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Alright, I'm really frustrated with my first 3 gallon batch of hard cider. It seems like the yeast refuses to settle, it's terribly cloudy and still has a very yeasty aftertaste.
According to the recipe, it was supposed to be ready in 30 days.
I started it on 9/30/08, using this recipe:
3 gallon preservative-free cider
3 cups brown sugar
1 cup wildflower honey
1.5 cinnamon sticks
peel and juice of one lemon, one orange
I brought it all to near-boiling, let cool, poured into 3 gallon glass carboy... my hydrometer put the must at 8%. Pitched my activated c1118 champagne yeast, placed airlock.
Was very active for 8 days, racked into clean carboy, added1.5 cups of sugar to sweeten the very very dry brew... racked again in 22 days, cloudy and still dry, added 1/2 cup more sugar. No airlock activity.
On 11/4 I pitched another packet of ec1118 yeast, thinking the fermentation may have been stuck. Fermentation began again, slowly. Been popping once every 1-2 minutes since I pitched new yeast. Racked again on 12/5. STILL popping, STILL cloudy, STILL tastes yeasty.
Any suggestions? What the hell is going on?
According to the recipe, it was supposed to be ready in 30 days.
I started it on 9/30/08, using this recipe:
3 gallon preservative-free cider
3 cups brown sugar
1 cup wildflower honey
1.5 cinnamon sticks
peel and juice of one lemon, one orange
I brought it all to near-boiling, let cool, poured into 3 gallon glass carboy... my hydrometer put the must at 8%. Pitched my activated c1118 champagne yeast, placed airlock.
Was very active for 8 days, racked into clean carboy, added1.5 cups of sugar to sweeten the very very dry brew... racked again in 22 days, cloudy and still dry, added 1/2 cup more sugar. No airlock activity.
On 11/4 I pitched another packet of ec1118 yeast, thinking the fermentation may have been stuck. Fermentation began again, slowly. Been popping once every 1-2 minutes since I pitched new yeast. Racked again on 12/5. STILL popping, STILL cloudy, STILL tastes yeasty.
Any suggestions? What the hell is going on?
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Philadelphia
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Re: Slowest cider EVER
Wed, December 10, 2008 - 12:57 AMFreeze it?
Make AppleJack. Freezing should make all the crap drop out.
I do that with our mead. OTOH this last batch of mead was clear in 4 weeks.
try it report back.
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Re: Slowest cider EVER
Wed, December 10, 2008 - 1:46 PMI was talking to a co-worker today who brews, he said that he drops a shot of vodka in his wines/meads to kill the yeast and make it drop...
Has anyone else ever heard of this or tried it?
The mention of freezing it reminded me of reading somewhere about putting it in the fridge the day before racking to help get things settled..
I know you don't have room in your fridge for a 3 gal carboy;-) but maybe setting it outside in your garage for a day might do something?
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Re: Slowest cider EVER
Wed, December 10, 2008 - 6:09 PMmaybe it's not done yet? i tend to get really anxious when things take longer than they are supposed to , but sometimes you can't rush it. take a few hydrometer readings. if they are stable, the cider is probably done. if they keep dropping, there's work left to do. try moving the carboy to a warmer spot to speed up the process. but. more often than not, you just got trust your instincts, and when it feels right, it's time. -
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Re: Slowest cider EVER
Fri, December 12, 2008 - 11:20 PMyeah, that's what I'm guessing ...not warm enough
i've found sometimes that racking it (prior to being completely clear) can help unload some of the yeastyness as well as get fermentation going again
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Re: Slowest cider EVER
Sat, December 13, 2008 - 6:49 AMThe other issue you may have run into is the fact that you heated the cider. By bringing it close to boiling point, you run the risk of causing the various pectins in the fruit to set a little, which if done enough could keep it from ever clearing all the way. In the long run it's really best not to heat most fruit juices or additives if you can help it, unless you are really worried about their cleanliness, in which case you should add some pectic enzyme at the outset, which will help the pectins not to set, or just drop a Campden tablet into the juice, wait 24 hours, then pitch your yeast.
On the other hand, having the pectins set is harmless, and simply an aesthetic bother. Either way, when the yeast has run it's course, they should floc out and drop. So if you're still hazy/cloudy AND you have a strong yeast taste, it simply may not be done yet.
