I've decided to run a Thanksgiving experiment. Aldi sells 100% cranberry juice and I've decided to see how it ferments (it's actually a blend of four juices but cranberry is the only decernable flavor). As it is an experiment, I'm being conservative and only making a six-pack. If it works, I'll make more.
The kick off was simple enough. I'm using the basic cider process and reserving 1.5 cups of juice to add as back sweetening once the process is done. The remaining 6.5 cups of juice were added to the fermentor at room temperature along with 1/2 packet of Red Star Champaigne yeast mixed with 1/4 cup of water at around 100 F. I also added about 1/2 tbsp of yeast nutrient since apple and pear juices are known to be lacking some of the nutrients yeast like to live on.
I let this go for a week and when I pulled it out on Sunday, it had a distinct alcohol tang, but it still had a lot of sweetness in the aroma. I filtered the mixture and then added 2 tsps of dried orange peel, 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper, and another 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient. That should get the yeast going again but I'm still expecting this to be low on the alcohol content. Not as bad as my last cider attempt, but still lower than the first cider or ginger beer.
After bottling and pasteurizing, I'd say there is definitely a mixed success here. On the downside, it did not hold any of the orange flavor and all nearly all sweetness has been lost. One the plus side, there is a tartness and a dryness that is a little jarring at first, but then becomes comfortable. In fact, it drinks a bit more like a wine and that's not a bad thing. I think it needs a bit more depth of flavor, but that can be developed in later attempts. Also on the good side, it is at least 5% alcohol so one bottle is enough to keep things mellow.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Ginger Beer - Second Attempt
A fellow brewer came up from Mexico on a business trip and I decided to make a small batch for him to sample. Since I was going to have a short turnaround, I decided to make a half-gallon batch, which worked out to a six-pack's worth.
Tea:
~1/3 lb ginger sliced
1/4 gallon (4 cups) water
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime
1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar (added at end of boil)
Process
As before I boiled the tea for 15 minutes and then cooled it for not quite 2 hours. With the volume being much lower, it cooled quickly. I then poured the tea into a bucket, straining out the solids. I added the juice of the zested lemon and lime as well as an additional 4 cups of water, pouring both through the strained solids. I pitched about 1/2 the packet of Red Star Champaigne yeast with 1/4 cup of water and poured the liquid in after letting it rest for 10 minutes.
I did not take an original gravity reading as I wasn't going to concern myself with the alcohol content of this batch.
I fermented the mixture for 4 days.
Before transfering the mixture to a bottling bucket, I added 2 6-oz cans of pineapple juice (1.5 cups) to the bottling bucket. I then syphoned the beer into the juice and gave it a good stir.
I bottled the mixture and then left them in the basement to carbonate. My plastic test bottle was hard after 1 day so I pasteurized the bottles and then let them chill in the fridge.
My friend didn't get a chance to taste the brew unfortunately. I gave him three bottles but he didn't have a chance to taste it before flying back to Mexico and during the flight, the bottles exploded in his suitcase. He did comment that he thought that the ginger smell his clothes gave off was nice.
I however kept three bottles for myself and I find that this is a nice improvement on the first attempt. The pineapple juice provides a good level of sweetness to balance out the natural dryness of the base beer without being too sweet. If anything, for my palate anyway, I think more pineapple (or other juice) could be added. But it certainly tastes good to me with a good little buzz as well. I'd guess it ended up around 3% like the first batch.
I'm thinking about letting the next batch go longer in the fermenter to up the alcohol content, even if it means losing a bit in the ginger.
Tea:
~1/3 lb ginger sliced
1/4 gallon (4 cups) water
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime
1/3 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar (added at end of boil)
Process
As before I boiled the tea for 15 minutes and then cooled it for not quite 2 hours. With the volume being much lower, it cooled quickly. I then poured the tea into a bucket, straining out the solids. I added the juice of the zested lemon and lime as well as an additional 4 cups of water, pouring both through the strained solids. I pitched about 1/2 the packet of Red Star Champaigne yeast with 1/4 cup of water and poured the liquid in after letting it rest for 10 minutes.
