Now that it's fall and the apples are ripe in my neck of the woods (New Hampshire), I thought I'd share a recipe for home brew hard cider. It's a very simple first-time home brew and it's very rewarding. I've never liked the taste of beer or any other alcohol for that matter, but a good cider is hard not to like.
Firstly, this Instructable will explain the process for producing all natural, organic, 100% hand made hard cider, an alcoholic beverage made through fermentation of apple cider.
This is for instructional and educational purposes only and should not be attempted by anyone under the age of 21. State laws may prohibit home brewing in your are. Brewing cider involves the use of active yeast culture, which may cause some food allergies and, as always when home brewing, there is always the possibility of contamination. Sterilize all containers and tools and use only fresh ingredients. And always drink responsibly.
Now that that's out of the way, let me explain the basic process. First you get a lot of apples and juice them/press them, etc. or buy a lot of apple cider (this recipe is for 1 gallon of cider). There are two basic methods after you've procured fresh, unpasteurized apple cider:
1. Put the apple cider into a container with a vapor lock and let the wild yeast that occurs naturally in apples ferment the juice into booze. (This takes a very long time and yields unpredictable results, but if you want simplicity, it doesn't get much easier than this. My instructable will deal mostly with option 2)
2. Pasteurize the apple cider with heat or Campden Tablets and then add brewers yeast (champagne yeast works well) with yeast nutrient and put it in a container with a vapor lock (takes less time to ferment and will yield a more stable cider)
In addition, just to clarify, there are 3 primary apple beverages that will be discussed here (not including applejack or apple brandy)
Apple cider - Unfiltered apple juice that contains oxidized pulp, resulting in brown coloration. Comes in many pasteurized and unpasteurized varieties.
Hard Cider (Or just Cider) - Alcoholic beverage fermented with yeast from Apple Cider
Apple Juice - In this country, Apple juice refers to ultra-filtered apple-cider that has been watered down and supplemented with other sweeteners (Such as Motts, Juicy Juice, etc.)
Terminology varies from place to place, which is why it is important to specify.
Firstly, this Instructable will explain the process for producing all natural, organic, 100% hand made hard cider, an alcoholic beverage made through fermentation of apple cider.
This is for instructional and educational purposes only and should not be attempted by anyone under the age of 21. State laws may prohibit home brewing in your are. Brewing cider involves the use of active yeast culture, which may cause some food allergies and, as always when home brewing, there is always the possibility of contamination. Sterilize all containers and tools and use only fresh ingredients. And always drink responsibly.
Now that that's out of the way, let me explain the basic process. First you get a lot of apples and juice them/press them, etc. or buy a lot of apple cider (this recipe is for 1 gallon of cider). There are two basic methods after you've procured fresh, unpasteurized apple cider:
1. Put the apple cider into a container with a vapor lock and let the wild yeast that occurs naturally in apples ferment the juice into booze. (This takes a very long time and yields unpredictable results, but if you want simplicity, it doesn't get much easier than this. My instructable will deal mostly with option 2)
2. Pasteurize the apple cider with heat or Campden Tablets and then add brewers yeast (champagne yeast works well) with yeast nutrient and put it in a container with a vapor lock (takes less time to ferment and will yield a more stable cider)
In addition, just to clarify, there are 3 primary apple beverages that will be discussed here (not including applejack or apple brandy)
Apple cider - Unfiltered apple juice that contains oxidized pulp, resulting in brown coloration. Comes in many pasteurized and unpasteurized varieties.
Hard Cider (Or just Cider) - Alcoholic beverage fermented with yeast from Apple Cider
Apple Juice - In this country, Apple juice refers to ultra-filtered apple-cider that has been watered down and supplemented with other sweeteners (Such as Motts, Juicy Juice, etc.)
Terminology varies from place to place, which is why it is important to specify.
