All Apple Cider

[komodo]

Sorry got my powders confused!

Sodium Percarbonate is what I used to clean - this I rinsed and then I sanitised with powdered Sodium Metabisulphate which I don't rinse. I hope that makes sense, and I hope Im doing this all right! - new to the whole brewing thing.

Sodium Metabisulphate is in the campden tablets which I added to the must about 48 hours before pitching the yeast (actually I tell a lie it was more like 39 hours)

I didn't add a yeast nutrient when I pitched the yeast and I think this is where I'm going wrong?

Supra-Jim that's good news for me!
I have read that you can run the must over copper to try rid the smell.
I think I'll try add a bit of yeast nutrient and try reducing the fermenting temp.

 

[manticle]

Sorry got my powders confused!

Sodium Percarbonate is what I used to clean - this I rinsed and then I sanitised with powdered Sodium Metabisulphate which I don't rinse. I hope that makes sense, and I hope Im doing this all right! - new to the whole brewing thing.

Sodium Metabisulphate is in the campden tablets which I added to the must about 48 hours before pitching the yeast (actually I tell a lie it was more like 39 hours)

I didn't add a yeast nutrient when I pitched the yeast and I think this is where I'm going wrong?

I mentioned this earlier. My first kit cider smelled sulphury during fermentation and in the bottle. It tasted ok but the odour was offputting. I read somewhere (maybe on the back of a black rock cider kit) that sodium met when unrinsed can cause this and since reading that, I've always rinsed my sanitised fermenter and had no similar problem.

This is what led to to ask about the campden tablets in the first place as I want to avoid it when I make my fresh juice cider

Maybe try using a different sanitiser and see if it makes a difference?

 

[Supra-Jim]

I remember hearing on the Brewstrong podcast (episode on metalurgy) that copper can help provide good nutrients to a beer wort, so much so that some brewers swear by dropping a short length of 3/4" copper tube into the fermenter. I wonder if the same holds true for ciders?

Apparently there are no traces of copper carried over to the final product, as the FDA did extensive testing of breweries that had copper equipment, and no traces were detected.

:icon_cheers: SJ

 

[komodo]

Hrmmm interesting there's an idea.

 

[kabooby]

Good information here guys. I have got a 75L barrel a milk crate full of apples from my own tree. Going to jice them this weekend and have a go at a true cider.

Looking forward to it

Kabooby

 

[manticle]

Sodium metabisulphite.

You dont 'rinse'. You add it to the juice. It produces SO2 which kills any yeast present.

My juicer is takes whole apples. Quick and easy. No coring etc. I just wash them first and away i go.

Just to clarify:

I meant sodium met as a sanitiser. I use it for all my homebrewing and while it's meant to be no rinse, I've had much better results rinsing (I rinse just before brewing/bottling with clean cold water).

Different from the use of campden for cider.

 

[Bizier]

I have got a 75L barrel a milk crate full of apples from my own tree. Going to jice them this weekend and have a go at a true cider.

What variety are we talking there Kabooby?

Did you listen to the last "improved" episode of the jamil Show on Cider? Their guy spoke about waiting 'til the apple aroma reaches a peak. I totally know what he was talking about because I grew up on an apple farm. I would suggest you should sit on them til they smell amazing, if not already.

 

[kabooby]

What variety are we talking there Kabooby?

Did you listen to the last "improved" episode of the jamil Show on Cider? Their guy spoke about waiting 'til the apple aroma reaches a peak. I totally know what he was talking about because I grew up on an apple farm. I would suggest you should sit on them til they smell amazing, if not already.

Yes mate, I have listened to that episode, lots of good info. The tree I have has granny smith and jonathan grafted onto one stock. I would say that 98% of them would be granny smith.

This is going to be my first real cider so I am looking forward to it.

Kabooby

 

[Bizier]

Cool, it is funny that when that guy said the thing about the apple aroma, I instantly thought about RIPE Granny Smiths with the red russets and all, not the 3/4 size sour green things you have commercially available. I am keen to hear how you go.

