strong high notes in Cider

[Michael Savoie]

I'm trying to understand why my latest batch of cider has an almost nail-polish/acetone aftertaste.  I don't personally know what nail polish/acetone tastes like, but from smelling I think I'm close.  It's not horrible to drink, but the high-notes are distinct unless I add sugar to soften the taste.  Also after only drinking about 2 glasses, it gives me a smidge of grogginess in the morning.  My vinometer tells me it's only about 8%.

 My procedure was

Dec 26  -pitch yeast
1 gallon cider
started at pH of 3.6
and a specific gravity that should have yielded about 12% alcohol.

Jan 15 racked and added 1.5 cups water + 2 cups of a cranberry/sugar mixture.
(I boiled the cranberries in about 1 cup of water for 15 minutes, then added the sugar until dissolved.)

Feb 12  I racked to another bottle to remove the cranberry mixture, added 2 cups water

Mar 11 after seeing lots of sediment buildup, I decided to rack again.  Added 1.5 cups water 

May 2  rack again

I had made two other styles in this batch, that I drank back in March and February.  Both had a similar finish.  I was hoping the aging would help mellow out the high note, and while it seems to help, maybe I've just mis-remembered the exact taste. 

Perhaps I've racked too much and it has just oxidized and given the poor aftertaste.  As this is one of my first few batches, I'm paranoid between having a malo-lactic fermentation and oxidation from exposure to air. 

I do live in Denver, so at the very least, I have less oxygen in the air than if I were living in NYC. 

Thanks,

Mike

[Andrew Lea]

On 19/08/2012 02:08, Michael Savoie wrote:
> I'm trying to understand why my latest batch of cider has an almost
> nail-polish/acetone aftertaste. I don't personally know what nail
> polish/acetone tastes like, but from smelling I think I'm close. It's
> not horrible to drink, but the high-notes are distinct unless I add
> sugar to soften the taste. Also after only drinking about 2 glasses, it
> gives me a smidge of grogginess in the morning. My vinometer tells me
> it's only about 8%.

From what you say you are not making cider as understood by people on
this list, you are making a high alcohol fruit wine. However the
principles are similar.

When people complain of 'nail-polish/acetone' notes in ciders and wines
they nearly always mean 'ethyl acetate'. This is a result of generally
oxidative processes performed by unwanted wild yeast and bacteria. The
immediate 'alarm bells' that ring from the description of your process
are (in order of importance) (1) lack of sulphur dioxide (2) too many
rackings and (3) no clear sense that your stored cider is adequately
protected against air (though you do say you are paranoid about it). The
slightly lower oxygen level at your altitude compared to sea level will
not be relevant.

I don't think there is much you can do with your current batch except
perhaps to referment / rework it as part of a new fermentation (the new
yeast will metabolise the ethyl acetate). In future batches I suggest
you start off using the correct amount of SO2 for the pH to eliminate
wild organisms. Rack as little as you really need to and add 50 ppm more
SO2 at final racking and storage. This will go a long way to eliminating
the unwanted organisms which are troubling you. (You will find more
details on my website and in the archives of this list).

Oh and by the way you cannot trust a vinometer to give accurate alcohol
readings in a complex mixture like yours because it works by 'surface
tension' which is subject to so many real-life sources of error. The
best way is to measure the starting and finishing SG and compute the
alcohol by difference (though it becomes more difficult with sequential
sugar addition as you have done).

Andrew

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