Step 1: Ingredients and materials
Ingredients:
Apples (about 20 lbs, preferably of several varieties)
Champagne yeast (from a homebrew market or online shop)
Yeast nutrient (homebrew shop)
Campden tablets (optional)
1 cup Brown sugar
1 cup White sugar
Tools:
-Juicer or apple press (if you don't have either, just buy fresh cider from a local orchard)
-Glass Carboy/fermentation tank (I used a 1 gallon jug of Chianti left over from a party)
-Vapor lock (You can use a length of tubing and a cup with water, but I recommend just picking up the real thing for 1.25)
-Rubber stopper to fit your jug
-Bleach
-Funnel
-A large stock pot
-rubber hose
Apples (about 20 lbs, preferably of several varieties)
Champagne yeast (from a homebrew market or online shop)
Yeast nutrient (homebrew shop)
Campden tablets (optional)
1 cup Brown sugar
1 cup White sugar
Tools:
-Juicer or apple press (if you don't have either, just buy fresh cider from a local orchard)
-Glass Carboy/fermentation tank (I used a 1 gallon jug of Chianti left over from a party)
-Vapor lock (You can use a length of tubing and a cup with water, but I recommend just picking up the real thing for 1.25)
-Rubber stopper to fit your jug
-Bleach
-Funnel
-A large stock pot
-rubber hose
Step 2: A word about apples
Making apples into delicious beverages is a very old practice and has a rich history and culture about it. Apples themselves are a very important fruit, especially in American culture. Before the sugar trade exploded, American pioneers and rural folk really didn't have a lot of sweet food in their diets and apples were very prized as a crop for this reason.
Johnny Appleseed was in fact an Applejacker, meaning that he made apples into the hard liquor Applejack. If you want to learn more about Johnny Appleseed or the remarkable history of apples, I recommend you pick up the book "The Botany of Desire."
Anyway, the point is, apples are awesome and to make apple cider you need a heck of a lot of them (1 bushel = 42 lbs of apples = 3 gallons of juice). It's good to have a mix of apples if possible in about a 1:2 ratio. For instance 10 lbs Red Delicious to 20 Lbs Granny Smith will yield a nice, dry cider, while 10 lbs Macintosh and 20 lbs Cortland will be a much sweeter mix.
Johnny Appleseed was in fact an Applejacker, meaning that he made apples into the hard liquor Applejack. If you want to learn more about Johnny Appleseed or the remarkable history of apples, I recommend you pick up the book "The Botany of Desire."
Anyway, the point is, apples are awesome and to make apple cider you need a heck of a lot of them (1 bushel = 42 lbs of apples = 3 gallons of juice). It's good to have a mix of apples if possible in about a 1:2 ratio. For instance 10 lbs Red Delicious to 20 Lbs Granny Smith will yield a nice, dry cider, while 10 lbs Macintosh and 20 lbs Cortland will be a much sweeter mix.
Step 3: Juicin'
Once you've got your apples, you've got to juice them. You can either use an apple press to crush the apples and extract the juice, or you can use a juicer (my preference) to remove the juice from the pulp.
NOTE: When apple juice comes out of a juicer it looks clear and frothy at the top. This is normal. Apple cider turns brown when exposed to air (as do apples in whole form) so really fresh cider will be clear until it has a chance to darken up.
Once you have run your apples through your juicer, remove the pulp from the pulp collection tub and put it in a few sheets of cheesecloth or an old pillowcase (make sure it's clean and free of dyes or soap residue!!!!) then squeeze the ball of pulp over a basin to the get last bits of juice out. This is important. About 10% of your cider is still stuck in the pulp after juicing, so don't neglect this.
Feel free to save the pulp and make apple sauce or apple butter with it or bake it into a cake or make apple bread or whatever. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
NOTE: When apple juice comes out of a juicer it looks clear and frothy at the top. This is normal. Apple cider turns brown when exposed to air (as do apples in whole form) so really fresh cider will be clear until it has a chance to darken up.
Once you have run your apples through your juicer, remove the pulp from the pulp collection tub and put it in a few sheets of cheesecloth or an old pillowcase (make sure it's clean and free of dyes or soap residue!!!!) then squeeze the ball of pulp over a basin to the get last bits of juice out. This is important. About 10% of your cider is still stuck in the pulp after juicing, so don't neglect this.
Feel free to save the pulp and make apple sauce or apple butter with it or bake it into a cake or make apple bread or whatever. Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Step 4: Cook
Once you've got about a gallon of cider, you have to pasteurize it for two reasons:
-to kill any bacteria in your apple juice that might contaminate your brew
-to kill naturally occurring wild yeast
NOTE: If you want to do this old school, you can skip pasteurization and just put it in your carboy and let the wild yeast ferment it, but this will probably take a lot longer and might taste a bit off.
