It's like a "cidered beer" instead of a "malted cider" IE more malt and less apple juice, and has hops. It is delicious regardless.
Most cider yeasts are going to ferment out dry, apple juice is just simple sugars. You could try some WLP720 and see if it leaves enough sweetness behind (if you can get White Labs yeast). It would require you keep your temperature below 75 degrees.
If you want it sweeter then whatever that gives you, I'd suggest either using or adding some lactose which will not ferment, or else using a little bit of DME *** (malt extract) along with the juice, and then using an ale yeast of some sort as the fermenting yeast. The DME will also happen to make ale yeasts happier about being in a more simple sugary solution as it has the nutrients they want. The recipe in the link below will give you an idea. Note that it talks about back sweetening with more apple juice, but if your trying to make a fizzy cider that is bottle carbonated that's not going to work so well. You could back sweeten with apple juice and bottle it and let it carb and then throw everything in the fridge when carbed. But you have to be careful, if you wait too long you will get super crazy carb and then bottle bombs. They *have* to stay in the fridge once carbed if you do this. I would not recommend it. If you have kegs and can keep it cold and force carb it then you can do that. If you are bottling the best way to add more sweetness is lactose, as it will not ferment, so you won't get bottle bombs.
https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... ted-cider/
Most clean ale yeasts like the "English ale yeast" they mention however will not like it much if your temp is more then 75 (and won't be so clean that hot anyways), and are probably better if you kept it closer to 70... somehow. IE S-04 or Nottingham would be great normally, except not more then 70 degrees. (S-04 sometimes tastes like sour dough if you go more then 70). Exceptions being stuff like the Hothead/kviek yeast like I mentioned above, or saison strains. But saison strains are going to give you bubblegum and pepper like spice, and I'm not sure you want that in a cider. Tropical fruit from Hothead/kviek yeast, maybe ok though.
That's about all I got. I come from more of a mead and maple wine background, but the principles are similar.
Every cider I've ever made has been a malted cider, or an even more beer like cider hybrid like a fictional Steven King type of beverage called "Graf" (from Dark Tower) which if interested I think you can find info on AHA about or google. It's like a "cidered beer" instead of a "malted cider" IE more malt and less apple juice, and has hops. It is delicious regardless.
Re: fermenting and conditioning temps (live in the tropics)
If you can get your hands on a small apartment type fridge, you could brew anything you want, in any temperature. The fridge, paired with a Johnson Controls temp control unit allows you to set any fermentation temp you want. The control unit is basically a power switch that turns the fridge on/off at whatever temp setting you enter in. Here’s my setup:
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ANTLER BREWING
Drinking
#93 - Gerst Amber Ale
Conditioning and Carbing
Fermenting
On Deck
Drinking
#93 - Gerst Amber Ale
Conditioning and Carbing
Fermenting
On Deck