Starting homebrewing! Help me in my journey to make Hard cider.

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Starting homebrewing! Help me in my journey to make Hard cider.

Posted: 8/23/2017 9:12:14 AM EDT

So I'm gonna start homebrewing, I want to make Hard cider, from storebought cider, and since I live in the middle of nowhere WV, I kinda lack homebrew stores. But I'm going to try and make due. First i'm going to start with Cider in glass containers from Kroger, I believe I found a Cider thats already in Glass jars without preservatives. Last night I stopped at Lowes and found the rubber stopper (#7) as well as a nylon 1/4" nipple, and a 5 foot length of aquarium tubing, I have the mason jar I am going to turn into a airlock already.

So, Whats next? The only yeast i have easy access to is bakers yeast. And for sanitizer, I was going to use the Bleach method.

Posted: 8/23/2017 2:49:02 PM EDT

[#1]

There's this wonderful thing called the internet, I'm sure you've heard of it. :)

Buy Starsan and a large 32oz spray bottle (home depot or lowes). Order your dry yeast online, and while you are at it, get a 3-piece airlock.
You can order from amazon, Morebeer.com, or a million other places.

Some light reading:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508303

Posted: 8/23/2017 2:54:20 PM EDT

[#2]

Quote History

Quoted:
There's this wonderful thing called the internet, I'm sure you've heard of it. :)

Buy Starsan and a large 32oz spray bottle. Order your dry yeast online, and while you are at it, get a 3-piece airlock.
You can order from amazon, Morebeer.com, or a million other places.

View Quote

Actually did a bit more digging and located a supply place closer to where I am. So I'll be picking up some stuff in person.

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:26:31 PM EDT

[#3]

How serious are you about making good cider? How much do you have to spend?

The whole fermenting thing is a deep rabbit hole. What you have explained so far sounds like you are on the right track, but things will be much more tedious for you and your results will be lacking. If you just want to make some stuff that is "homemade" and will get you drunk, it will work. If you want to make really good cider, you will very likely be disappointed.

ETA: A budget and an expectation of final product will help me to advise you. As posted above there is A LOT of info on the internet.

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:27:22 PM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:
How serious are you in making good cider? How much do you have to spend?

The whole fermenting thing is a deep rabbit hole. What you have explained so far sounds like you are on the right track, but things will be much more tedious for you and your results will be lacking. If you just want to make some stuff that is "homemade" and will get you drunk, it will work. If you want to make really good cider, you will very likely be disappointed.

View Quote

The shop i found had brewing yeast such as actual Ale yeast. I just have to find a way to get down there and buy the parts needed.

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:27:40 PM EDT

[#5]

don't try to ferment in the glass bottles you bought the cider in. You need more headspace or you'll have high losses due to blowoff.

I know people who use bread yeast but I can't recommend it. A lot of recipes call for champagne yeast, but it is very aggressive and will leave you with a very dry cider. Not the choice if you like it a bit sweet. My favorite has been Red Star Cote Des Blancs

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:30:53 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
don't try to ferment in the glass bottles you bought the cider in. You need more headspace or you'll have high losses due to blowoff.

I know people who use bread yeast but I can't recommend it. A lot of recipes call for champagne yeast, but it is very aggressive and will leave you with a very dry cider. Not the choice if you like it a bit sweet. My favorite has been Red Star Cote Des Blancs

View Quote

The shop has carboys too, but i'm not sure if i want to make 5 gallons of cider, Thats a lot of end product.

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:38:08 PM EDT

[#7]

Quote History

Quoted:
don't try to ferment in the glass bottles you bought the cider in. You need more headspace or you'll have high losses due to blowoff.

I know people who use bread yeast but I can't recommend it. A lot of recipes call for champagne yeast, but it is very aggressive and will leave you with a very dry cider. Not the choice if you like it a bit sweet. My favorite has been Red Star Cote Des Blancs

View Quote

Any white wine or ale yeast will work well. You should try for a very aggressive yeast. It will help you with a fast and through fermentation, this lessens the chance of screwing something up. You can sweeten it up on the back end after primary fermentation. You'll want to convert all that sugar into alcohol the first go around.

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:41:56 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
The shop has carboys too, but i'm not sure if i want to make 5 gallons of cider, Thats a lot of end product.

View Quote

That's why I asked about budget, there's lots of toys to make things easier on yourself. They have 3, 4, 5, 6 gallon carboys etc. Having 2 is nice for racking, but you can get by with one and a bucket. You'll also want acid blend and tanin powder, sanitizing powder, there's all sorts of options for clearing agents, but they have their own quarks. Also, def buy an airlock for $2 or $3 dollar.