Put your cider in a big stock pot over medium heat and allow it to cook for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly with a metal or sanitary plastic spoon. DO NOT ALLOW IT TO BOIL!!! The temperature should be kept just below boiling at all times. If you allow it to boil your cider will become cloudy and never fully settle.
You can add the 2 cups of brown and white sugar here if you'd like. This will raise your alcohol content and make a slightly sweeter final product, but it is not absolutely necessary.
When the cider has cooked for 45 minutes, allow it to cook. Meanwhile, you should sanitize your carboy by adding half a cap-full of bleach to a gallon of water and allowing it to stand for half an hour. Then rinse thoroughly with cold water.
Once the cider has cooled to room temperature, poor it into your carboy leaving a few inches of room at the top for the yeast (if you have too much, just drink it! mmmm, warm cider!)
NOTE: I mentioned Campden Tablets earlier. If you chose to use this method you should not cook your cider. Basically what these tablets do is create a chemical gas in your cider that will naturally sanitize it and kill all the yeast. I have never used this method, though a lot of people prefer it because cooking does not always kill all of the yeast and you tend to lose some of the aromatics when you pasteurize with heat. If you want to use this method, I recommend you research it further, as I am not overly familiar with it.
-to kill any bacteria in your apple juice that might contaminate your brew
-to kill naturally occurring wild yeast
NOTE: If you want to do this old school, you can skip pasteurization and just put it in your carboy and let the wild yeast ferment it, but this will probably take a lot longer and might taste a bit off.
Put your cider in a big stock pot over medium heat and allow it to cook for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly with a metal or sanitary plastic spoon. DO NOT ALLOW IT TO BOIL!!! The temperature should be kept just below boiling at all times. If you allow it to boil your cider will become cloudy and never fully settle.
You can add the 2 cups of brown and white sugar here if you'd like. This will raise your alcohol content and make a slightly sweeter final product, but it is not absolutely necessary.
When the cider has cooked for 45 minutes, allow it to cook. Meanwhile, you should sanitize your carboy by adding half a cap-full of bleach to a gallon of water and allowing it to stand for half an hour. Then rinse thoroughly with cold water.
Once the cider has cooled to room temperature, poor it into your carboy leaving a few inches of room at the top for the yeast (if you have too much, just drink it! mmmm, warm cider!)
NOTE: I mentioned Campden Tablets earlier. If you chose to use this method you should not cook your cider. Basically what these tablets do is create a chemical gas in your cider that will naturally sanitize it and kill all the yeast. I have never used this method, though a lot of people prefer it because cooking does not always kill all of the yeast and you tend to lose some of the aromatics when you pasteurize with heat. If you want to use this method, I recommend you research it further, as I am not overly familiar with it.
Step 5: Brewing with Commercial Cider (Creating A Starter)
[EDIT]
This is an optional step but after reading some comments on the original instructable, I thought it would be a good idea to include a few options for advanced brewing techniques, especially because this step is essential for those of you who are not making cider from scratch.
Here's the deal: if you want to make hard cider from store bought cider (which is a good option if you don't own a juicer or want to make high volumes of cider without putting in a lot of time squeezing apples), you will inevitably run into issues involving Potasium Sorbate. Now, there are a lot of rumors out there about Potassium Sorbate and its effects on Homebrew. Let me clear some things up:
-- Potassium Sorbate is added to most commercial ciders to stop yeast from reproducing after pasteurization. Potassium Sorbate DOES NOT KILL YEAST. It prevents yeast colonies from reproducing, which technically causes the colony to die, but it doesn't have the same effect that say, introducing a pesticide to the colony would have. Most importantly, IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO GET AROUND POTASSIUM SORBATE FOR THIS REASON.
-- You CAN brew with pasteurized, commercial cider. Pasturization kills yeast and since we are introducing new yeast anyway, it doesn't really make a difference. Just make sure your juice contains juice from apples and the unavoidable Potassium Sorbate. If it's got anything else in it, I'd steer clear.
Anyway, as I mentioned, PS inhibits yeast reproduction, but it won't kill yeast by itself. Therefore, to get around it all you have to do is get the yeast started reproducing (i.e. create a starter) before you pitch it in and you're all set.
