Yet another TC post..

[BrewWoo]

I made 2x5L batches of TC. One just straight apple juice + yeast. The other apple juice, yeast and all the others plus around 250/300g of sugar.

Both taste like vinegar. Is this normal? Both had fermented right out and had been left to clear until I could see my fingers through the demijohn, I then added finings, which cleared them both up to the point I could read the paper through it.

Is adding another flavor / different juice something you must do?

Any idea's why it tastes like something you'd put on your chips?

 

[chrig]

Vinegar taste is a bad sign, are you sure its not just dry and sharp?

Keep hold of them in bulk for a while eitherway. If it has gone bad and turned to cider vinegar then it'll be good for cooking.

Fruit flies are usually the culprit for the infection

 

[oldbloke]

If it tastes like vinegar, it probably is.
TC can be pretty sharp, but not usually in a vinegary way.
Clean all the fermenters triply thoroughly before using them again!

 

[BrewWoo]

If it tastes like vinegar, it probably is.
TC can be pretty sharp, but not usually in a vinegary way.
Clean all the fermenters triply thoroughly before using them again!

They've both been kept in the airing cupboard so nothing has got in, either way if something did get into the cupboard it'd have a hard job swimming through the airlock!

The first batch (apple juice and yeast) smelled really nice, but tasted terrible. It's now been put down the drain. I'm hoping the other one is salvageable as it doesn't smell nor taste too bad at the moment. I'll give it a few days to see if anything changes, if not. I don't think I'll be trying TC ever again!

All DJ's have been cleaned thrice, and shall be done so again before use.

 

[chrig]

Cider and particularly 'turbo' cider isn't drinkable quickly, if its not infected and you bottle it then try a bottle in about 6months - 1 year. time makes a massive difference.

 

[oldbloke]

Cider and particularly 'turbo' cider isn't drinkable quickly, if its not infected and you bottle it then try a bottle in about 6months - 1 year. time makes a massive difference.

Can be, done right. The special I've brewed for my birthday has been in bottle 1 month and is great.
Juice with a good acid balance and good flavour; a touch of something else to broaden the flavour profile; just a hint of sweetener.
The major problem with most supermarket juices is the acid: there's a little bit too much, and within that the citric/malic ratio is wrong.
After that there's the problem that you just don't get enough apple in it.

But though my early ones were rather sharp, I'd never have described them as vinegary.

 

[bigboots]

Are you ABSOLUTELY certain that you taste vinegar or is your TC simply VERY DRY. Vinegar for your chips but simply add sugar syrup to your poured glass of cider. The amount you add is up to you.
HTH