Freeper self sufficiency

djf

[djf]

OK.

I have a bunch of empty Grolsch bottles and have been thinking about doing some moon shining of sorts.

Any Freepers ever home-brew? Beer? Hard cider?

Curious about experiences and recommendations, and since Freepers are the smartest people in the world, figured it needed a thread!

[djf]

Wasn't sure if I could drink it yet!



...but since I can...
Set up to siphon some off. I have a hydrometer (hygrometer???) specific gravity thingie, but it's for battery acid and the range is way, way to high to get a reading.

I'm surprised that the color in a glass is significantly different from what's in the bottle.



No unpleasant odors. No odor of vinegar. Just a rust color, I'm gonna put a glass in the fridge and see how it settles.


Now, the really good news:

It tastes GREAT!!!

Bit of sweetness left, but other than that, it really couldn't taste any better! Maybe will a lemon peel added or something, but the stuff is GOOD!! Really, really good! Like I need to be on my lips at ten AM!!

It's all yur fault!

;-)

[knews_hound]

Welcome to “the addiction”.

I have been refining and experimenting for 26 years now and got started just as you did.

Perhaps it is the Engineer in me, but with careful note taking, experimentation and adjustment, I now make exactly what I like.

Cheers to you my FRiend, and as I said before, be careful with that cider, it packs a wallop !

knewshound

[djf]

Ping to my progress updates above!

[knews_hound]

I just wanted to see how things are going and to let you know that you are not alone in your fermentation efforts.

I brewed 9 days ago and the results are looking good.



From left to right;

Calif Steam Beer - Not finished

Blonde Ale - Finished

English Ale - Finished

America Pale Ale - Finished

I will cold crash them tomorrow for 48 hours then keg and carbonate.

These are for New Years Eve and it ought to be a lot of fun !

Cheers,

knewshound

[Lurker]

I've done several sparkling hard ciders, so if I may offer some advice....

Leave it to settle for longer than you would think necessary. My first batch I let sit for a month after racking. Then I used 1/4 cup of priming sugar for 5 gallons of cider.

That was bottled using the same Grosch bottles you used. I let them charge for 2 weeks.

The end result was a wonderfully clear, dry yet slightly sweet sparkling hard cider.

Best of luck. Apple cider is lots of fun to play with, and it's a great starter brew.

L

[Lurker]

I've been doing hard ciders for a few years. It's one of my favorites.

They're deceptively simple to make, yet surprisingly complex in flavor.

I've got a good source for fresh, unpastuerized cider. The natural yeasts yield a great product. But the raw stuff is sometimes hard to find.

I gave several bottles of this years product as Christmas gifts this year. People are already asking me for more.

L

[knews_hound]

Wifey has just informed me that beer aside, she is not pleased with the beer in HER tub.

The price we pay for fermentation !

I am making a new fermentation chamber over the holidays that will solve this carboy in the tub problem once and for all.

Cheers,

knewshound

[Lurker]

Wifey has just informed me that beer aside, she is not pleased with the beer in HER tub

ROFLMAO!! Mrs. L said EXACTLY that when she saw the pictures of your tub!

Merry Christmas to you and yours my friend!

L

[djf]

OK!

Nice setup! If you were local, I’d help ya with the hard part, the drinkin!

You prompted me to check it again. (Like I haven’t been checking it enough!)

I will post some pics a bit later, but here’s the brief summary:

There were wide areas at the surface of the liquid that were foam-free. A visual inspection shows little, if any bubbling action from the yeast.

So I decided to transfer it to different containers. At least for settling purposes, here is what I have:

The original plastic cider bottles
I have 3 1 qt mayo bottles that have gone through the diashwasher and been sterilized.

After siphoning, I have filled:

One (1) of the original gallon cider bottles
The 3 mayo bottles

I would estimate there is about two quarts of stuff left in the fermentation bottle, I’m going to simply decant that into the last cider bottle for final settling. I will pour it in, shke it good, and set it at an angle so the yeast ends up in a corner.

Now I took this on because I like beer! So that’s why I made cider!

Really, this first pass is to me more about learning the mechanics. How to handle things, how to keep them sterile, how to watch the temp, Siphon or Decant? That is the question!

My final yield will be a bit more than 2 gallons of hard cider.

And dam, it is GOOD!

I will do cider once more before I try a brew.

I want to get a fatter siphon hose, also longer, when you are doing the siphoning, the last thing I want to do is fight it.