To Create A Starter:
Basically you will be taking yeast and putting it into a nutrient bath that is free of Potassium Sorbate and allowing it to begin fermentation over night so that it has a running start and won't be inhibited by the PS in the rest of your juice. For this you will need:
3-4 apples
Brown sugar or Honey (optional)
A juicer or, failing that, a blender and a mesh colander.
A food-grade plastic or glass container (I use a sanitized 1/2 gallon milk jug)
Step 1: Juice your apples or chop them in your blender/food processor until they are the consistency of apple sauce then put the mush into a mesh colander and squeeze out the juice into a bowl. Now you have pure, untainted, unadulterated apple juice.
Step 2: Heat your apple juice to about 140 degrees F for 10 minutes or so. Stir in the sugar or honey. Heating the cider is optional, but it helps to get rid of any possible wild yeast (basically up until this point we've just followed the first few steps of the recipe)
Step 3: Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (a little on the warm side) and pour it into a clean, sterilized milk jug or similar food-safe container.
Step 4: Add your entire packet of yeast and agitate gently until the yeast is mixed in. Put the cap on and wait.
It should take a few hours to start bubbling, so rather than waiting around for the cap to pop off from the Co2, I usually just cap the bottle my starter is in with an airlock and leave it alone over night. By the morning it should be fermenting vigorously.
Now when you go to make your cider, all you have to do is pour the juice into your sterilized carboy and add the starter. It should begin to ferment within hours, but be patient if it takes a little while.
I have done this several times with commercial cider containing Potasium Sorbate and I have never had a problem getting it to ferment.
As I mentioned, this is an essential step to making cider from store-bought juice, but if you're making cider from scratch it's not a bad idea either. It will speed up your fermentation process if you make a starter and if you're worried about your yeast not working out, it will ensure that they are alive and kicking before you pitch it in to your hard-earned juice.
This is an optional step but after reading some comments on the original instructable, I thought it would be a good idea to include a few options for advanced brewing techniques, especially because this step is essential for those of you who are not making cider from scratch.
Here's the deal: if you want to make hard cider from store bought cider (which is a good option if you don't own a juicer or want to make high volumes of cider without putting in a lot of time squeezing apples), you will inevitably run into issues involving Potasium Sorbate. Now, there are a lot of rumors out there about Potassium Sorbate and its effects on Homebrew. Let me clear some things up:
-- Potassium Sorbate is added to most commercial ciders to stop yeast from reproducing after pasteurization. Potassium Sorbate DOES NOT KILL YEAST. It prevents yeast colonies from reproducing, which technically causes the colony to die, but it doesn't have the same effect that say, introducing a pesticide to the colony would have. Most importantly, IT IS STILL POSSIBLE TO GET AROUND POTASSIUM SORBATE FOR THIS REASON.
-- You CAN brew with pasteurized, commercial cider. Pasturization kills yeast and since we are introducing new yeast anyway, it doesn't really make a difference. Just make sure your juice contains juice from apples and the unavoidable Potassium Sorbate. If it's got anything else in it, I'd steer clear.
Anyway, as I mentioned, PS inhibits yeast reproduction, but it won't kill yeast by itself. Therefore, to get around it all you have to do is get the yeast started reproducing (i.e. create a starter) before you pitch it in and you're all set.
To Create A Starter:
Basically you will be taking yeast and putting it into a nutrient bath that is free of Potassium Sorbate and allowing it to begin fermentation over night so that it has a running start and won't be inhibited by the PS in the rest of your juice. For this you will need:
3-4 apples
Brown sugar or Honey (optional)
A juicer or, failing that, a blender and a mesh colander.
A food-grade plastic or glass container (I use a sanitized 1/2 gallon milk jug)
Step 1: Juice your apples or chop them in your blender/food processor until they are the consistency of apple sauce then put the mush into a mesh colander and squeeze out the juice into a bowl. Now you have pure, untainted, unadulterated apple juice.
Step 2: Heat your apple juice to about 140 degrees F for 10 minutes or so. Stir in the sugar or honey. Heating the cider is optional, but it helps to get rid of any possible wild yeast (basically up until this point we've just followed the first few steps of the recipe)
Step 3: Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (a little on the warm side) and pour it into a clean, sterilized milk jug or similar food-safe container.
Step 4: Add your entire packet of yeast and agitate gently until the yeast is mixed in. Put the cap on and wait.
