First batch of hard cider!

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Comments

  • Guitarded
    Guitarded Posts: 4,720 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Unicorn's Blood?!?! Love it! 
    Friends don't let good friends smoke cheap cigars.
  • Edna20
    Edna20 Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I hate you guys....now we're getting ready to make our own too :wink:

    Need to get the juice today!
    Team O'Donnell FTW!
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Edna20 said:
    I hate you guys....now we're getting ready to make our own too :wink:

    Need to get the juice today!
    Do you guys already brew? Or is this your first time?
  • Rolanddeschain
    Rolanddeschain Posts: 916 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I should try a batch of cider one of these days. If I ever find myself with an empty fermentor, that is.... :smile:
    I currently have a Belgian Trippel in secondary and primary fermenting on a rye ale, an American IPA, and a SMASH of 2 row and Calypso hops.

    Dave

    Long days and pleasant nights,

    Roland
  • 90+_Irishman
    90+_Irishman Posts: 12,409 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Rolanddeschain said:
    I should try a batch of cider one of these days. If I ever find myself with an empty fermentor, that is.... :smile:
    I currently have a Belgian Trippel in secondary and primary fermenting on a rye ale, an American IPA, and a SMASH of 2 row and Calypso hops.

    Dave

    Droooooooool... LOVE Trippels! And IPA's... and Rye Ale's... ahh chit I love it all man!
    "When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
  • Martel
    Martel Posts: 3,306 ✭✭✭✭
    Best hard cider I ever had was still.
    I should order a case.
    http://www.thomasfamilywinery.us/cider


    Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

    I like Oliva and Quesada (including Regius) a lot.  I will smoke anything, though.
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Martel said:
    Best hard cider I ever had was still.
    I should order a case.
    http://www.thomasfamilywinery.us/cider


    That sounds delicious! I am getting fresh pressed apples that are unpasteurized from my local orchard this year. I am going to do a tret batch letting it ferment using the natural, wild yeast. 
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Three more batches tonight!

    Pumpkin/Apple with EC-1118.

    Unicorn Blood with Cote des blancs

    Classic hard cider with black tea using S-04.


  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    First real taste! Has been carbing for about a week and has a slight fizz. I only used apple juice for priming so I think next time I will use priming sugar. It had a wine/champagne taste with a dry apple finish. I did use a champagne yeast so that is to be expected. Time to let it bottle age in the cool basement for awhile and see if it develops any deeper flavors. Very refreshing and no bite for being almost 9% ABV.


    Post edited by MikeTodd on
  • 90+_Irishman
    90+_Irishman Posts: 12,409 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Congrats on your first successful batch brother, looks great :)
    "When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    Bottled the second round today! This one is slightly sweeter but not as clear. I used Muntons Ale Yeast.
    Got the Bourbon Barrel cubes soaking in some W.L. Weller Reserve. It was either that, Blanton's or Maker's 46. The Wellers was the better choice.
    This will be added to another one using an Ale yeast as well.


    Post edited by MikeTodd on
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The 2nd recipe is not as good as I hoped. Still learning the technique of bottle carbing.
    Numbers 3, 4 and 5 are going to be bottled tomorrow. Pics will be posted afterwards.
  • Edna20
    Edna20 Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ok, so first, hopefully @MikeTodd doesn't mind if I hijack his thread and just make it the general cider thread? 

    Second, I need some advice. We've had the cider fermenting for a week and a half now. It got some bubbles on the surface, but never bubbled much. I don't see any active bubbles at this point, so I'm assuming it's done, but I'm concerned it maybe didn't do what it was supposed to.

    We used pasteurized cider (the 5 gallons), champagne yeast (1 package), and yeast nutrient (whatever the directions were for 5 gallons). One thing we messed up was on the vapor lock, we originally didn't put the cover thingy over the tube (we have the straight kind). We put that on a few days ago when I realized we were supposed to. 

    Any suggestions?
    Team O'Donnell FTW!
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Did you add any sugar to the juice? Also, was there any sorbate or potassium metabisulfate in the juice?
    Did you use a hydrometer and take an original gravity reading?
    What yeast did you use?
  • Edna20
    Edna20 Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I did not add any sugar to the juice, I did not take a hydrometer reading a (though I have one, just did not think about it), and I used Red Star Premier Blanc yeast (which they say was formerly the Champagne Yeast, whew, thought for a second that I didn't get what I ordered and hadn't noticed!!!). 

    As for the other preservatives....hmmmm, I don't think so. Don't have any of the jugs left either :-/ We bought it at the orchard and at the time I was thinking it was made there so figured it was safe, but I'm not sure it was actually made there. 


    Team O'Donnell FTW!
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ok. Usually if it is pasteurized, they don't add sorbate. Sorbate will inhibit yeast reproduction. Regular cider or apple juice usually has an og of around 1.050. The sugas are all fermentable but there isn't a lot of nutrients for the yeast but you added some so that should be fine. Unlike beer, with a wine/champagne yeast, you will usually just get bubbles and not a thick krausen. They airlock will only go crazy for a few days and these can ferment out in 10 days. I would take a hydrometer reading. This should ferment out to 1.00 or even .99.
    You can always add some sugar and see if fermentation kicks off again. This yeast will ferment fully dry so backsweetenih will be nessicary unless you want more of a wine flavor.
  • Edna20
    Edna20 Posts: 1,323 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Ok, so let me see if I have this all straight. Add regular sugar if my og is too high to get more fermentation going, add Stevia or a non-alcohol sugar to sweeten (add during second fermentation), and then just before bottling add Dextrose for carbonation? Does that all sound right? Is there a difference between dextrose and stevia in terms of what they do? I have both. I also have some natural cinnamon flavoring I'm going to add for second fermentation.

    Whew, I'm using two different instructions I found online and have to sort of meld them together, that maybe wasn't a good plan :) 

    Thanks so much for your help!!! This is fun, maybe. 
    Team O'Donnell FTW!
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    LoL. It is fun but confusing. I have only done 1gal batches to test with.
    Final gravity is going to be low. I would let it ferment dry and let it clear if cloudy. If you want to rack it off the lees for second fermentation and clearing, make sure to limit head space to avoid oxygenation. Stevia is a non fermentable sugar so the sweetness will stay there. You can add dextrose to carb but will need to either stick it all in the fridge or stove top pasteurize when carbinization has happened or you could get bottle bombs. Since this yeast will ferment dry, any fermentable sugar you add, the yeast will eat until it is all gone. Look up stovetop pasteurization on homebrewtalk.com for instructions. 
  • MikeTodd
    MikeTodd Posts: 974 ✭✭✭✭✭
    And this stuff gets better with age. You could leave it in secondary for a month or two before bottling.

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