Basic Apple/pear & Pomegranate Cider

[brettprevans]

ok so as the thread says im making a basic Apple/Pear & Pomegranate Cider Got the idea from the Simplest Cider Thread
so recipe is

24L apple/Pear juice (any old brand. I used coles brand)
Craftbrewer Belgian (T58) yeast
600ml of Pomegranate syrup
1 vanilla bean

now I was going to use S04 yeast but suprisingly I didnt have any. so I decided a beglian yeast would so.
made a starter (so rehrdrate, thenadd 500ml juice and let it ferment out etc etc).
SG of juice is about 1.048 so its ideal.

picy of starter - huge kraussen


Now tonight once I pour off all the fermented cider from the cider (and sample it the pour off!) I will pitch yeast into the 24L of juice.
leave to ferment and clear out for 6-8weeks. I might rack once during that time. after its fermented out, Ill crash chill to kill off any remaining yeast then add in the Pomegranate syrup slowly and taste as I go. The Pomegranate serves 2 purposes, to back sweeten the cider, and to provide a nice taste for the ladies. I'll also split open the vanilla bean and chuck that in there for a couple weeks also.

expected ~SG 1048
expected FG ~1010 (as its not a cider yeast)
~5.6%.

I might throw a bit of dex in there if too sweet to dry it out little and boost the % alc.

will see and post back results.

Oh yeah I almost forgot - once fermented Im going to take 5 litres and bottles with mulberry molasses I found at a middle eastern bakery and see how that turns out. YUM

 

[Supra-Jim]

Sounds delicious CM2. Belgian yeast will provide some interesting aspects to it.

Cheers SJ

 

[brettprevans]

well i pitched yeast last night. i dont remember T58 being so bready in flavour and aroma (I sampled some of the propoagating liquid ie cider). smelt more like whitebread yeast. anywho pitched into 24L of apple/pear juice and it was fermenting nicely after a couple of hours. I'll have to hit it with the heating belt tonight to keep it above 16C. I'll raise the heat up to 22C for a day or two mid ferment to get some esters/flavour from the T58

so now its the waiting game.

 

[pdilley]

Should be yum. You took a swig of some mixed at that ratio in juice form to get a basis of what you'll end up with?

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Supra-Jim]

so now its the waiting game.

Awww... the waiting game sucks.... lets play hungry hippos!! (Homer Simpson)

Good to hear CM2, keep us posted on this one.

Cheers SJ

 

[brettprevans]

Should be yum. You took a swig of some mixed at that ratio in juice form to get a basis of what you'll end up with?

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

not quite sure what ur asking Pete.

yes i took a swig of the yeast starter when i was pouring off the extra liquid. but thats mainly yeasty hot alc cider. wasnt exactly great. im assuming that the finished product will be significantly better.

 

[pdilley]

Sorry, was in a daze Juice, taste of the juice before you pitch in the yeast. Can still mix up a glass just keep adding tablespoons or whatever measure in the same ratios as you poured into the fermenter.


Simple Cider is already clearing but only just. Now its a long waiting game until you can read the fine print of a legal contract through the glass!

 

[brettprevans]

ahh i c what you mean. yeah i tasted the juice before i pitched. yum i really like the apple/pear juice taste. berri has a nice blend going on. there's a little more apple juice than apple/pear, but im not really fussed. Pomegranate will probably mask those sublte flavours. althought im not wanting a huge pom taste. oh well. 6 weeks to wait.

more brewing to do in the meantime. ive still got to get a mead down asap.

 

[pdilley]

All's good then.

Noticed the 5 Litre flask, good man! Its actually the minimum sized flask required if you want to brew all the beer styles. You need the room to step up 3 to 4 times. I am getting on a local bulk buying group deal to get mine because 5 Ls are a bit pricey!

Meads are good to put down, even though cool I'm brewing now, pushing US-05 down to "fake lager" temperatures for an ultra clean fermentation. I want to turn the Stringy Bark into a "clean slate" with which to experiment with in secondaries with different flavouring ideas.

You'll go slower with a JAO so expect it to take a bit longer to drop and clear. If you want to get the fermentation time down with JAO you need to keep it warm, otherwise you need to ferment with SNA (1st, 2nd, 3rd nutrient addition schedule) with a normal Mead recipe.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[brettprevans]

the flask will be great. i actually made a mistake and order the 5L instead of the 3L. but ive decided thats ok cause if im not cultering yeast i can use it as a 5L demijohn and ferment in it / condition. I was thinking of using the flask to experiment with 4L of this batch and use the mulberry molasses I found instead of the Pomegranate syrup.

the 5L flasks are huge and look ridiculously large, but will be bloody useful.

