Apple concentrate

[Rocket-Boy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Rocket-Boy]

Mine was pressure fermented with Midtbust. I used DAP for nutrients- double the amount I normally use for same size beer batches.
Mine went into the keezer last night for cold crashing, will probably transfer this afternoon to a keg. I also kind get the feeling that the kveik doesn't really like the cider, it was rather laggy. It did drop out very nicely and is already semi clear.

So far it smells and tastes much better than the previous batch (also lower in alcohol, should be around 5%, but I'm lazy to measure FG, so... Guess I'll do that today or something). That batch itself wasn't too bad , not great but not bad, so it may not be perfect yet but at least I'm making progress.

I find that my FG is always a bit out these days because of pressure fermenting. By the time its done fermenting its carbonated which throws the readings off a bit. You can decarb but I generally have a pretty good idea of ABV and as long as it tastes good Im happy.

[hopingmadinZam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hopingmadinZam]

Yeah so I've made a few ciders before, and all but one actually failed (well, failed in my eyes). The one that worked was a Mangrove Jack's pouch kit, and that cider was incredible. I'm making my latest using this concentrate as I've tasted a cider made with this concentrate before and it was sublime, tasting quite a bit like the Strongbow Gold cider I'm quite fond of. It's way tastier than Savannah as well, and I'm hoping I treated it right doing it with Lutra.

Which one of the MJ was incredible? I have friends coming so might only make cider once or twice so price is not really too much concern but taste is.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

This one: https://www.brewcraft.co.za/products...nd-mango-cider

Although I have to admit it didn't taste like mango or raspberry specifically. It was just quite light and fruity, with a slight sour note to it that I loved. I made it with half the sweetener sachet added to the final product (just off-dry), but next time I'll add a bit more to make the fruity flavours shine.

[SykomantiS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SykomantiS]

I find that my FG is always a bit out these days because of pressure fermenting. By the time its done fermenting its carbonated which throws the readings off a bit. You can decarb but I generally have a pretty good idea of ABV and as long as it tastes good Im happy.

Yep, I decarbed the sample and left it overnight. Ended at 1.004 or 1.005, from 1.050 or something. I should've written it down.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Alrighty, so this cider is cold crashing on gelatin, right on the yeast cake. I first wanted to save the yeast cake before cold crashing on it but figured that the fresh, almost sharp apple flavour is considered a serious flaw in most beers so I don't really want to pitch it into another beer. So I'll just dump it, I guess.

Anyway, I pulled a sample and it seems to have finished at 1.006. It's a lot higher than I expected, and I'll be honest I expected it to finish close to 1.000. It still leaves me with a nice 5.25% ABV apple cider that tastes pretty damn awesome. I can't wait for this thing to clear up a bit so I can keg, stabilize and backsweeten it!

[BeerHolic Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BeerHolic]

Intersting, the highest I have had a cider finish is 1.003

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Yeah I'm wondering if it doesn't have anything to do with the Lutra (Kveik) yeast I used. It did start way more sluggish than other yeasts, so I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm dead sure it's done, the fermentation slowed down, the krauzen dropped and after that I still left it for another 5 days to sit (about 10 days in total), so it has to be done.

[Jitters Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Jitters]

Yeah I'm wondering if it doesn't have anything to do with the Lutra (Kveik) yeast I used. It did start way more sluggish than other yeasts, so I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm dead sure it's done, the fermentation slowed down, the krauzen dropped and after that I still left it for another 5 days to sit (about 10 days in total), so it has to be done.

I experienced the same with voss in a cider I made. I read somewhere that Kveik does better with higher gravity wort not because of the sugar but because of the increased nutrients, because it runs so hot and fast it needs extra nutrients and has a tendency to stall on lower gravity wort as their isnt enough nutrients in the wort.

I wonder if the same thing applies to apple concentrate which is virtually devoid of nutrients for yeast?

[hopingmadinZam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hopingmadinZam]

I experienced the same with voss in a cider I made. I read somewhere that Kveik does better with higher gravity wort not because of the sugar but because of the increased nutrients, because it runs so hot and fast it needs extra nutrients and has a tendency to stall on lower gravity wort as their isnt enough nutrients in the wort.

I wonder if the same thing applies to apple concentrate which is virtually devoid of nutrients for yeast?

Most of my beers are with voss 4-5% never had anything sluggish or stall. 48hours and the beer is done. I'm guessing there is a specific nutrient lacking in cider that Kveik must need/want.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

That's very possible, and I knew that, which is why I fed the yeast with Fermaid-O during fermentation. I'm not sure if I fed it enough though, but that doesn't matter. There's no yeasty off-flavours in the cider present so it fermented clean, and even if it stalled I'm OK with it, since I'll be stabilizing it anyway (yeast won't do any work further) before adding the remaining concentrate back.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

OK so the cider was fermented with Lutra for 2 weeks, then cold crashed, fined in the fermenter, stabilized and backsweetened in the keg. This keg's been in the fridge for the past 2 weeks or so. I started carbonating it this past weekend, trying to get into the keg so I could gauge it's readiness. I tapped a sample and it's definitely improving, but this again showed me why ciders are always a bit of a pain to make - they take way more time than beers to be drinkable.

Yes, the cider isn't bad and it's improving, but it still has a distinctive fermented, almost sour/tart taste to it that I've picked up in all my homebrews, and the only way to fix it is with time. So yeah the keg will have its time, but it's disappointing. I wanted it ready a bit sooner.

But yeah, the concentrate works, IMO. I'm not sure I'll do it with Lutra again, next time I'll probably use a cider or wine yeast made for fructose fermentations instead, but it works.

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Alright, poured another one. My CO2 is almost-almost done, so the cider isn't as carbonated as I'd like, but the sour note is giving way to fresh apple notes, like Granny Smith apples, actually. It's becoming less fermenty-sour and more apple-sour, which is quite nice. It's SUPER refreshing.

It's nowhere near clear, and still quite cloudy actually, even after fining, but to me it's part of it. Starting to see some lacing on the glass as the carbonation is improving, and overall this is a good cider. I do think it could do with some more sweetness though, so I'll be dosing it with something soon.

[PaBz0r Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PaBz0r]

Got around to making the cider today, if things go wrong.. apple brandy time

[Toxxyc Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toxxyc]

Yeah mine's conditioning alright. I ordered more concentrate (from Magalies this time) to use for a kid's party coming up, so I'll add a bit of that concentrate to the cider to sweeten it up a bit as well. It's still not clear, still a bit hazy, but overall it tastes really fresh and refreshing. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'll definitely do it again!

[SykomantiS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SykomantiS]

This my cider, after backsweetening. I think I have to start working on the next batch. This stuff will not last long.





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