It should take a few hours to start bubbling, so rather than waiting around for the cap to pop off from the Co2, I usually just cap the bottle my starter is in with an airlock and leave it alone over night. By the morning it should be fermenting vigorously.
Now when you go to make your cider, all you have to do is pour the juice into your sterilized carboy and add the starter. It should begin to ferment within hours, but be patient if it takes a little while.
I have done this several times with commercial cider containing Potasium Sorbate and I have never had a problem getting it to ferment.
As I mentioned, this is an essential step to making cider from store-bought juice, but if you're making cider from scratch it's not a bad idea either. It will speed up your fermentation process if you make a starter and if you're worried about your yeast not working out, it will ensure that they are alive and kicking before you pitch it in to your hard-earned juice.
Step 6: Add Yeast
Yeast is the key ingredient in all home brews and its important to pick the right kind. I use Red Star Champagne Yeast, which works pretty well and costs about a dollar a packet. There are also much more expensive liquid cider yeasts but these will be much more expensive.
For only a gallon of cider you will only need about 2/3 of the packet, but you don't have to be too precise. Follow the instructions on the back and dissolve the yeast into a little bit of warm water. Add a tablespoon of Yeast Nutrient to your mix (apples have a lot of sugar but not much nutritional value so adding yeast nutrient will keep your yeast healthy and maximize their efficiency)
Pour the yeast solution into your carboy and agitate slightly to get a good mix. Now put your vapor lock on (fill it up to the appropriate line with water or vodka) and secure it in the top of the rubber stopper. This will allow carbon dioxide produced from the metabolize of sugar to escape without letting bacteria and other baddies into your brew. If you don't have a vapor lock, you can place one end of a length of tubing in the opening of your carboy and put the other end in a glass of water (below the surface). When the build up of gas coming from the tube into the water reaches the atmospheric pressure on the water it will bubble up (which is the same thing that happens in the vapor lock, but a store bought one is much more compact).
For only a gallon of cider you will only need about 2/3 of the packet, but you don't have to be too precise. Follow the instructions on the back and dissolve the yeast into a little bit of warm water. Add a tablespoon of Yeast Nutrient to your mix (apples have a lot of sugar but not much nutritional value so adding yeast nutrient will keep your yeast healthy and maximize their efficiency)
Pour the yeast solution into your carboy and agitate slightly to get a good mix. Now put your vapor lock on (fill it up to the appropriate line with water or vodka) and secure it in the top of the rubber stopper. This will allow carbon dioxide produced from the metabolize of sugar to escape without letting bacteria and other baddies into your brew. If you don't have a vapor lock, you can place one end of a length of tubing in the opening of your carboy and put the other end in a glass of water (below the surface). When the build up of gas coming from the tube into the water reaches the atmospheric pressure on the water it will bubble up (which is the same thing that happens in the vapor lock, but a store bought one is much more compact).
Step 7: Primary fementation
Allow your brew to sit undisturbed in a dark area at about 70 degrees F. for about two weeks. You will notice it start to bubble in the first few hours. Check in periodically. Once bubbling has slowed to about 1 bubble per minute, your first fermentation cycle is complete.
Now you'll want to "rack" your cider, which basically means that you want to remove the fermented cider and dispose of the apple sediment and yeast that is still at the bottom of your tank. You can use a rubber hose to siphon liquid from the top (remember, you only want the cider, so don't siphon the silt on the bottom) into another sanitary container. Then after you've washed out the apple pulp from your carboy, siphon it back in
Cork it and affix the vapor lock and allot it to finish fermenting (about a week or two). This will improve the flavor and help make your cider less cloudy.
Now you'll want to "rack" your cider, which basically means that you want to remove the fermented cider and dispose of the apple sediment and yeast that is still at the bottom of your tank. You can use a rubber hose to siphon liquid from the top (remember, you only want the cider, so don't siphon the silt on the bottom) into another sanitary container. Then after you've washed out the apple pulp from your carboy, siphon it back in
Cork it and affix the vapor lock and allot it to finish fermenting (about a week or two). This will improve the flavor and help make your cider less cloudy.
Step 8: Aging and Bottling
Your cider has finished fermenting at this point, and is ready to drink. You will get better results, however, if you age your cider for a few months in a sealed container (most people recommend wooden barrels, but you can just use your trusty glass jug). Remember to store it in a dark, relatively climate controlled place.o
Once it has aged as long as you'd like, it's ready to bottle and drink.
