Cider problems

[Sandi]

Hi and ta for any help. I brewed a Brigalow cider and took the suggestion from the recipe section here and added some Granny Smith apples chopped up in a stocking. Let it brew for two weeks then added some finings. two days later I bottled. Its now five weeks on and the cider has good colour and clarity and tastes good at first sip. Then an after-taste hits on the back palate which is like a fumy, sulphurous taste and prevents further consumption. I'm a beer drinker and don't care that much but the missus is whinging.
Any ideas as to the problem? Should I make her drink it anyway or brew again?

[anti-fsck]

I've just done a Black Rock cider and been really surprised with the result. I'd done the same, adding three peeled and cored apples in a muslin cloth. The result is quite good, although it has a very dry finish and hasn't really fizzed in the bottle.
Out of interest, Why did you bother adding finings? My bottles have come out very clear and with very little sediment. Maybe you got a bug?
Brew again.

[Oliver]

Sandi, I have no experience with the Brigalow cider. Not sure what your problem might be, but infection doesn't sound out of the question. How does it smell?

anti-fsck, as I've noted before, I reckon the Black Rock cider needs 100g-150g of lactose so that it doesn't come out too dry. Last night I had the last bottle of my No.39 cider, brewed with some malt extract and other goodies, and it was just too dry. At the time of brewing I thought the residual sugars from the malt would provide enough sweetness, but no.

Cheers,

Oliver

[gregb]

Sounds like it may have an artificial sweetener in it.

[sandi]

anti-fsck,
I added the finings because I was unsure whether the apples might cause some cloudiness and because I wanted the cider to present well in the bottle

[Dan A]

When should one add lactose to a brew?

Dan

[KEG]

if you don't want the beer/cider to be totally dry, you can use lactose.

try searching for 'lactose' - no doubt there's plenty of info.

[Chris]

You can add lactose at any time up to bottling. It makes absolutely no difference when you add it.

[mikey]

My problem with the Brigalow is that it can be a little thin. The addition of the apples should fix this.

It usually is a very clear drop that presents well if you leave it a good two weeks before bottling.

I have never had a problem with aftertaste - perhaps the finings did this?????

[Noodles]

I did a Brigalow cider back in August and it turned out to be a very nice drop. It was very clear, brewed it to 18 litres with 3 or 4 apples, a litre of apple juice and 1kg white sugar.

The last bottle was rolled last night and i'll definitely be doing it again. i'll probably drop the sugar back to 500g as it was a bit strong at 7%.