I did not take an original gravity reading as I wasn't going to concern myself with the alcohol content of this batch.
I fermented the mixture for 4 days.
Before transfering the mixture to a bottling bucket, I added 2 6-oz cans of pineapple juice (1.5 cups) to the bottling bucket. I then syphoned the beer into the juice and gave it a good stir.
I bottled the mixture and then left them in the basement to carbonate. My plastic test bottle was hard after 1 day so I pasteurized the bottles and then let them chill in the fridge.
My friend didn't get a chance to taste the brew unfortunately. I gave him three bottles but he didn't have a chance to taste it before flying back to Mexico and during the flight, the bottles exploded in his suitcase. He did comment that he thought that the ginger smell his clothes gave off was nice.
I however kept three bottles for myself and I find that this is a nice improvement on the first attempt. The pineapple juice provides a good level of sweetness to balance out the natural dryness of the base beer without being too sweet. If anything, for my palate anyway, I think more pineapple (or other juice) could be added. But it certainly tastes good to me with a good little buzz as well. I'd guess it ended up around 3% like the first batch.
I'm thinking about letting the next batch go longer in the fermenter to up the alcohol content, even if it means losing a bit in the ginger.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Apple Cider - Second Attempt
My first batch continues to improve in flavor as it ages. As time has elapsed, the slightly offputting odor has disappeared and the flavor has mellowed such that it is a smoother drink.
Given that success, I decided to take a second stab at it with a couple of minor variations.
The base recipe will stay the same, but instead of using apple juice, I'm using actual cider. I'm not sure if that will have any appricable affect, but I would imagine that the cider might produce something even less sweet (not that the first batch was that sweet to begin with).
I'm also thinking that I'll try adding some vanilla after a week along with the nutmeg and cinnamon. I think a vanilla overtone would taste rather nice.
I did not take an original gravity reading of the base cider as I've got 3 cups reserved for back sweetening. I'll take a measure of that at first transfer so I only have to wash the measuring equipment once.
Reset
So I think I just had my first encounter with Potassium Sorbate. This is a chemical additive that is added to many commercial juices (and ciders) after pasteurization to prevent yeast colonies from reproducing. It doesn't actually kill the yeast so it is not impossible to brew with a product that has this additive.
I was all prepared to filter the cider and add flavorings when I openned the bucket and smelled, not the yeasty, alcoholic smell that I got last time, but instead the sweet smell of non-alcoholic cider. I took a small sample in a shot glass and was correct that no fermentation had taken place. To be safe, I filtered the cider and cleaned out the bucket but aside from the small dregs normally found in cider, I saw no lees or any other residue. So, I added the cider back to the cleaned bucket and just dumped the flavoring into it. Assuming this second attempt to get fermentation going is successful, these flavors will probably be overrun by the yeast and I'll have to add more next week so it's just there to minimize loss.
I added more yeast nutrient, upping the dose to 1/2 tbsp. I then dumped half a packet of yeast into about 1/4 cup of warm water (~80-90 F) stirred it and let it sit for a good stretch before adding in to the cider. I'm hoping the volume and setting will allow the yeast to take hold. I intend to check it on Saturday and if this batch has not taken hold, I'll create a proper yeast starter and let that breed for 12-24 hours before introducing it to the cider for a third try. I'll filter it again to be safe but I'm hoping I won't have to take that step.
Reset 2
So the added yeast didn't work either. I went ahead and made the yeast starter and that finally got things going. I pulled it out after a week with the yeast starter and finally got a presence of alcohol. I took a shot glass and sampled the batch rather than measure and alcohol was there, but not at the level as had been with the first batch.