Keep in mind, it takes a few tries before you get the process and the recipe down. There are many tasty commercial ciders out there that you can use as controls to see how your own recipe came out.
Good luck and happy homebrewing!
-Acts of Subterfuge
Once it has aged as long as you'd like, it's ready to bottle and drink.
Keep in mind, it takes a few tries before you get the process and the recipe down. There are many tasty commercial ciders out there that you can use as controls to see how your own recipe came out.
Good luck and happy homebrewing!
-Acts of Subterfuge
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
We racked all of it a week and a half before Christmas and added Super Kleer KC clarifying agent. The cider clarified very well to a beautiful amber. The Jonathan batch ended up at 7.5% ABV and the Mac batches at 11.75%. We bottled and labeled the Jonathan batch for Christmas presents.
Last night the temperature dropped to -8 so we decided to try making apple jack from 2 gallons of the 11.75% batch. We set it outside in a stainless steel kettle. This morning I skimmed off the ice and the volume was reduced to 1 gallon. I didn't do an SG check, but I assume the ABV is now around 24%. The taste is excellent. You can tell it has a high alcohol content, but it is very smooth, but I also enjoy good bourbon and single malt scotch, so it might not be to everyone's liking. Just another thing to try if you live in a cold climate (or have a freezer). Apparently apple jack was common in the north country during colonial times!
Fermentation rate was way slower than last year and after 4 weeks had pretty much stopped. Transferred to glass carboys, SG was ~1.030, or ~6.75% ABV. We wanted to end up with dry still cider at an SG of close to 1, so we added 4 tsp. Yeast Nutrient dissolved in boiled water per 5 gal. It kicked the fermentation into high gear and all the carboys have been bubbling away for a week now.
Just wanted to add this comment in case anybody's fermentation stalls halfway through.
This year it is soooo dry and "alcohol" tasting. I used the same champagne yeast both years plus it was the last pressing of the season...the cider was really sweet! I don't get it? I used 5 lbs of sugar for 5 gallons of cider.
We drank 2 of the 5 gallons over the holidays, it was 4 weeks old and had 2 rackings. It yielded a great buzz w/no hangover but we ended up making spritzers with sprite to really enjoy it.
Is there any way to sweeten it up at this point? It's done brewing (needs to racked again!) and ready to bottle. I'd appreciate any help here! Thank you! :)
I would be interested to know how you did it last year w/o the 5 gallon carboy, since I am struggling to come by such a thing. Did you simply use a smaller volume carboy (something I already have) and adjust the ingredient amounts accordingly whilst keeping the ratio the same, or did you use a different container?
Thanks for your help! :)
I'm trying to choke down the last of the brew. :( Soooo dry!
As for my process, I did low heat pasteurization for all 5 gallons. Slow and tedious but better than the Camden tablets in my opinion. To the last 2 gallons of hot cider, I dissolved the 5 lbs of sugar. Let it cool, then added the yeast. Topped w/the airlock valve and watched the "party" start. That's it. Rack it every 2 weeks and enjoy.
I'm doing 10lbs of sugar this year. Hope it's better!
You need to add an unfermentable sugar. When making beer we do this by adding adjuncts that contain sugars that yeast can't ferment. Two unfermentable sugars that we beer brewers us are: Maltodextrin and Lactose. Both will be available in extract form from your local homebrew supplier. The latter, Lactose, will provide a light sweet flavour, akin to what you would taste in milk. You'd want to stay in the 10% range (estimated from your specific gravity readings) and experiment from there. Hope this helps.
Champagne yeast has a very high tolerance for alcohol, but a yeast with a lower tolerance (a lager yeast, or a kolsch yeast, etc) will go dormant well before you run out of sugars.
When using beer/ale yeasts you will need to use a yeast nutrient (like FerMax), because fruit juices (or honey, if you choose to use it as an adjunct sweetener; when using a wine yeast) don't have the potassium and nitrogen needed to make strong cells in the reproductive (known as "lag) phase.
I am a first time brewer, and I decided (due to the recommendation of many brewers) to try three micro-batches the first time. Though the suggestion was to use multiple types of apples, we have Haralson trees in our back yard, so I used those for the juice.
