I’m making a cider with sour cherries - first 10 liters of cider and three weeks ago I added 1 kg of frozen depitted sour cherries. A week ago I transferred the cider to secondary, and it’s becoming crystal clear now in my basement. The worrisome thing is that yesterday I started noting some kind of off flavor. Cigary, tobaccoy, i guess something phenolic. It’s not very strong but still… Could this be related to the cherries, or has the cider really caught something? The plan is to backsweeten with honey and then force carbonate…
Could be yeast or wild beasts. If so, gelatin would take that right out in a few hours.
Could also be just the character of the fermented juice. If that’s the case, gelatin wouldn’t help and you just might not be a cider guy or enjoy this particular cider… but other people might like it.
Cider is a majestic thing all to its own. Don’t expect it to taste like commercial ciders either, because of course they’re mostly crap compared to the interesting stuff you can make at home.
Hope it turns into something you can enjoy. Cheers.
Gelatin can remove the aroma/flavors produced by wild yeasts? I was unaware of that. I know it can help drop them out of suspension, but I thought off-flavors produced by them would remain in the product.
No, I wasn’t clear. I assumed you might possibly be tasting the yeast or critters themselves, not the flavors produced by their metabolic processes – those would not floc out with the gelatin. However the critters could have a meaty or perhaps tobacco flavor all their own.
Have started cold crashing this morning and will filter tonight. We’ll see whether it makes any difference. I made a similar cider a couple of months ago (with double the amount of cherries). It did not have this flavor. I’m certainly not saying this batch is ruined. Plus, I see no fermentation activity in the least. The cider is dropping crystal clear…
In the end I don’t think it was an infection. The cider tastes fine. In spite of this slight phenolic flavor that not even everybody notices. Now I think it even adds some complexity. The base for this cider was a different juice that I used, half apple half pear. I assume that’s the origin. Some people say it has a stronger cherry flavor than my previous cider, but strangely enough has only half the amount of cherries.
BTW, any suggestions for another fruit to add to a base cider? I really like this method: ferment dry an apple cider, add another fruit in secondary, and back sweeten with honey and some juice.
I had one with pineapple and it was amazing.
Blackberry or maybe peach?
Cranberry is my favorite. Blackberries work very well, too. They both bring some tannins and acidity as well, so it helps to add some depth to the cider as well.
Being Belgian I wouldn’t use anything I wouldn’t put in a fruit lambic, so no pineapple, sorry.
You must have some weird laws in Belgium.
I dunno, pineapple lambic sounds like it has potential to me. Brett brux can get pretty pineapple-y.
I thought it sounded good to me, too. I’ve seen (not tried) a Belgian pineapple lambic at a local liquor store with a great selection. Don’t remember the brewery name.
My favorite Sour beer that I make with fruit consists of pineapple, mango, and papaya. It doesn’t last long especially in the summer.
Yep, no pineapple in lambic, and sure as hell not on pizza either.
These guys must be in jail by now.Chapeau Exotic - Lambic.Info
Yeah, that’s the one I’ve seen in stores. Couldn’t remember the brewery name. I’m betting it’s tasty.
I’m betting it deserves even less than the 5/100 it gets on ratebeer. Completely artificial flavor. Trust me, you don’t want to try this beer.
I think tart is the way to go. Blackberries, redcurrants, etc. Cranberries are intriguing but a bit scary. I only know them in an overly sweet sauce served with turkey around Xmas.