cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

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peteturbo

cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:58 pm

Ok, first post.
Bit of a panic,
I have 8 gallons of last seasons cider on the go, 5 are in the barrel, 1 is virgin, two have been artifically malolacticed with white labs.
The annual pork and cider is early this year and only one gallon cider ord and one gallon mlf will be ready (even then not really). I need two more gallons of cider in 20 days.
TURBO CHALLENGE!!!!!

For 2 x 1 gall dj;
7L sainsbury value apple from concentrate, no preservatives
1l cranberry, no sweeteners
100g bakers yeast
multi vit tablet.
tomato paste ;)
400g sugar, inverted in 1L apple juice with cinnamon stick 4 cloves and mace. erm 600g sugar, ah, maybe 800g. darn it, wife hates empty packets - 1Kg :out :out :out
Hopefully the bakers wont ferment beyond erm a certain amount, and the cider will be sweet.

Philosophy - blaze the initial ferment at 25C
Get the reproductive out of the way 2-4 days , add 2L water into headspace to dilute total potential alcohol - 3-4 days, take sg, if not dropped past 1.04 ish, aerate and add champagne yeast. give time for yeasies to clean up - total ferment 10 -14 days, crash cool 2 days.
Rack into new DJ, top up with fresh AJ and seal. cross fingers, take with the proper stuff and pray.

Stupid with the sugar, but tc is always dry, acidic and flavourless.

This will be interesting. On the heated floor in the kitchen now, 45 mins after airlocking, and plopping like mad. I can hardly hear myself type. It will go into a temp controlled water bath at 25 degs in an hour or two.

Cost; 70p per litre juice, 50p for the bakers, 70p for the sugar? 35p for tomato paste.

Concerns - well, hugely violent of course, mitigated by yeast, massive overpitch and clean up (haha). Insufficient time throughout the process, stupid amount of sugar (kicking myself - i knew i would do it when standing over the pan).

Initial grav - 19.5 brix, right on the limit of [size=50]brewers[/size]. [b]bakers yeast[/b]

Peteturbo
Last edited by peteturbo on Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

WalesAles
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Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by WalesAles » Tue Apr 12, 2016 10:00 pm

pete,
I think you might have put in a little bit too much sugar! :D =D> =D>
Can`t wait for the outcome of this TC! :D

WA

oldbloke
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Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by oldbloke » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:45 pm

peteturbo wrote:
Stupid with the sugar, but tc is always dry, acidic and flavourless.
No it isn't.
Dump the sugar. Use Suma concentrate instead of AJ. Add a little artificial sweetener. Use an ale yeast.

My standard 1 gallon recipe is:
500ml Suma concentrate, 1l AJ, 500ml OtherJuice (often cranberry), 1tsp tannin, 1tsp sweetener, 1 tsp nutrient, half sachet ale yeast, water to make up the gallon.
Everybody reckons it's pretty good. Around 6.5%ABV
A red wine yeast gives a fruitier finish, but the ale yeast is softer

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:29 am

Thanks for the reply Oldbloke, I have read many of your works many times and am very impressed.
I have looked for Suma, but can only find it online and it seems silly money.
I intend to try your suma recipe next time, it does look the best. This time i was (am) in screaming hurry, which i know is wrong.
I also wanted to give the brewers yeast a go in high alcohol since it is working well elsewhere.
maybe i should rephrase the op; MY tc is always dry acidic and flavourless!
Peteturbo

oldbloke
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Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by oldbloke » Wed Apr 13, 2016 7:55 pm

My first couple weren't great.
You're right the online prices for Suma are outrageous.
You want a hippy food shop, 6x500ml non-organic about £26, or if you're making a lot get the 5l poly
It does cost a fair chunk more than supermarket AJ but you'll discover it's worth it

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Wed Apr 13, 2016 8:18 pm

23 degrees c in the water bath. bubbling happily. no krausen.
forgot the bloomin tea, damn.
finings on order - gelatin / kieselsol.
I normally use irish moss in my ag, and use time for my proper cider.
Crash cooling always good.
£26 capital outlay? outrageous! but it does 6 lots.
For ag i get all my stuff from the local brewer or use my own, costs nothing, tastes fab, and i can always lord the taste and ingredient knowledg
e of my ag over any commercial pint.
P

f00b4r
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Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by f00b4r » Wed Apr 13, 2016 11:01 pm

What's the lifespan of the Suma cartons?

oldbloke
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Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by oldbloke » Thu Apr 14, 2016 9:04 am

f00b4r wrote:What's the lifespan of the Suma cartons?
The 400 and 500 ml bottles have a long shelf life and you'd use a whole bottle every time so it's more or less irrelevant.
The 5l poly needs to be used fairly quickly once opened, a couple of weeks if not refrigerated, couple of months in the fridge.
If you can plan to make enough to need the 5l poly, it's far better value.