After sanitizing the equipment, I filled each of my three gallon carboys with juice from the apples, added 1/2 tsp of pectinase, and a crushed campden tablet, with varying amounts of added sugars (as per other suggestions online).
Question 1: After I added the campden tablets, I covered the carboys (sealed); campden tablets release SO2, which is what kills the microbes. . . was I supposed to not cover them during this step?
For the sugar added, each of my containers were as follows:
A: 1 cup white, 1 cup brown sugar
B: 1 cup white, 1/2 cup brown sugar
C: 1/2 cup white, 1 cup brown sugar
I did not check the pH/gravity of the solutions, as I did not have pH strips, or a hydrometer.
After 2 days, I pitched the yeast (using a Wyeast sweet mead/cider yeast) into each of the 3 containers, after letting it sit for 3 hours (as per instructions) and confirming (by inflation of the bag) that it had been activated.
By the next morning, container C was bubbling at a noticeable rate (about 0.2 hz bubbles), while the other two had no pressure differential (as noticeable per an S airlock). After another day, I pitched additional yeast into both A and B, and waited a day to check them. (at which point C was at about 1 hz bubbles)
A day after the additional pitch, B has started bubbling at a rate of about 0.01 hz (almost unnoticeable) and A has yet to move.
Question 2: What could be causing A or B from taking the cultures?
(A few notes:
I pitched C first from the premade packet, which was made to treat 6 gallons, then B, then A;
though I had shaken the packet of Wyeast yeast, it sat for about 50 seconds before I pitched it;
the packet included nutrient for the yeast;
As I stated before, the S airlocks were in place immediately after the campden tablets were added;
My concerns were mainly that maybe SO2 was still in the environment when I pitched, and that maybe either the yeast or the nutrient in the packet was not evenly distributed through A, B, and C, though an even amount was delivered from the packet to each, due to quick separation (I haven't looked into their relative densities, or anything))
Thank you for your help! ~Steven
i have been making cider for years until like 3 years ago when they passed this stupid law where it has to be pasturized now. if i wanted apple juice i would buy it in the store.lol. anyway if you can press your apples on your own without having it pasturized you do not need any yeast or yeast nutrients at all. the bacteria in the cider is what makes it work and then the sugars you add turn to alcohol. i add 1 1/2 pounds of sugar per gallon of cider. i use a 14 gallon demilume glass jug so i add 12 gallons of cider then white sugar 12lbs and then brown sugar 6lbs and then a juice concentrate and a couple other ingredients. then place all in my jug put the bubbler on top and let it work. when its done bubbling i bottle it. i tried it with yeast and i didnt care for it at all. it worked way to fast and tasted like crap. so me and my uncle built a homemade press and now the hard cider making resumes. hope this helps.
I have been brewing cider and wines for a few years (perry, apple cider, peach cider). I strongly suggest that you use a cider yeast if you want to preserve more of an apple flavor. I have used various forms of yeast in the past, and none are as good as cider yeast, especially if you are making cider, not apple wine (i.e. as long as the alcohol content is under 8%). If you are making apple wine, use the champagne yeast or cote de blanc. Stay away from beer yeasts. Moreover, certain yeasts will die and not function once the alcohol content is over a certain level, so NO BREAD YEAST!!!
Wyeast has a great liquid cider yeast that includes the nutrient.
Hydrometers, PET bottles, air-locks, stoppers, and fermentation buckets are not expensive. If you are going to invest the time to make cider, you should invest the money. There is nothing like waiting months to drink cider, and having to pitch the batch because you cut corners. Trust me, my wife has complained about the amount of $$ that I pour down the drain being impatient/ cutting corners.
Making cider is fun and a hobby that will make you a superstar amongst your friends (trust me). Just keep notes, do sufficient research, and don't cut corners.
P.S. You can make your own equipment. However, it is difficult to do so if you do not have a sufficient frame of reference.
You have to stir up the cider after before you add the yeast. This ensures that oxygen is in whatever you are trying to ferment. Yeast need oxygen for the aerobic phase of fermentation. That's where they consume the oxygen and multiply.
Another important note is to make sure that the temperature of the liquid is 78 deg f or lower before you pitch / add the yeast.
