So if the stuff is still bubbling and carbonated of its own accord even though it is in a vessel that lets out pressure (gallon jug with air lock), then the yeast aren't "done" yet, and are still chewing through all that fructose. Makes wonder what would happen if you treated it like beer - put 4 or 5 gallons at one time into a normal carboy, use suitable warm temp (ale) yeast or even a specific cider yeast, let it ferment for 2 or 3 weeks til the spec grav settles out, then carb and bottle it.

As for tasting the yeast, that's gonna be based on two big factors and one small one, that I can think of.

1. First, if you use yeast that like to work at warm temps, they will poot out more of the "yeast flavor" esther alcohols than cold temp (lagering) yeasts. Yeast that like an 80 degree coat closet are gonna funk up whatever they're in much more than german lager yeast at 45 degrees. So already in the ale category of yeasts, you're choosing from yeasts that leave behind more of a footprint, though some are cleaner than others. Which brings me to
2. Different strains are bred to leave behind more or less of themselves, flavor-wise. So if you want to ferment warmer (I would too, lagering is a pain), then I would use either US-05 or Nottingham yeast. Those two, if kept in the low 60's, will ferment CLEANLY and leave very little behind except alcohol and CO2.
3. And finally, as you mentioned, racking cleanly will help too. What I do at bottling time is bring out the carboy (or carboys, as in the case last night when I had 2 batches to do) early on in the evening onto the counter and leave them be. Then I boil sugar water and turn it off with the pot lid on (to sanitize the sugar solution), and THEN I start sanitizing the bottling bucket and bottles. While I'm over there at the sink fucking with iodine and shit, two things are happening - the sugar water is cooling off, and (more to the point here) the yeast I disturbed in moving the carboys are settling back down to the bottom. That way when I rack to the bottling bucket, and I rack from the top slowly to the bottom, I get a very clean beer with minimal detritus.

I've said too much.

No, this is all good. Basically not letting it finish so there's some sweet seemed to be the strategy of the folks I linked above, looking for the quick/dirty solution. To bottle and keep it you have to do more homework than G and I were up to that day. Nottingham is our next plan - it seems like that will leave a very, very dry cider, and folks then either age it a million years or backsweeten it with something the yeast doesn't eat to get a drinkable product.

Wading through this before trying again!

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results ... nts-83060/

Also, in reading this I think I should have racked it before fridging it and then racked it back again after a day or two to cut down on the eyastiness (which half of us found rather pleasant, but still not super cider-y)...

HOOOO Lee Hell. That's a lot of info. And it's awesome. Not what I needed to sumble upon 30 mins before a long meeting. I'ma get me a gallon jug of something fresh and local and just see what develops.

Happy meeting!

See, this, from p 11, is the key thing it seems:

Q
However, I've got a couple of lingering questions after reading the thread. Maybe I missed the answers, or misunderstood some advice.
1) If I want to bottle the cider I make, how can I get it to carbonate if I cold crash it?
2) What specific function does the K-meta serve in the cider process?

I'm imagining my process will be something like this:
Buy Cider, pour some off of the top.
Add yeast and nutrient.
Ferment at ~70 deg for 6-8 days.
Rack, ferment a few more days. ????
Cold crash, for 2 days.
Bottle.
Let bottles sit for about a week at Room Temp.
Refridgerate and drink at me leisure.



Ans:
Cold crashing will only slow down yeast, it won't kill it. You can use P.S. and sulfites to halt fermentation (or nearly halt) fermentation. But if you want a sweet & carbonated bottled cider, you need fermentation to get the carbonation, and if you are actively fermenting and there is sugar left over the yeast will eat it up producing more and more CO2 until your bottles explode.

The common solution is to let your cider ferment all the way out like EdWort does (takes at least 6 weeks) then sweeten with whatever you want and sorbate to prevent further fermentation. Then keg and force carbonate, then bottle from the keg. Without the keg you can get carbonated bottles but they won't be as sweet ... or they'll be likely to explode. This is advice from my local cider sage (who has placed in nationals a few times) so she certainly knows what she's doing.

