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First Timer
So I want to try my hand at home-brewing. I'm particularly interested in cider. Is it harder/easier than beer? I want to start basic. I don't know what kind of equipment I'll need, but most websites seem to mention a lot of things that I don't know. I also am not sure where around here I might be able to find yeast. I'm guessing it's too specialized to be sold in a normal grocery store. Also, I think it's technically illegal to home-brew in Alabama, but I'm not planning on selling it. Anyone have any tips on getting started?
If there is a FAQ somewhere that I might have missed, I'll gladly go read up on my own, but I couldn't find one.
I would pop by one of these places if you get the chance:
Alabrew - 8916A Parkway East, Birmingham AL 35206, (205) 833-1716
Coosa Rustics - Rt. 1, Box 560, Rockford AL (256) 377-4363
Werner's Trading Company - 1115 4th Street S.W., Cullman AL 35055,
Local (256) 734-5673, Orders (800) 965-8796
They have brewing equipment and supplies. really all you need for cider is a fermenter (a food grade bucket with lid and airlock) or a glass carboy (with airlock), some brewer's yeast and some juice with no preservatives.
You can order everything you need online from various stores (just type "brewing supply" into google). Airlocks are a buck or two, buckets are maybe 5 or 10 bucks, dry yeast is about a dollar. depending on where you live you might be able to score some fresh, unpasteurized juice from a local grower which would make excellent cider. remember, pretty much any juice will work as long as it doesn't have any preservatives.
Here's a good resource to get started:
http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/PDF/FDNS-E-91.pdf
Ah! Thanks a lot. I had found a place nearby (http://kegkits.com), but I'm not entirely sure how to find it and what their hours are (they say they're open "most" Fridays and Saturdays..). The Werner's place should be within 45 minutes or so of where I live.
I've been reading so many conflicting things online. Some people say not to add yeast because you need to use the natural yeast. Others say you can't use the natural yeast because of the risk of keeping some other bacteria alive. Some say don't use apple juice at all, press your own, others say only apple juice without preservatives. Does vitamin C matter? The juice I usually buy says it just has apple juice concentrate, water, and vitamin C. Will that work? Or should I just try and look for the most natural I can find?
A lot of other sites mention things like rubber tubing for siphoning, and bottles/bottlecapper. Is this necessary if you're only making small quantities? I own a lot of mason jars. I wonder if those would suffice.
To tell you the truth, some of the stories of bottles exploding kinda frighten me a bit. Is there an easy way to make sure you don't get things too pressurized?
Sorry for all the questions.
To answer a couple of your questions:
Don't rely on wild yeast. I mean, you could if you wanted to get really authentic or what not. Keep in mind that if you go wild you could end up with anything. I would stick to regular old brewrs yeast which can be bought either on line or at a shop for a buck. if you're looking to save money you can always harvest and propogate more yeast from your first batch.
Personally, I would look for a good unfiltered, unaltered juice. With that said, yes you can use regular old apple juice from the grocery store. However, you'll get a MUCH better product with the real deal. try to find a friend with a juicer or look at a "natural" food store.
Tubing - get it. In fact, if you get the chance get yourself an auto syphon. These babies are worth their weight in gold in my opinion. They make racking (transfering) liquids super easy.
You CAN bottle in mason jars. Just make sure every thing is sterilized. If you wanna get old school you can prime your bottles or jars with about 1/3 teaspoon of brown sugar. I do this for all of my experimentals and small batch brews. It works pretty good and saves you from having to locate "bottling" sugar. Just be sure to leave about 1/2 to 1 inch of airspace in your jars. As long as they're air tight it should work fine.
Bottle bombs; they happen. it's not terribly common but it can occur. Just make sure your fermentation is more or less completed before adding sugar and bottling. you can do this with a hydrometer (which you NEED) and by watching your airlock for bubbles. No bubbles, more or less no fermentation*
* there may be some fermentation but if you're bubbling less than once every few minutes you're probably safe to bottle. When in doubt use a hydrometer.
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