I would not add table sugar or brown sugar. If you want to increase alcohol level I would add extra light dry malt extract which you can get at a home brew store. The yeast can handle this sugar a lot better than table sugar.
Am wondering about how the big boys do it. If they are limited to a volume of apples wont they make it into a high alcohol cider, let it mature then dilute it down to around the 5-8% mark??
Anyone any info on this???
For the alcohol content I assume that cider is similar to beer (and wine) in that it all has to do with the sugar content before and after the fermentation. I'm sure the big companies know exatcly what the sugar content needs to be to make a consistent product and they adjust it every time.
If you have a hydrometer you can measure the specific gravity before and after fermentation to calculate the alcohol content. I don't know how fermentable all the natural sugars are in cider. A beer with a starting gravity of ~1.05 will be around 5% alcohol when finished. To adjust gravity / sugar content - add 1 pound of sugar to raise gravity ~0.005.
If you have 4 batches to make - maybe try different starting gravities and see where they end up.
After pitching my yeast, I stored my carboy in my closet over night but the temps got a bit cold (mabe 65f max) now nothing is happening no bubbles in my airlock. What should i do?
I just bottled my first-ever four bottles of hard cider. Now that they're capped, the flavor will no longer change, correct? I'd like to try aging it longer, but if capping is the end of it, then I'll just go ahead and put 'em in the fridge! Thanks.
1) what can I use in place of "campden tabs" to carbonate my cider.
2) can I "make" a hygrometer?... or will I have to buy it on the internet?
3) when you say "entire" packet of yeast do you mean 10 grammes?
Please help gang... it looks like you are having an awful lot of fun and I would like to join in.
I have found the alcohol content and flavor can be amended simply by adjusting the amount and types of sugar and adding different types of fresh fruit. Trying to make everything too complicated tends to make everything, well...too complicated. Good luck!
Glad to hear you're getting into brewing cider in Brazil! Maybe you'll start a national trend. I'll see if I can answer your questions;
1. Campden tablets are used to pasteurize your cider, not to carbonate them. I think you're thinking of carbonation tablets sometimes used in beer brewing. You can use heat to sterilize your cider, as I suggested in the recipe, or you can order Campden tabs. For carbonation, you can use priming sugar or carbonation tabs, but you will want to calculate the specific gravity/alcohol content in order to use the right amount -- otherwise you'll have bombs on your hands. There are some good comments on carbonation and priming sugar on this thread and some even better resources out there online. It's a tricky business and I'm not necessarily the most qualified person out there :)
2. Making a hydrometer is relatively easy (http://www.ecawa.asn.au/home/jfuller/liquids/hydrometers.htm) , but it can be tricky to calibrate. I would recommend either buying one online, or simply winging it by following the recipe exactly :)
3. The yeasts that I typically use come in 5 gram packs and are good for 5 gallons of wort, but every yeast is different. If you don't have access to champagne or white wine or cider yeast, you can probably make do with something else, but I can't say from experience how much will be effective. Fortunately the amount of yeast that you use is not of great importance, as long as you're somewhere in the ballpark. Way too little yeast may take longer to get going, and way too much yeast will result in more silt/yeasty flavor, but unless you're way off, you probably won't notice a difference.
Hope that helped. My advice would be not to worry about it to much your first time. Cider is a very easy and cheap beverage to ferment and you can always improve your technique over multiple batches.
I'm making a list of needs now and off shopping for basic parts tommorow. I've got 5lit water jugs to start with and will end up making a vapour lock of some description (heh), but thanks a million for the Hydrometer site.
As far as yeast goes I've had to start with cooking yeast (which is bubbling away nicely) and one site that I looked at suggested a very heavy dose, but I like the idea of an approximate 1gram/ gallon of wort, that sounds more like it.
Am I right in thinking that with a yeast and "yeast nutrient" (please explain the difference) I'll be looking at about 3 months till I'm drinking it?... when can I start tasting it? ... heheh, sorry, a little too eager maybe!
I'm going to re-read your blog, but thanks again... you've opened my eyes to a whole new game ;)
Yeast nutrient is made of food-grade dehydrated urea. It's not needed, but it contains nutrients (ammonium ions) that keep the yeast healthy and productive. Probably something you'll want to pass rather than make yourself.
I haven't used cooking/baking yeast, but I know it can be done. Between 1-2 grams per gallon should do the trick.