 

[pdilley]

the flask will be great. i actually made a mistake and order the 5L instead of the 3L. but ive decided thats ok cause if im not cultering yeast i can use it as a 5L demijohn and ferment in it / condition. I was thinking of using the flask to experiment with 4L of this batch and use the mulberry molasses I found instead of the Pomegranate syrup.

the 5L flasks are huge and look ridiculously large, but will be bloody useful.

Oh come on you know when brewers get together they'll talk about whose got the bigger flask

It does look ridiculous but if you only get one, its the size to have, though you are right, you can easily use for small batch brewing which is 5 litre demijohns.. But the cost is just out of this world compared to buying a 5 litre demi... Almost 6 times the price


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Renegade]

Did you use the pomigranite syrup called Cortas, made in lebanon ? I bought some of that a while ago but have no idea what to use it for tastes great though, might have to add it to a boil soon !

 

[brettprevans]

dont remember what brand it is. its mostly in arabic. possibly lebanon. either the pomi and mulberry is made in lebanon. I wouldnt add to the boil, as I recon it will strip out the flavours. add to secondary.

well the cider is fermenting away nicely. need to give it a hit with the heat belt tonight as its getting a little cool. smells very interesting compared to fermenting beer.

 

[sanders4_]

I've heard that champagne yeast is a good choice for ciders... something to keep in mind for next time.

Did you go the fresh juice or the UHT stuff? I was thinking about doing a cider, and wasn't sure if the preservatives in some juice would cause problems...hence the appeal of fresh preservative free juice.

 

[brettprevans]

champy yeast will make a dry cider. so keep that in mind.

I used berri and coles brand juice. all no preservitive juices. steer away from preservitives. this was only a simple cider. if you wanted authenticity then you'd get fresh propoer juice and it would make a big differance in taste

 

[Supra-Jim]

+1 to what CM2 said there sanders.

Preservatives in juice are there to increase shelf life and prevent wild fermentation of the juice. These preservatives will make life very difficult, or most likely kill yeast.

However it is very easy to find preservative free juice in the supermarket, only the really really cheap brands have preservatives.

Oh, and CM2, is the 'interesting smell' of the fermentation interesting good/bad/not sure??

Cheers SJ

 

[brettprevans]

is the 'interesting smell' of the fermentation interesting good/bad/not sure??
Cheers SJ

it a good interesting smell. its just very differant to fermenting beer. its smells like, well, like... fermenting juice. just differant than im use to smelling in my house. if definitiely not an infected smell. I think also becuase its got pear in the mix it smells differant also.

just caught myself thinking that i could use the yeastcake from this for my next belgian beer. but bugger me if im waiting 7 weeks before i brew a belgian!.

 

[Renegade]

Off Topic:

I cracked a ginger beer this week that used a beer yeast, and it has what might be known as 'rotten egg smell' quite the same as some awful craft lagers I have had at places around sydney. Still it tastes good, and I hope the stink it will dissipate. I wonder if this was the yeast ? (which Im sure would have been some random kit one, therefore an ale yeast) Or maybe the yeast salts I added!?

Back On Topic:

Good tip on the champagne yeast, must try that next time. Any neutral types you can recommend (dry only)?

 

[sanders4_]

Craftbrewer sells only one type of champagne yeast, and also this wyeast cider specific strain - specifically mentions its use with apple and pear! http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=1594

considering how good liquid yeasts can be for beer in comparison to dried, I would love to have a head-to-head taste of the same cider wort fermented as two different batches with a different yeast in each batch.

Anyone had experience with the cider wyeast?

 

[pdilley]

Cider Faults and Additives


Although with fruit juices, simple sugar ferments like Ginger Beer the sulphur is from stressing the yeasts from lack of needed nutrients to support the yeast life cycle. You simply add in some nutrients like I am doing with the Mead (Stringy Bark US-05) in the non-beer brewing forum and you won't get sulphur in your fermentations.

Even wine yeasts will throw Sulphur when under stress. See my signature for the real reason why all yeasts will throw sulphur.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete