Ok, in this instructable, you'll make 5 gallons of tasty sparkling hard cider. This is often called apple wine, or apfelwein. It usually costs me about $20 to make a 5 gallon batch, which is about 2 cases of cider.
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Signing UpStep 1: Equipment
First, the equipment. Most of this comes from your homebrew supply store, although you can also try craigslist:
1) 5 gallon bottle (carboy) - this is what you'll ferment in.
2) Funnel (the one that comes from the homebrew store has some ridges on it that allow it to have a bit of airflow around the base of the funnel - this is a good thing - if you get a regular funnel, then you'll have to hold it slightly above the mouth of the carboy)
3) 1 hole stopper (usually a 6.5 size, but get the right size for YOUR carboy's hole)
4) airlock
5) measuring cup
1) 5 gallon bottle (carboy) - this is what you'll ferment in.
2) Funnel (the one that comes from the homebrew store has some ridges on it that allow it to have a bit of airflow around the base of the funnel - this is a good thing - if you get a regular funnel, then you'll have to hold it slightly above the mouth of the carboy)
3) 1 hole stopper (usually a 6.5 size, but get the right size for YOUR carboy's hole)
4) airlock
5) measuring cup
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When beer making people sometimes add milk sugar (non fermentable) to make it sweet. Don't know how it would taste in this.
Take about two cups of cider from the gallon jug, and stir in about a cup of plain white sugar. Drink the two cups of side you removed. Place a balloon over the top of your gallon jug and tape it down to prevent it from coming off.
Place the jug in a cool dark place. Swirl or gently shake the jug each day until you start to see the balloon starting to inflate. Keep an eye on the balloon for the next few days. If you are worried about the balloon popping, place a couple of pieces of tape on the balloon making an "X". carefully poke a hole through the center of the tape "X" with a pin.( I've never had the balloon get full enough to worry me so I never had to do this)
After a few days the balloon will start to deflate. Wait until it's nearly limp and falling over. Then remove the balloon. Take a small taste. If it doesn't taste good and instead has mold on the surface, toss it. You got some kind of contamination. If it tastes good, then add another half cup of sugar and stir. Add a fresh balloon over the top and wait for another week. You should see the balloon inflate, then over a few days deflate again.
This time, remove the balloon and take another taste. You should now find a strong alcohol taste, with a small amount of "fizz" to it. Normally the alcohol runs about 5-6% and can go up to 8% depending on the natural yeasts in the cider.
The "fizz" was formed by the balloon capturing the CO2 being released by the yeast during fermentation and forcing it back into solution under the pressure of the balloon.
I've had many friends make this and I did this for several years before I turned 21. Backs of closets, dark basement corners or any cool dark place my parents didn't look became places to brew hard cider.
Enjoy!
Yes, a regular bucket will work, but the plastic tends to allow oxygen through, so it may impart off flavors to the cider. (same story with a 5 gallon plastic 'water bottles')
A plastic food grade fermenter is cheaper than a glass carboy, and would work fine. You can get food grade plastic buckets from most resturants for free, so keep your costs low that way.
If you want to test this recipe without all the costs, try fermenting a gallon of cider in it's own plastic bottle with a cup of sugar. Then, drink it 'still' (IE: with no carbonation). That shaves several steps off this recipe.
The type of yeast does make a huge difference in the final product - if you care to test flavor differences AND kick =)
I kicked like crazy about spending money on equipment when i started fermenting stuff a few years ago, but good stuff greatly improves the odds of good results. My equipment investment has totaled maybe $80 in 4 years, but it's way more than paid for itself in hassle-free, consistent, YUMMY wine, cider, and mead. You pretty much only need to buy equipment once, and once you taste your quality product, you WILL want to do it again.
also on the cider note, no need to stop with just great hard cider, freeze that stuff and ditch the ice. whats left is called apple jack and has whole new level of punch. check your local laws to make sure ice distilling is legal where you are.
I'd be shocked if there's not a mead instructable around here somewhere, since there are plenty of sites on the internets that explain it (too many, imho). It's about the most foolproof (ok, fool-resistant) fermentable, since honey doesn't like to go bad. Honey, water, yeast, and acid (blend, which you can get where you get your yeast, or even a bit of strong black tea) is all you need to start, then it's as complicated as you care to make it. Oh, and patience. GOBS of patience ;-)
I use: 10-20 pounds of honey
acid blend
yeast nutrient
mead yeast or wine yeast (the yeasts for this cider would work I do NOT like the Lavlin EC-1118 Yeast - I think it stops working before the mead is done and also will not have enough energy to carbonate the mead later, if you like carbonated mead - I do.)
water to top off to 5 gallons.
bring honey/water to a boil and turn off the heat. (this kills off any bacteria in the honey and does not kill the flavor)
put cooled mixture in carboy and top off with cold water. pitch yeast when the temp has dropped to 80 degrees or so
ferment in cool place until it is done. might take 6 months or more!
bottle and age for as long as you dare. 1 year is good. more is better.
I used Mott's Apple Juice because it didn't have the potassium sorbate, but I think that's where I went wrong. The cider has cleared up immensely from the time I've bottled it to this week, but it isn't translucent like most ciders I've come across.
I recommend that if you attempt this recipe that you have an outside storage of some kind because it will make whatever room you store it in smell like pee.
The fermenting juice WILL put off CO2 that smells a bit horrid, but this goes away after fermentation is done.
Just a thuoght
1. Use 2lbs of Light Brown Sugar instead of dextrose. This is MUCH cheaper and still works really well.
2. Using store-brand apple cider or juice is ALSO generally cheaper as long as you still make sure there is no potassium sorbate.
3. When bottling/kegging, instead of sugar consider using a can of apple juice concentrate. This will add sweetness, and you can also get a mixed apple-whatever concentrate to add other fruit flavors easily.
4. I am pretty positive that in most countries it is illegal to sell home-brewed anything, especially if there is a minor involved.
i have looked numerous times for laws regarding explosives, and i always just assume its the same as the states.
And, wow, i never knew that putting yest in juice could be illegal... its so simple... =P its kind of amusing how simple it is to make alcohol, and the fact that there is only one part that is illegal for underage people, is the part i find the most amusing. Like, yeast is the most available ingrediant i could find. I actually had more trouble finding apple juice that had no preservatives. I bought everything all at once, and they didnt question what i was doing... although, it was 1 in the morning, and my friend and i were at the grocery store with a respirator/gas mask and a paintball mask on... i guess they have alot of strange purchases there at that time... =P
Anyway, thank you for the help, im about 4 days into the brewing, and it tastes pretty good, its the closest cider to the tim hortons stuff that ive ever had... although, tim hortons doesn't make it alcoholic... wow, i can get off topic.
The cloves and cinnamon give it a really warm flavour, its really nice, i would definitely recommend it. But cloves are powerful, i only put a pinch of them into 2L and its pretty strong.
actually in the US it *IS* legal for any citizen 21 or older to make non-distilled alcohol in their home - up to 200 gallons per year for personal comsumption, not sale. the selling requires a beverage license and those are hard to get especially if you have to do the lottery for one. This right is constitutionally protected and explicitly stated in the 19th Amendment which repealed Prohibition..
That all aside, the instructable looks look and well thought out. -- bread, non-rapid rise yeast will also work... but has a different taste of course.