my 1st cider

[xxplod]

well i did it whoohoo . it ended up strong =15% and way too sweet but im just glad it worked LoL, its still young yet only 3 weeks so will it get better or stronger maybe less sweet? should i try and {thin it down} open for sugestions .

 

[St Allie]

XXplod..

if it's 15%, it's a high percentage wine, not a cider.

how did it end up 15% and sweet?

can you add your recipe?

Allie

 

[Green Mountains]

I'm guessing he back sweetened it...that's what we did though our cider ended up at 10%.

Let it mellow, it might even out and appear less sweet in time.

Is it bottled yet or still in carboy?

And I wouldn't thin it out with water.

You could in theory make another batch with less sugar that'll come out as something low like 8 or 9% and NOT sweeten it but then blend it witht he first batch. You can double your output and get something a little closer to 10 or 12% and not so sweet.

 

[xxplod]

~Cider recipe~

2 frozen apple juice add-
4 cans of water
4 cups of cane sugar
1 campden tab/crushed
and enough apple/cranberry juice to make a gal
1 pack of Pasteur Champagne yeast

its a recipe that came with a kit i bought.
i just changed it up a bit by adding the cranberry and extra sugar because it was so sour plus i thought the yeast might need somthing extra to work with

 

[Green Mountains]

What was your beginning and ending gravity (before you sweetened it)?

 

[xxplod]

I'm guessing he back sweetened it...that's what we did though our cider ended up at 10%.

Let it mellow, it might even out and appear less sweet in time.

Is it bottled yet or still in carboy?

And I wouldn't thin it out with water.

You could in theory make another batch with less sugar that'll come out as something low like 8 or 9% and NOT sweeten it but then blend it witht he first batch. You can double your output and get something a little closer to 10 or 12% and not so sweet.

no i didnt backsweeten and its still in the secondary carboy i didnt have a HYDROMETER untill yesterday and i also bought a -SACCHAROMETER and a VINOMETER not too sure what the do with them yet. but i figerad id be needing them as i have around 12 gals of differant wines going i went plumb crazy so far i have=
1 gal of tea wine
1 gal coffee
2 concord grape from concntrate
1 white grape
1 rice /saki
1 gal rasberry/plumb
2 gal fresh strawberry/orange
2 hard cider
1 gal rasin
all in primary except the cider--- you think id stop huh? naaah im still looking around for empty jugs LOL

 

[Wade E]

Throw the vino meter away IMO, they are not accurate at all especially in the presence of any residual sugar. All you needed was the hydrometer as the SACCHAROMETER measures basically or the same depending on the model as a hydrometer. Did you get a triple scale hydrometer?

 

[St Allie]

interesting xxplod lol..

so the 15% abv is a guess at this point? Will be interesting to see how close you are, next time you make this..now you have the hydrometer to measure with.

Allie

 

[xxplod]

well i used the hydrmeter but im not real sure if i read it right --but its good but saahhweet! lol

 

[Green Mountains]

Oh well, enjoy the sweet cider and take careful notes next time....it'll help you make your cider and anything else you make better and better each time.