Still, I thought I would go ahead with the flavoring. I decided to split the batch into two and flavor each half gallon with something different. In batch A I put into a carboy and added 1 tbsp of grenadine and ~1/2 tbsp of cayenne pepper in addition to the cinnamon and nutmeg that were already in the brew. Batch B was flavored with 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and ~ 1/2 tbsp of all spice. I let them go another week and then back sweetened with about 1-1/2 cups of unfermented cider each that I had kept in reserve.
I bottled them and let them sit in bottle for about 5 days. I took gravity readings of the unfermented cider and the brew and got very similiar numbers so I knew the alcohol content was very low. I figured the yeast was probably struggling and an extra day or so in bottle wouldn't hurt anything. I then pasteurized.
I've not yet tried Batch B, but I had a bottle of Batch A about four days after pasteurization. My overall impression was that it was not bad. It had almost no carbonation and (as suspected) the alcohol content was very low. Low enough that only experience and a faint after buzz once the bottle was finished let me know there was any in there. I'd wager it's only 1-2% at most. But the favor was nice. It tasted like a decent unalcoholic cider, but with a slight tingle towards the end. There was a sweetness but it wasn't cloying so the alcohol had definately burned some of the sugar. I would definately like to try this again with a cider that wasn't tainted with Potassium Sorbate. Fortunately, there's a farm nearby that sells good, fresh cider that could easily be used. Now that Halloween is over, the crowds should die down and I should be able to get over there before they close in January.
Update
I'm going to rule both batches a bust now. I've tried both and while the flavoring is not bad, it was designed to counter alcoholic dryness. The flavors are too strong and the base cider itself seems to be souring a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if a little contamination got in in the various attempts and without any real alcohol there, the cider is just going downhill.
Given that success, I decided to take a second stab at it with a couple of minor variations.
The base recipe will stay the same, but instead of using apple juice, I'm using actual cider. I'm not sure if that will have any appricable affect, but I would imagine that the cider might produce something even less sweet (not that the first batch was that sweet to begin with).
I'm also thinking that I'll try adding some vanilla after a week along with the nutmeg and cinnamon. I think a vanilla overtone would taste rather nice.
I did not take an original gravity reading of the base cider as I've got 3 cups reserved for back sweetening. I'll take a measure of that at first transfer so I only have to wash the measuring equipment once.
Reset
So I think I just had my first encounter with Potassium Sorbate. This is a chemical additive that is added to many commercial juices (and ciders) after pasteurization to prevent yeast colonies from reproducing. It doesn't actually kill the yeast so it is not impossible to brew with a product that has this additive.
I was all prepared to filter the cider and add flavorings when I openned the bucket and smelled, not the yeasty, alcoholic smell that I got last time, but instead the sweet smell of non-alcoholic cider. I took a small sample in a shot glass and was correct that no fermentation had taken place. To be safe, I filtered the cider and cleaned out the bucket but aside from the small dregs normally found in cider, I saw no lees or any other residue. So, I added the cider back to the cleaned bucket and just dumped the flavoring into it. Assuming this second attempt to get fermentation going is successful, these flavors will probably be overrun by the yeast and I'll have to add more next week so it's just there to minimize loss.
I added more yeast nutrient, upping the dose to 1/2 tbsp. I then dumped half a packet of yeast into about 1/4 cup of warm water (~80-90 F) stirred it and let it sit for a good stretch before adding in to the cider. I'm hoping the volume and setting will allow the yeast to take hold. I intend to check it on Saturday and if this batch has not taken hold, I'll create a proper yeast starter and let that breed for 12-24 hours before introducing it to the cider for a third try. I'll filter it again to be safe but I'm hoping I won't have to take that step.
Reset 2
So the added yeast didn't work either. I went ahead and made the yeast starter and that finally got things going. I pulled it out after a week with the yeast starter and finally got a presence of alcohol. I took a shot glass and sampled the batch rather than measure and alcohol was there, but not at the level as had been with the first batch.