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:51:52 PM EDT

[#9]

I highly recommend a 3-gallon glass carboy. Use 2 gallons of apple juice/cider, you can also throw a can of apple juice concentrate in there (no preservatives), or some brown sugar, honey, or a cinnamon stick. Have some fun with it!

Other things that are useful:
Hydrometer, thief, and graduated cylinder or
this thing which is useful

So easy shopping list would be:
3 gallon (or larger?) glass carboy
stopper and airlock for carboy
carboy brush
bottle brush
hydrometer
thief/cylinder
bottle capper
Starsan
bottling wand

They also make 6-gallon plastic pails you can ferment in, that also have a bottling spout. You can go straight from fermenter to bottle with those.
The only time I made cider it was a huge flop, and I'm not sure why. It just wasn't very sweet or very good. :/ I used SA-04 yeast

Posted: 8/23/2017 3:58:01 PM EDT

[#10]

Good cider is a very tricky thing. You want to use real apples and a mix of bitter, tart and sweet (e.g. 25% crab apple, 25% Granny Smith, 50% Gala). Also, watching pH and balancing tannin is important. You can sweeten on the back end with an artificial sweetener. Another trick is to buy natural apple flavor, but a little goes a very long way, just a hint can work, but you can quickly enter Jolly Rancher territory which is fowl. A lot of this stuff is personal preference depending on what you're into. Type of yeast has A LOT to do with it as well.

Posted: 8/23/2017 5:50:52 PM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:
Good cider is a very tricky thing. You want to use real apples and a mix of bitter, tart and sweet (e.g. 25% crab apple, 25% Granny Smith, 50% Gala). Also, watching pH and balancing tannin is important. You can sweeten on the back end with an artificial sweetener. Another trick is to buy natural apple flavor, but a little goes a very long way, just a hint can work, but you can quickly enter Jolly Rancher territory which is fowl. A lot of this stuff is personal preference depending on what you're into. Type of yeast has A LOT to do with it as well.

View Quote

I'm shooting less for Redds/Angry and more for Magners, If that helps.

Posted: 8/25/2017 11:04:43 AM EDT

[#12]

BUMP! So I think i have figured out what i need:

1 glass carboy.
3-4 gallons of non perservative apple cider
1 vile of ale yeast
1 airlock
1 Santizer packet of some type.

Anything else I need to get started making cider?

Posted: 8/25/2017 1:58:30 PM EDT

[#13]

I think you'll want some yeast nutrients as well, since cider is kind of lacking in that. Healthy yeast is important. Your local shop should sell some yeast nutrient which will also have instructions on use.

Posted: 8/28/2017 9:39:38 AM EDT

[#14]

Ok, so I visited the homebrew shop.

Picked up a plastic carboy (3gal)
Airlock
stopper
Fermentation bucker (6.5 gal, total rip off btw, after finding out rural king buckets are food safe i could have done this cheaper)
Sanitizer
yeast nutrient
EC-1118 yeast.
Campden tablets.

So, I did everything according to the instructions on the labels, and I have it chilling in an unused room in the house that dark. Now we wait.

Posted: 8/28/2017 9:55:40 AM EDT

[#15]

Depending on where you are in WV, you could be literally surrounded by abandoned Apple orchards from old homesteads. While it might take some investment (press and ID/tending some trees), you might find some older varieties that lean father toward the tart/crisp end. And do a little something to preserve old varieties, some of which aren't in commercial cultivation anymore. That's my goal with a couple of old orchards near my family's cabin in PA.

Posted: 9/22/2017 11:02:27 AM EDT

[#16]

How'd it turn out for you?

Posted: 9/22/2017 11:06:21 AM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
How'd it turn out for you?

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More like an apple wine, dry and strong when i tried it right out of the fermenter, so i bottled it and its been sitting about a month now. Should i try it?

Posted: 9/22/2017 12:23:37 PM EDT

[#18]

Sure, wouldn't hurt anything. A lot of people say the flavors mellow and change around the 2 month mark, but they're all a little different.

Posted: 9/22/2017 12:39:15 PM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
Sure, wouldn't hurt anything. A lot of people say the flavors mellow and change around the 2 month mark, but they're all a little different.

View Quote

Gonna have to try some, gotta buy a cork screw.

Posted: 9/22/2017 2:16:30 PM EDT

[#20]

Here's some motivational pics of last weekends haul. Red are Gala and green are some unknown tart verity

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Starting homebrewing! Help me in my journey to make Hard cider.

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