 

[kabooby]

I have to admit that most of my apples are a bit small. I just had a lot of them starting to fall of the tree and then my dogs would eat them. I also had a few that were getting burnt by the sun. So I tasted one and it tasted OK so I just picked them all.

I'll make sure I report back with the results

Kabooby

 

[komodo]

Well I chucked a bit of copper pipe in my fermenter (that was a challenge making all the edges blunt and being able to clean and sanitise the whole damn thing) - I can report that the sulphur smell has actually decreased substantially over night (at least according to my partner - my nose couldn't smell the sulphur any way as I dont have a great sense of smell) - and fermentation activity seems to has slightly speed up (going by the bloop bloop coming from the airlock).

Be interesting to see how this turns out.

As a side note - dog is scared stiff of the fermenter. Its funny to see him with his heckles up backing away from the fermenter.

I used a mixture of apples all unwaxed which I bought from the Dandenong Market. It would have been cheaper to buy berri juice but hopefully the real fruit gives us a better flavour at the end of the day. Time will tell.

 

[Bizier]

It would have been cheaper to buy berri juice but hopefully the real fruit gives us a better flavour at the end of the day.

I have only done one all-Berri, and the cider tasted very much like fermented Berri...
I did this for my GF, and I am trying to persuede her to buy me more juice so I can do another, but I will be definitely be dosing it with fresh apples, yours should be loads better.

 

[manticle]

I've compromised.

I bought (unfortunately from safeway) about 6 each of: Granny Smiths and pink ladies. I also bought 3 Nashi Pears, 2 brown type pears (missed the type in my excited rush) and two red/green pears (ditto).
I juiced those and added 2 L fresh preservative free apple juice (Berri), 2 L speyton fresh Tasmanian preservative free 700 ml preshafruit pink lady, 350 ml Preshafruit granny smith, 10 litres water and 5 g potassioum metabisulphite. That's sitting in my ferment for a couple of days - then I'll be adding 1 tin of brigalow kit cider, 1 kg dextrose and some white wine yeast and some nutrient, then top up to 23 L.

I know it's probably a sin to add the brigalow but I bought 2 of them a while back and would like to see the back of them - this is simply my way of improving the flavour of a below par kit. If it works well, I'll make the move to all apples and will see if I can hunt up some proper cider yeast.

 

[MHB]

I just ordered a ton of cider juice from a cider maker

I have done the juice from Woolies

The crushing my own and blending in this and that, generally enjoyed the results, especially last years effort.

Finally the chance to use the right juice from proper cider apples



Too good an opportunity to pass up but ouch a ton of juice costs, about $2.50 / L landed



MHB



​

 

[komodo]

Hrmmm Im a little sus - My cider seems to have fermented (using wyeast 4766) in 7 days start to finish. Does this seem a bit quick?

 

[Melon]

Hrmmm Im a little sus - My cider seems to have fermented (using wyeast 4766) in 7 days start to finish. Does this seem a bit quick?

Depends on what temp it was at and how much sugar was in there to start with...

 

[Tim]

To the guys who are juicing your own apples, how are you removing/filtering/lautering out all the pulp? Do you have a special fruit press that you use? Or does your juicer do this for you?

Also, does anyone know where cider falls under the excise laws? If you are a producer, can you get the same rebates as winemakers?

 

[komodo]

My juicer (breville 400 watt thing) does it for me - MOSTLY. I think I'm still going to have to do some form of filtering as it doesn't do a perfect job with the pears

 

[manticle]

To the guys who are juicing your own apples, how are you removing/filtering/lautering out all the pulp? Do you have a special fruit press that you use? Or does your juicer do this for you?

Also, does anyone know where cider falls under the excise laws? If you are a producer, can you get the same rebates as winemakers?

I just used a juicer with a mesh filter (it took a fair while) but I'm also assuming the 48 hour clarification process will help with that too. This is my first not completely kit based cider so I won't really know till I've had a crack.

 

[manticle]

It's gone down to 1000 after 7 days but it reeks to high heaven. I read somewhere else that if you leave it long enough in primary the smell will dissipate. Anyone had a similar experience or can offer the same/different advice?