Still, I thought I would go ahead with the flavoring. I decided to split the batch into two and flavor each half gallon with something different. In batch A I put into a carboy and added 1 tbsp of grenadine and ~1/2 tbsp of cayenne pepper in addition to the cinnamon and nutmeg that were already in the brew. Batch B was flavored with 1 tbsp of vanilla extract and ~ 1/2 tbsp of all spice. I let them go another week and then back sweetened with about 1-1/2 cups of unfermented cider each that I had kept in reserve.
I bottled them and let them sit in bottle for about 5 days. I took gravity readings of the unfermented cider and the brew and got very similiar numbers so I knew the alcohol content was very low. I figured the yeast was probably struggling and an extra day or so in bottle wouldn't hurt anything. I then pasteurized.
I've not yet tried Batch B, but I had a bottle of Batch A about four days after pasteurization. My overall impression was that it was not bad. It had almost no carbonation and (as suspected) the alcohol content was very low. Low enough that only experience and a faint after buzz once the bottle was finished let me know there was any in there. I'd wager it's only 1-2% at most. But the favor was nice. It tasted like a decent unalcoholic cider, but with a slight tingle towards the end. There was a sweetness but it wasn't cloying so the alcohol had definately burned some of the sugar. I would definately like to try this again with a cider that wasn't tainted with Potassium Sorbate. Fortunately, there's a farm nearby that sells good, fresh cider that could easily be used. Now that Halloween is over, the crowds should die down and I should be able to get over there before they close in January.
Update
I'm going to rule both batches a bust now. I've tried both and while the flavoring is not bad, it was designed to counter alcoholic dryness. The flavors are too strong and the base cider itself seems to be souring a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if a little contamination got in in the various attempts and without any real alcohol there, the cider is just going downhill.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Apple Cider - First Attempt
I'd have moved on to try a second recipe sooner but I got a bad sinus infection and I didn't want to be anywhere near anything sweet or alcohol related. But, on the plus side, I found a very basic apple cider recipe that I thought I would try.
Tea:
13 cups apple juice (I used Motts 100% juice for this attempt)
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
Process:
As this was store bought juice and already pasteurized, there was no need to boil. I poured the juice directly into the fermenter and stirred in the yeast nutrient. I then added just under 1/2 tsp Red Star Champagne yeast, pitched with about 1/8 cup of water heated to between 80-90F. This is a deviation from the original recipe as it called for Red Star Montrachet yeast. The Champagne yeast will almost certainly produce a drier product but I wanted to use up the open packet and the ginger beer taught me that drier isn't necessarily a bad thing. We'll see how it develops.
The original gravity of the mixture is 1.048 and it has been stored in the basement for two days now. At the end of the week, I will transfer to a secondary fermenter and add additional flavoring in the form of cinnamon and nutmeg. The mixture will sit for another week and then back-sweetening will be done with the remaining 3 cups of juice.
Transfer:
After one week I siphoned out the cider into a new bucket, separating the liquid from the lees. To this, I added 1/4 cup of water that I had boiled with 1 cinnamon stick and some grated nutmeg. I simmered the water for about 5 minutes and then cooled it down before adding it to the cider.
I also added an additional 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient in case the yeast was tiring out. I was a bit worried as I had never seen bubbling from the lock, although I did know that gas was being produced as it surged when I put any pressure on the lid. It appears that I just had enough head space to hold the excess gas. This gas did have a bit of an odor to it although I did not detect any foul taste when I took a sample of the mixture so I am not worried about the smell.
I took a gravity mixture of the cider and it had bottomed out to 1.000, so it was just under 5% at that point. With everything mixed, I put the lid back on and put it back in the basement for another week.
Backsweetening and Bottling
After an additional week, I pulled the bucket out of the basement. The gravity had dropped only a tiny bit to 0.999, keeping the mixture at about 5% alcohol. It is important to note that because of the less rigorous activity, there was no significant odor that I could detect.
