Does anyone make apple cider?

[moeh1]

Like Robert, I usually do a primary fermentation also, then move to a carboy to eliminate some of the junk. Make sure you leave the second fermentation alone for at least 2-3 months before bottling, the cider undergoes a malo-lactic transformation over the scrud in the bottom of the carboy. I have also put in some oak chips or toasted oak chips for some added tannic acid flavor.
Enjoy.

 

[ragkar]

This is the season to look for hard cider at the package store.

 

[forgeblast]

I have just used pasturized juice, a local orchard runs it through a uv light to pasturize the juice and then pitch the champagne yeast. I transfered to a secondary and let it sit a year, i put cheap vodka in the airlock to make sure nothing gets in there.
Beer Making Kits and Home Brewing Supplies | MoreBeer has forums on cider making.

 

[RobertN]

Pasteurized actually gives you better control; then you are only dealing with the particular qualities of the champagne yeast. The wild yeasts add that unknown factor that will make it variable from batch to batch.

I get unpastuerized just because I get it right off the press at the local apple ranch.

It does not make a big difference in fermentation; there is plenty of sugar in the apple juice either way.

More sugar=more alcohol=

I have just used pasturized juice, a local orchard runs it through a uv light to pasturize the juice and then pitch the champagne yeast. I transfered to a secondary and let it sit a year, i put cheap vodka in the airlock to make sure nothing gets in there.
Beer Making Kits and Home Brewing Supplies | MoreBeer has forums on cider making.

 

[Chuck52]

I recently saw a site describing how to make an apple grinder from a garbage disposal...a new one preferably! It ground so fine that a lot of the juice separated directly, but did require a fairly fine mesh bag for the pressing.

I have about 15 different apple and crab apple varieties already. When I get decent production DW says I can buy a press. Until then, I sometimes buy cider to make the hard stuff with. This time of year you can find decent cider, but you do have to be sure it doesn't have benzoate added. Many cider mills add benzoate as a preservative. Pasteurized juice is fine for fermenting, but benzoate prevents fermentation.

Chuck

 

[forgeblast]

Chuck i saw that apple grinder site too. I worry about not being able to clean completely when you are done, which would then contaminate your batch, or require you to use more chemicals to pasturize then repitch.
Looking at history of a lot of the ciders, the best ones were mixes, especially of tart/sweet and bitter. a lot of the old english cider apples where not fit to eat, but let the yeast do its work and its great.
The main thing you have to control is sanatization, there are a lot of great products out there. I use one step, san star and others. also remember the more times you rack the cider the more times you are opening it up to infection. With my homebrews i ferment, and then keg, at no time do i secondary ferment.
Also the price on a plastic fermenter is only like 10.00 its a pretty easy hobby to do. I would go with Grolsch bottles with ceramic tops makes it easier to store. And when you hear about priming sugar, dont go overboard, bottlebombs can be deadly.

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

when I used to make my own wines, I'd freeze all my fruit first to make for a natuallry sweeter product. grinding everything up finely should do a similar thing, but it'd be interwsting to know if anyone has tried it both ways to see if there's a difference. (ground vs. frozen then ground)

 

[Chuck52]

Forge, I think the disposal grinder would be pretty easy to clean by just running some water through it....maybe a little detergent or bleach added. I always do at least one racking with my beer or wine, and the few times I have done cider I also racked once. I've never gotten an infected fermentation by just using good clean techniques. I, too, use the Grolsch style bottles. In addition to the standard size, I picked up a some liter sized swing tops a few years ago from a brew supply house. They are nice to have when taking homebrew to a party.

The main problem I've had with cider is in getting a semi-sweet carbonated version. Even with beer yeast, when I do bottle conditioning I have to catch the fermentation before it goes completely dry by putting the bottles in the frig. In the past I didn't have room for a whole batch, but we just bought a new refrigerator and I revived the old one by replacing the faulty defrost timer, so now I have room! I prefer a carbonated cider, and I find that if the cider goes completely dry, which it will if left to its own devices, it tastes like very dry champagne. That's not all bad, but I like a little sweetness to bring out the apple flavor. I may end up kegging to get both carbonation and a bit of sweetness, but even then I may have to do something to kill the yeast, and I really don't like the idea of using a chemical agent to do that....natural cider rules!

BTW, I now have a good selection of sweets and sharps growing, which should let me make lots of cider in a few years. However, I have no bitter-sharps for the blend. Anyone know of a good bitter-sharp that is a good producer and also disease resistant? I have really high cedar-apple rust here in the middle of Missery.

Chuck

 

[robb01]

We used to years ago, but havent recently

 

[forgeblast]

The main problem I've had with cider is in getting a semi-sweet carbonated version. Even with beer yeast, when I do bottle conditioning I have to catch the fermentation before it goes completely dry by putting the bottles in the frig.

What a buddy of mine does is wait for it to finish. He will then either crash cold it making sure they are all goners (yeast) or add some chemicals to kill them off. He then waits a day or two and back sweetens with frozen apple juice. It adds some apple flavor and juice back into the cider.