Posted on 10/13/2012 4:04:06 PM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!
Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew
BEER
Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I missed posting the thread yesterday at Beer Thirty. Things just happen. So while we are watching some good College Football lets talk Beer and Wine making. I started my third gallon of of hard Apple cider today. I used some amber Agave Nectar as an added sugar to bump the O.G. This stuff seems to be much sweeter than honey and very tasty! So I thought about posting a link to a Web Page that discusses the use of different sugars used in brewing and priming. Some good info here.
I have tried and tried to make good hard apple cider.
I have failed miserably.
Can you help me?
Yes Radio!
No, I’m just a normal radio—ex-jock-current-voice/prod part-timer.
I’d love to have a ham or short wave set-up at home (or a home recording studio for voice work).
Start off with some fresh squeezed apple juice. If you don’t have an apple orchard near by that sells fresh squeezed juice then try some Musselman’s Apple Cider. I get mine from the local WalMart at %4.48 per gal. It is just apple juice with some citric acid added. You will be making Hard Apple Cider by adding yeast and letting it ferment to Hard Cider. Applejack is made by a method of freeze distillation of hard Cider. Freeze the Hard Cider and remove the Ice (water) - the liquid left behind will be much stronger with alcohol - This method is called Jacking.
My hard Cider I started this afternoon has just started bubbling the the airlock! Yea!
When I racked it, it was still very very cloudy. So I added some pectic enzyme to clarify it and 2 cans of apple concentrate to boost the apple flavors.
Now to let it sit in the secondary for a few weeks and let the happiness develop.
Near the end to backend sweeten it a touch I am going to try a liquid Stevia extract I have on hand. It will not ferment and as a diabetic it does not affect my blood sugar readings. This stuff is very sweet, a little goes a long way.
Please add me to da list. Thanks!
You are added!
Please let us know how adding the apple concentrate worked out! I added half a can when I racked my last cider to my secondary.
MS State is doing good! But I always worry! I went to State and know what always happens to them.
I hope someone can enjoy my ‘adventures of a totally snakebit newbie screw-up,’. I’m of a divided mind about them myself....
Well, looking at my carboy of ersatz Ed Wort’s Apfelwine I wondered if that big (2 gal) space over the liquid might be a problem. Well, of course! I decide to siphon it into 3 1gallon bottles and find the stoppers I got are too small, and for good measure I can’t find the siphoning hose anyway!
When I find the hose I’m putting it in the bottles and just leave the tops loose with a weight on them.
I’ll start a new batch without any screw-ups. And meanwhile get some stoppers that fit things.
The two week old Apfelwine mix is only bubbling every minute or so now, smells nice, has dime-sized foam islands floating on the top and has started to clear. But that huge headroom worries me to no end.
Meanwhile I found another ‘foolproof’ recipe for hard cider- http://paraglider.hubpages.com/hub/how-to-make-cider-without-special-equipment . Heck it’s ‘hooch’: Open a jar of apple cider or juice, take out a cup of the contents, pour in 1/2c sugar, shake, pour in yeast and set the top on looose.
But I’m gonna use my stoppers and airlocks though right? Heck no these stoppers don’t fit anything in the world but my carboy. So I screw the tops on and then loosen them when there’s bubbling. Seems to have worked. 5days and they are fizzing happily. It’s cooled off here and the fruit flies are gone (they were sure interested in the Apfelwine last week though but the airlock worked like a champ).
I’m learning hard, but cheap. Some day I’ll be ready for quality brewing.
Yeah, bless their hearts!
And now, there goes TN.
Saw that! Krap! See what I mean.
What the heck is going on with State??? They are doing good and winning! Nice!
What kind of apple cider are you starting with?
Time to reach beervana!
We’re listening to it on the radio! Go BULLDOGS!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.