I added the remaining 3 cups of apple juice to the bottling bucket and then siphoned the cider into the bottling bucket, leaving the cinnamon stick and any lees behind. I gave it a bit of a gentle stir and then took a second gravity reading. It came out as 1.010 so the addition of the juice dropped the mixture to 4%, although until pasteurization takes place, the yeast is likely to keep working so the final product may be a little higher.
The final product was then bottled in 9 glass bottles and one plastic test bottle. Once the plastic bottle becomes hard, I'll pasteurize to kill off the yeast and stop the carbonation. I did take one sip after I added the juice and although the cinnamon and nutmeg came through, the mixture seemed a little watery to me. I'm hoping that was just the unsweetened juice not yet fully mixed with the matured liquid, but I won't be sure until the process is complete.
Pasteurization
The bottles aged for three full days. I pulled them up Wednesday night after the plastic bottle had gotten hard. This was only a day earlier than the recipe said would usually happen so I felt okay with that.
Pasteurization was pretty easy although my own natural caution may have lessened the effect. I don't have a deep lobster pot so I used a regular stew pot. I also was very nervous about over heating the water and since I don't have a candy thermometer, I was using my beer thermometer for a time by time test. So instead of pasteurizing for 10 minutes at 180F, I put the bottles in at a little less than 150F and left them there for 20 minutes, which is an acceptable alternative. To be extra safe, once they had been out of the bath for a good while, I put them in the fridge for a bit of a cold crash.
Results
I had the plastic bottle one on Friday and I think the results were pretty good for a first pass. The cider is less sweet than I've had with some commercial brands, but it was not dry like the ginger beer. The apple was hazy in the background while the cinnamon stood out, but not in an overpowering way. In fact, I think it could handle some additional spices, but I want to withhold final judgment on that until I've had a bottle that has aged a bit more. The best thing was that the more I had, the more I found myself enjoying the flavor and I was genuinely disappointed when I had finished the mug.
I'll withhold planned changes until I've drunk the aged stuff, but my first thought is to add some vanilla. Also perhaps some allspice to round out the autumn profile.
Tea:
13 cups apple juice (I used Motts 100% juice for this attempt)
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient
Process:
As this was store bought juice and already pasteurized, there was no need to boil. I poured the juice directly into the fermenter and stirred in the yeast nutrient. I then added just under 1/2 tsp Red Star Champagne yeast, pitched with about 1/8 cup of water heated to between 80-90F. This is a deviation from the original recipe as it called for Red Star Montrachet yeast. The Champagne yeast will almost certainly produce a drier product but I wanted to use up the open packet and the ginger beer taught me that drier isn't necessarily a bad thing. We'll see how it develops.
The original gravity of the mixture is 1.048 and it has been stored in the basement for two days now. At the end of the week, I will transfer to a secondary fermenter and add additional flavoring in the form of cinnamon and nutmeg. The mixture will sit for another week and then back-sweetening will be done with the remaining 3 cups of juice.
Transfer:
After one week I siphoned out the cider into a new bucket, separating the liquid from the lees. To this, I added 1/4 cup of water that I had boiled with 1 cinnamon stick and some grated nutmeg. I simmered the water for about 5 minutes and then cooled it down before adding it to the cider.
I also added an additional 1/4 tsp of yeast nutrient in case the yeast was tiring out. I was a bit worried as I had never seen bubbling from the lock, although I did know that gas was being produced as it surged when I put any pressure on the lid. It appears that I just had enough head space to hold the excess gas. This gas did have a bit of an odor to it although I did not detect any foul taste when I took a sample of the mixture so I am not worried about the smell.
I took a gravity mixture of the cider and it had bottomed out to 1.000, so it was just under 5% at that point. With everything mixed, I put the lid back on and put it back in the basement for another week.
Backsweetening and Bottling
After an additional week, I pulled the bucket out of the basement. The gravity had dropped only a tiny bit to 0.999, keeping the mixture at about 5% alcohol. It is important to note that because of the less rigorous activity, there was no significant odor that I could detect.