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Fri Apr 15, 2016 3:22 pm

yesterday evening, temp 23 degs bubbles just over every second.
now (15/4.15:00hrs) temp 21/22 degrees (water bath level low - insulation missing from side) bubbles every 5 to 8 seconds.

topped up water bath with 30 deg water, reinstated insulation. shook bottles to lift yeast off lees.

IF this stops fermenting in next few days, then yeastey clear up hols for two/ three days, then will fine and rack. circa 22/4
Over 1L apple to juice to top up and will boil with handful of my dry hops for 5+2 minutes, and use to top up, then stopper.

7 days on fined cider should give a mixture of carb ferment but residual sweetness. Drink on 30/4.

Peteturbo

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Sat Apr 16, 2016 10:26 am

brix 8, or 3.5 degs alcohol.
temp 22C
bubbles 2 per minute.
with a starting brix of 19.5 gives me an abv at this moment of 6.4%. Not impressed, brewers should do more than that.
Might kick in some ec1118. i shall think about it. this might mess with my timings.
Mind you, it might be a really nice, medium sweet cider at the moment?
options;
a) kick in the 1118 today - good to add the juice and hop top up but high alc yeast often gives new krasuen. when fine, add juice and stopper may get too much fizz and break DJ?
b) leave. stick on plan, fine and rack in a few days time, estimate abv about 7 with 3%alc unfermented - add juice - unlikely to get much genuine fermentation done - sounds over sweet. Could add tannin for balance.
c) top up and add ec1118 in a few days time - boom bang a bang. it'll go mad and ferment to dry.

i think i will stick with plan b, which is of course, plan a.
Any advise / ideas? remember, speed is everything. must be drunk on 30th, but trying to get the best taste for the time.
Peteturbo

Chug

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by Chug » Sat Apr 16, 2016 11:23 am

I guess it depends on its how sweet it is now, fermenting til finished and back sweetening with sweetener to taste is probably best, especially if you want it stronger, or you might end up too sweet, but then you are pushing the time and it will only just have time to carb and condition and be just about drinkable in a month. Good luck with whatever you decide upon.

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Tue Apr 19, 2016 11:37 am

Sunday evening, aquarium heater broken, 18 degrees. hot water added to resevoir. brix 7.
Monday evening back up to 23 degrees, small pressure in bubbler, 7 brix.
Tuesday, rehydrated 10 g packet of EC1118, gave it a bit of apple juice well shaken for an hour or so, added half a mug of three teabag tea. pitched into both demi johns.
Going away till friday. will fine and rack friday, then top up with fresh apple juice and stopper.
Peteturbo

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:00 am

cream crackered friday. cider quite clear.
Interestingly, my beer is also at 6.5 brix, but when i used a hydrometer, it showed 1.01. weird. calibrated the refractomoter on water = 0. using this logic, the abv may be 9.4%.
anyhow; fining;
2ml of gelatin, shake, wait 30 minutes and 2ml of kreieessol (silicon dioxide) added to each dj and shaken at 10:00hrs sat morning. wine site says leave 24 hours between agents.
I'll now try to rack this either sunday evening or monday, top up with aj and stopper.
Looks like drinking on target!
Peteturbo

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:43 pm

ye GODS :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
a little raw perhaps?

Taste? well, i may be able to again some time soon, after the assault of raw co2 and high alcohol dryness with bitter apple acid has worn off - some time next year?

So, it hasnt cleared very well but i'm up against the clock so. racked it into clean djs.
Boiled two litres of new aj with a handful of hops at ten and five minutes. Tasted this - interesting - as imagined really, good hop aroma, quite high bitterness.
added t tsp sucrolose sweetener (1 per dj).

Topped up the DJs and stoppered. temp will be between 8 degs at night and 16 day - its outside - i'm not letting it anywhere near carpet.

That monster is never going to calm down in five days :roll:

Peteturbo

peteturbo

Re: cranberry tc TURBO CHALLENGE

Post by peteturbo » Wed Apr 27, 2016 6:40 pm

hmm, a note on carbonation. used the same aj. sugars 8.9g per 100ml. used about a lite per dj, erm thats 90g of priming sugar for a gallon. I reckon it should be about 30g.
Released the rubber bungs, gently. Big pops. lots of pressure, no bubbling though.
Think i had better release the pressure again in a couple of days.
Big worry is a two hour car journey with these bombs in the back.
I think if i release the pressure again friday evening, I will be fine.
Hopefully relieving the pressure wont lose too many bubbles.
Any advice on this one?
didnt taste them, still recovering from last time.
Peteturbo

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