God damnit

[Devonhomebrew]

so i took a sample of my cider got 180L of the stuff and it is bloody watery as hell Anything i can do to change this add some brown sugar or something?

 

[oldbloke]

How far through fermenting what recipe are you?

 

[Devonhomebrew]

How far through fermenting what recipe are you?

Finished out. it was from cider apples from a local orchard

 

[wilsoa1111]

time to draw some off into djs for experimentation then- might just need some acid (malic acid is good but citric is cheaper),

might need some time (my cider was pretty watery/vinegary to start with), could oak age,

for body add some crushed beerys/ raisins ,

even could add some apple concentrate,

maybe ginger etc try anythin got make drinkable-

vege glycerin might even help

 

[graysalchemy]

might just need some acid (malic acid is good but citric is cheaper),

And won't do what the malic will do so probably not appropriate.

do you know what types of apples you used? ie were they Sweet, sharps, Bitter sweet, Bitter sharp. Has it under gone any malolactic fermentation.

Personally i think, assuming you made a good mix of apples with decent tannin and malic acid levals, then I would give it time cider does need a long time to mature. :thumb: :thumb:

TC is so much easier as you start of with a bland apple juice and then add malic acid and Tannin to make a half decent cider.

 

[scott78]

if its made with apples then acid shouldnt be a problem, i would never add citric acid to cider as it can be converted into acetic acid. tannin will make a big difference to taste and colour, as has been said, try it on a DJ full and work from there.

 

[graysalchemy]

if its made with apples then acid shouldnt be a problem,

Depends what proportion of sweet and sharps were used to how much malic acid there is.

 

[Crastney]

stupid question - was it just juice, or did you add water?
what was your original recipe?

 

[Devonhomebrew]

Stupid question ummm no i made it with local apples most were bitter not many sours but a few went in also a variety of sweet went in.

It is quite nice but lacking in a strong enough flavour and body (watery) for what im looking for. (Sourish cider)

So should i buy some malic acid in bulk and add to the cider because of lack of sours and also add some brown sugar to add a bit more body?

Might get a dj and add some malic acid and also some brown sugar and ferment again. Maybe 200g of brown sugar and 5g of malic acid per gallon?

 

[calumscott]

You got any signs of Malolactic Fermentation DHB?

Sure fire way to get flavour in your cider...

YUM!

 

[Devonhomebrew]

nope im gonna pump it off into secondary soon anyway so im hoping thatll help it clear up then do experiments with citric and malic acids 300g of malic and 100g of citric in my 180L :shock:

 

[calumscott]

Lash a bottle of Old Rosie in when you've pumped it off...

Even that small inoculation should get it going. :thumb:

In that volume though I've no idea how long it will take to start building flavour, two-three months maybe? That pic is a 23l bucket and its been growing since I racked it at Christmas. The MLF farmyardy flavour is only just starting to develop now.

 

[Thrupney_Bit]

I'd echo what GA has said and give it more time. Six months as a minimum isn't unreasonable and it will mature and develop flavour. Just leave it in your DJ with sulphited airlock and wait. After suitable maturation time you can then taste and blend/adjust if you feel it needs it but right now is a little early I think.

If you started with a juice from pressed apples that tasted right and had the right acidity prior to pitching your yeast then that's a very good start and no reason why you shouldn't be producing good cider. One possible explanation, putting aside maturation time, is (amongst a few other things) is the speed at which you fermented your juice. Generally, but not always, a slow fermentation produces better flavour profiles. Traditionally cider was fermented in barns slowly, even freezing over the winter, this helped make sure sugars were fermented at a much slower rate.

I'm not sure what your OG was but I would think there was enough sugar to give a good percentage. I'd not add more It'll just make your cider even more alcoholic. The Pooley and Lomax book does recommend this but unless you sulphite the yeast it simply doesn't add sweetness it just gets fermented out.

Patience and a with a bit of luck you should be fine!

 

[calumscott]

Just leave it in your DJ

Never seen a 180l DJ before!! :shock:

:lol:

 

[graysalchemy]

I would leave the citric acid out dev even though it does break down due to the lactobacillus, malic is what you want in cider. Apples have no citric acid in them naturally.
:thumb:

 

[scott78]

if you cannot test your cider for acid %, i would take a sample, taste it and hold it in your mouth for a few seconds, swallow it and wait. if you mouth waters you have enough acid in the cider, if your mouth doesnt water then you need to add malic acid. too add acid to a cider that doesnt need it will make it almost undrinkable.

 

[Devonhomebrew]

Its just really tannic so i just thought maybe the malic acid could add the acid i need im not actually after MLF but if it happens it happens.

 

[alanywiseman.]

Its just really tannic so i just thought maybe the malic acid could add the acid i need im not actually after MLF but if it happens it happens.

I would not add anything and let it mature. As it matures the tannins will melloew like in wine and your cider will balance out.