First Cider - Flying Blind

[scottc1178]

hey guys

usually i'm the kind of person to follow recipes and instructions and do a bit of research to ensure the best results in my beers, but I've decided to momentarily throw sanity out the window, and after reading very little and heeding almost no advice from anybody, I've decided to blindly have a crack at brewing a cider for a bit of fun. it looks like this:



18 litres of ALDI apple juice (plus 2L in reserve for back sweetening the keg if necessary)
200g dex
a handful of frozen raspberries (i figure for a bit of flavour depth and extra sugar can't hurt )
SN9 yeast
and about 15g of cascade hops (dry hopped) just for something different.

gravity was 1.054... which I guess sounds good... but I don't really know

according to the info sheet SN9 wants to ferment around 20 to 24 degrees... which is convenient, cos thats about where it will sit in my laundry.



I'm hoping for a similar dry /sweet balance to Bulmers, but given my absolute lack of research prior to doing this, I might be asking a bit much.

couple of questions:

1) does anyone have a rough idea where my FG might end up?

2) anyone got any opinions on how this might turn out? and / or anything else I might want to do to it?

3) also... seeing as it's going to be at a higher temp, I'm hoping it ferments in about 11 to 12 days so I can keg and force carbonate in time for a halloween party... or am I just being silly now?


cheers
Scott

 

[JDW81]

I've made cider with SN9 a few time, but prefer to let it ferment at about 18 degrees. I also find that cider can take a bit longer to ferment out, so you might be stretching it a bit trying to get it packaged in under two weeks. My last cider spent a month in the fermenter, with the last 10 gravity points taking about two weeks.

The other thing with SN9 is it is a very dry finishing yeast so you will probably need to back sweeten in the keg (or in the glass). Given that it finishes so dry you can probably expect a final gravity of around 1006-1008 perhaps even lower (there are an awful lot of variables here).

IMHO ciders need a fairly long conditioning time, so if you do happen to get it drinking by the end of october it will be awfully green.

As far as dry hopping goes, it isn't something I'd do but give it a go and see what happens. I often boil 25 grams of cascade for 10 minutes to extract some bitterness and then add that to the fermenter to try and replicate the tannins which you get from cider apples (some people add strong black tea for the same mouth puckering effect, but I've never tried this).

If I were you, I'd whack together a simple wheat beer, or aussie ale, ferment it for 7 days, transfer and then force carb. I think you'll have much more success than rushing a cider.

My 2c.

Good luck either way. :icon_cheers:

JD

 

[Greg.L]

I can't see anything in your recipe that would give a fg above 1.000, probably around 0.996 unless I am missing something. All sugar in cider is fully fermantable.

 

[JDW81]

I can't see anything in your recipe that would give a fg above 1.000, probably around 0.996 unless I am missing something. All sugar in cider is fully fermantable.

Greg's right. I just checked my records and my last two ciders ended up at 1000 and 1002, both were fermented with SN9. Ignore the 1006, I'm not sure where that came from, probably stems from the lack of sleep studying for exams.

 

[pk.sax]

If you want this drinkable in a hurry,

Stop fermentation with 8-10 points of gravity left in the brew by kegging and chilling it right down. The leftover sweetness will aloe it to be fairly drinkable. Skip the hops maybe. Then again, never tried it.

 

[scottc1178]

If you want this drinkable in a hurry,

Stop fermentation with 8-10 points of gravity left in the brew by kegging and chilling it right down. The leftover sweetness will aloe it to be fairly drinkable. Skip the hops maybe. Then again, never tried it.

that's exactly what i reckon I'll do! It's only for a party so that there's an alternative to beer for the girls and the girlish men. I won't be devestated if its not the greatest cider i've tasted... drinkable will be good enough. cheers lads!!

meanwhile I might put another one on, for laters, that I won't rush!!

 

[manticle]

Of course only girls drink cider. Real men drink shandies and cascade light.

 

[scottc1178]

Of course only girls drink cider. Real men drink shandies and cascade light.

... and shandies made FROM cascade light...