I added the remaining 3 cups of apple juice to the bottling bucket and then siphoned the cider into the bottling bucket, leaving the cinnamon stick and any lees behind. I gave it a bit of a gentle stir and then took a second gravity reading. It came out as 1.010 so the addition of the juice dropped the mixture to 4%, although until pasteurization takes place, the yeast is likely to keep working so the final product may be a little higher.
The final product was then bottled in 9 glass bottles and one plastic test bottle. Once the plastic bottle becomes hard, I'll pasteurize to kill off the yeast and stop the carbonation. I did take one sip after I added the juice and although the cinnamon and nutmeg came through, the mixture seemed a little watery to me. I'm hoping that was just the unsweetened juice not yet fully mixed with the matured liquid, but I won't be sure until the process is complete.
Pasteurization
The bottles aged for three full days. I pulled them up Wednesday night after the plastic bottle had gotten hard. This was only a day earlier than the recipe said would usually happen so I felt okay with that.
Pasteurization was pretty easy although my own natural caution may have lessened the effect. I don't have a deep lobster pot so I used a regular stew pot. I also was very nervous about over heating the water and since I don't have a candy thermometer, I was using my beer thermometer for a time by time test. So instead of pasteurizing for 10 minutes at 180F, I put the bottles in at a little less than 150F and left them there for 20 minutes, which is an acceptable alternative. To be extra safe, once they had been out of the bath for a good while, I put them in the fridge for a bit of a cold crash.
Results
I had the plastic bottle one on Friday and I think the results were pretty good for a first pass. The cider is less sweet than I've had with some commercial brands, but it was not dry like the ginger beer. The apple was hazy in the background while the cinnamon stood out, but not in an overpowering way. In fact, I think it could handle some additional spices, but I want to withhold final judgment on that until I've had a bottle that has aged a bit more. The best thing was that the more I had, the more I found myself enjoying the flavor and I was genuinely disappointed when I had finished the mug.
I'll withhold planned changes until I've drunk the aged stuff, but my first thought is to add some vanilla. Also perhaps some allspice to round out the autumn profile.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Ginger Beer - First Attempt
My first homebrewing attempt ever. One gallon batch of ginger beer. Recipe adapted from a give gallon recipe found on Homebrewtalk.com.
Tea:
1/2 lb ginger sliced on mandolin (managed to avoid adding blood though I did cut myself)
1/2 gallon water
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups brown sugar - added at end of boil
Process
Boiled tea for 15 mins then cooled for 2 hrs. Attempted to cool with lid on but temperature did not drop rapidly enough. Took lid off and crash cooled in fridge to get temperature down to less than 105F. Once cool, tea was added to sterilized gallon fermenter, straining out ginger and zest.
Added 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 cup lime juice to fermenter. Added an additional 1/2 gallon of water, pouring it through filled strainer. Pitched ~1/3 tsp Red Star Champagne yeast with 1/4 cup water with water just below 105F. Stirred occasionally for 10 mins and then added yeast mixture to fermenter.
Original gravity = 1.033
Sealed and left to ferment for four days. Transferred to bottling bucket, then bottled.
Final gravity = 1.011, 3% ABV
Used plastic bottle to monitor pressure. Left in basement to pressurize. Transferred to refrigerator after about 10 hrs with plastic bottle being hard.
Result
Carbonation is low but there. Could have sat in basement for another day probably. Flavor is very dry with no sweetness whatsoever. Nice after burn. Best drunk chilled and in a chilled glass. The dryness can be offputting the first couple of swallows but the palate adjusts fairly rapidly.
Possible Adjustments
Backsweeten with non-fermentable sugar (splenda - maybe 1/3 c.)
Possibly add additional corn sugar to tea to give the yeast more toys
Ferment an additional day for a higher ABV
Possible soak of ginger in dark rum before adding to tea
Pasteurize rather than cold crash to stop ferment and allow longer aging.
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