Personally I think there is hope for sweet carbonated cider in champagne bottles, they should withstand enough pressure I think ... but I don't know anyone who has tried this. I'll be trying at least two of these in two months or so when my first 6gal batch comes out of my primary. My SWMBO likes sweet cider (like Woodchuck or Magners both roughly FG 1.020 lots of sugar left over) and as of yet I don't have a keg ... so I may have to get creative, unless I get a keg in the next couple of weeks.

--

I don't have or want gear to forced carbonate, so maybe make it-the-week-you-want-it and stop the yeast early is where it's at?

Do not try what they are recommending.

Putting something in campaign bottles to prevent bottle bombs doesn't solve the issue. I bottled up some ginger brew that way, with that same thought. It keeps going. It's nice that the bottle is strong and won't explode. Unfortunately you will loose 90% of the contents when you go to open the bottle.

Think of champaign x100

^ that.

And I'm no closer to getting carb'd non-dry-as-hell cider, having read all that, unless I go with dry carbed bottled cider. Or unless I sprinkle a sugar packet in each glass before drinking it.

Me either. Unproductive day, leaving me thinking do what I did, a little better, and drink it fresh (or bottle tiny bits and store in the fridge).

You should ask Terry about this. I know he did some work for a guy who was making cider in a similar way to what BJW is describing that was pretty damn good. Not sure if he's tried any himself but I'd wager he has.

At least the first batch of mead looks good. Clear as a bell, going into bottles Saturday. Will try to repeat with cheap TJs mesquite honey instead of pricey farmers market, see if I can get something tasty before Christmas.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/easy-st ... cs-193295/

Cider for the gluten-free lady, without committing All Of The Fridge to it?

Today I visited the more-local LBS that opened recently. They seem super nice and have all kinds of stuff. Everyone should move to Baltimore.

My sister just moved to the baltimore area. some smaller city about 30 minutes away. I'll prob visit next summer.

I wonder if I could stop my ginger brew carbonation using this same method.
Right now I've been using plastic PET bottles and I've only been making really small batches.
I do 5 bottles and as soon as they are carbonated I throw them in the fridge to stop the action.
I usually end up drinking it in the next week.

I'd really love to use glass bottles and be able to make a ton and store it in the basement.

I can't WAIT to get started on this, but I can't find cider yet. We'll be awash in it in September and on, but now there's barely anything around.

It's just water bath canning, essentially, no? With more pressure, so keep the lid on and all - but that guy still has two eyes and his thread is years old now. I am also waiting to move beyond prison wine when the locals get cranking.

Once you visit Baltimore I'm sure you'll be sold on it, cats. Cheap, friendly, all four seasons, good food, never gets destroyed in the movies.

FWIW last time i was in Baltimore our band van got broken into and both of our shows fell through. that was 10 years ago.

Hmmm. We're somewhat less crimey now, and sonar closed...

seemed to have a bitching art scene at that time though

All those punk artist kids living off stolen music gear...

All those artsy kids sharing row houses with rent at $200 a room after graduating from mica. Great arts scene. BMA and Walters free, dc a quick trip, AVAM and creative alliance and the copycat folks... Bring friends!

I thought this was a pretty genius idea for learning some hop aromas.
http://www.bertusbrewery.com/2013/03/dr ... light.html

I wonder how it would work with high life

Really cool.

And it led me to Hops Direct, where I ordered 3 pounds of imported hops, and bookmarked my calendar for late october to buy current year crops. That Mosaic hops sounds tantalizing, especially when I saw that he got grassy noters out of Simcoe and cat pee out of Chinook. I've found the same, so I like his taste so far.

I really like the simcoe.

I do too, so I upped the late hopping and dry hopping amounts in the last 2 batches of Doublish IPA. And now it has too much "grass clippings" going on.

From my SMASH beer I made a coup months ago. Just drinking the hell out of it now.

.5 oz Simcoe @ 60 min
.5 oz Simcoe @ 20 min
.5 oz Simcoe @ 15 min
.5 oz Simcoe @ 5 min
1 oz Simcoe @ 0 min

3 oz was plenty. I probably wouldn't do more.
I get "pine" my wife gets "citrus"

I was at about 5 or 6 ounces of simcoe (out of maybe 18 total ounces).