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Homebrewing
hello all,
A somewhat recent and partially addictive hobby of mine has been homebrewing hard cider. I started a little less than a year ago with only a few jugs of store-bought apple cider, bread yeast, and a closet in my apartment. The results? Well, up in IN, good. I made 5 different batches up here using this recipe for Tor’s Hard Cider. It worked fairly well, especially with the batches that used Martinelli’s cider. My other batches up here didn’t turn out too well, which isn’t really that surprising considering I was brewing them in plastic containers, unlike the Martinelli’s batches which were fermented in their original glass containers. Unfortunately, most of the Martinelli’s batches are gone now, and the other batches from concentrate have either been thrown away or given to friends with less discerning tastebuds.
The batches in FL? Well, I’ll just say they turned out somewhat unfortunate to be conservative… Then again, maybe you might like a batch of hard apple cider that spontaneously tastes and smells like soy sauce on any given day, and yet goes back to being regular hard cider the next. I guess it’s up to you. And as far as the strawberry and peach ciders go, they really needed a stronger yeast, since the bread yeast was definitely too weak to ferment all of the sugars into a decent level of alcohol.
However, thanks to Jason buying me a few books on cider brewing and homebrewing in general for my birthday, I’ve taken a somewhat more serious approach to the
whole process. I’ve been investing in some real brewing equipment, and I’ve got high hopes for this next set of batches.
So far I’ve dropped the cash necessary to get myself:
4 gallons of fresh pressed cider
Enough Holiday apples to grind and press into a 5th gallon
A blender and a press I created from PVC buckets, drilling, and spigots
5 1 gallon glass jugs
Real airlocks and stoppers
$30 worth of various English dry cider yeasts, champagne yeasts and white wine yeasts
Hydrometer
Campden tablets
And any other number of sundry items I managed to locate. Total cost? Just under $100. Thankfully, most of this is reusable. I’m just waiting for my campden tablets and hydrometer to arrive, then I can finally start the whole process. I’m hoping I can finally make a good quality product this time around.
However, the reason I post this here is that I’m wondering if anyone else here has attempted their own homebrewing experiments? I’m definitely open to trying out new recipes, and I’ve always got more room in my closet for another set of jugs or carboys.
Thanks in advance
hello lukas,
I am also a home brewer. I have done an odd handful of English Stouts, a Belgian “fruity” ale, and currently I am working on a Hefeweizen. With the high quality of hops and other brewing material in the state of WA I have had good fortune. In other times (overseas in the sandbox) I have done some stilling, which ended up tasting like apple flavored gasoline.
What are the Campden tablets for? If carbonation is the issue, I have stuck to confectioners sugar and cornstarch, but that may effect the cider as opposed to my brews.
We have one of the finest micro breweries nearby, in which you can make your own batch and labels. The brews the owner makes have become legendary and are sold all over the US, Canada and Belgium. He also imports from Belgium and Canada; mmm tasty. The brewery is called “Heads Up.” His oatmeal stout, Belgian Triple/Quad and 90min IPAs are his best known work.
I recommend “Zymergy” magazine to any potential homebrewers. I have never done a cider, but I loathe the pasteurizing now required in most apple related drinks. I miss going to the orchard with my parents and getting that crisp, unpasteurized apple cider. I have made applejack, but that is more like a brandy (the Canook type is the best).
all the best
hello lukas,
The Campden tablets are a source of sodium metabisulfate. You use one tablet per gallon of fluid to kill bacteria and natural yeasts, and as an added benefit, once you add your own yeasts 24 hours after, the sodium metabisulfated cider promotes yeast progress. In addition, if you use 14 tablets per gallon of water, it makes an excellent sanitizing solution for all of your equipment. To top it off, they’re dirt cheap.
As far as finding cider goes, I was lucky enough to find a cider shack on the way back from a shooting trip, so I picked up 4 gallons of freshly pressed, unpasteurized cider which I’m going to start brewing tonight.
Also, since you mention applejack, how did you go about making that? I’ve got a cider book here that, while explaining quite clearly that it is illegal to make, has a confusing explanation of how to make it.
good bye
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