Next time, I am going to add some additional sugar to the mix before fermentation. A little xtra kick wont hurt it at all.
I need to get the starter pack going earlier. I plan on getting the same brand pack, but will probably try a champagne yeast. I will pop the pack, and when it starts to get a bit bigger, use a needle to poke a tiny hole. This will allow me to leave it overnight before I start fermentation. I had used a pack suitable for 5 gallons with three gallons of cider, my thought is since I am not that sure yet about sanitation, etc, I want to give it enough yeasy that is overwhelms anything else that might be in there.

AT THIS TIME, I think I might pass on the final bottling, and leave it where it is. (in the fridge, of course).

I am a bit concerned about getting the fermentation bottle clean again. You can see areas where there is yeast or whatever on the inside and I am unsure if warm water/bleach combo will ever dislodge it all.

It truly is very simple to make. I’ve had about a glass worth in the transfer process, and it has a kick!

I need to get a hydrometer that will work in the right range. Also some ph paper. I can certainly understand now why people work in 5 gallon increments, not 3 gallon. Just when you get going with 3 gallons and get on a roll, you’re almost done.

Cheers!!

[djf]

Pics:


Siphoning...


Final product. About 9 quarts from 3 gallons of starter.

I am thinking about seeing what would happen if I put a quart or so through a coffee filter.

All in all, I would say this has been a very pleasent, interesting experience. Good cider is a bit pricey, at 7.99 a gallon, but heck, that's less than a night out at a pub.

The fermentation bottle did indeed wash out quite well. I just added warm water and shook the livin bejesus out of it. But before I use it again, I will certainly sterilize it.

For any Freepers who are interested, and want to be self sufficient, I would highly recommend trying it. It is interesting, because there are lots of techniques and variations, and I would bet your first attempt would give you something better than you can buy commercially!

[knews_hound]

A couple of points;

There were wide areas at the surface of the liquid that were foam-free. A visual inspection shows little, if any bubbling action from the yeast.

Next time be sure to use a bubbler.  It will make a huge difference in determining exactly how active it still is.

The original plastic cider bottles
I have 3 1 qt mayo bottles that have gone through the diashwasher and been sterilized.

Be aware that neither of these is a good long term storage solution.  Those mayo jars will go off like grenades if fermentation restarts.

I need to get the starter pack going earlier. I plan on getting the same brand pack, but will probably try a champagne yeast. I will pop the pack, and when it starts to get a bit bigger, use a needle to poke a tiny hole. This will allow me to leave it overnight before I start fermentation. I had used a pack suitable for 5 gallons with three gallons of cider, my thought is since I am not that sure yet about sanitation, etc, I want to give it enough yeasy that is overwhelms anything else that might be in there.

Those smack packs are usually started at least 24 hours ahead of time.  You actually want it to be actively fermenting when you pitch it.  Do NOT poke a hole in it, you want it to expand and look like this when it is ready.

AT THIS TIME, I think I might pass on the final bottling, and leave it where it is. (in the fridge, of course).

Good call, drink it !I need to get a hydrometer that will work in the right range. Also some ph paper. I can certainly understand now why people work in 5 gallon increments, not 3 gallon. Just when you get going with 3 gallons and get on a roll, you’re almost done.

The PH paper might be a waste, the PH is what it is.  On the other hand, the Hydrometer is VERY helpful !

You have got the process down.  Once you get a few brews under your belt your confidence will grow and your technique will be better also.

SO what are you thinking about bewing next?

Cheers,

knewshound

[djf]

Well, what I was worried about was activating the pack and have it explode on me overnight! Don’t need that mess, so I figured a pinhole would do the trick.

Next time I think it will be cider again, with the added sugar before fermentation. I was thinking about trying brown sugar, as it is a plant material and has alot of the micronutrients in it that yeast might like.

But I may spring for the yeast nutrient pack, I am still unsure and probably will make my mind up at the store.

So except for a few slight mods to my machinery, etc, the next try will be aimed at making (and bottling) some pretty darn strong sparkling cider!

[djf]

After that, I think an Ale. They have at the store these “total” packages that come in like 5lb coffee can type setups. I will talk to the brewmasters there.

[Lurker]

You mentioned you were worried about getting your carboy clean. I use a product called "One Step" which my local home brew shop carries.

It eats that gunk away like nobodies business.

Hope it helps.

Merry Christmas!

[knews_hound]

You have no worries about it exploding. You actually want it to be completely started before pitching it. I would give it at least 24 hours to expand.

Consider using either corn sugar, brown sugar ( a little goes a long way for flavor) or even honey as your adjunct sweetener. Both corn sugar and honey are 100% fermentable. Table sugar will give you off flavors and brown sugar has some molasses flavors that you might not want in a cider, but that is between you and your taste buds.

Don’t bother with the yeast nutrient, you have TONS of sugars for the yeasties to eat, they will be just fine without them.

I am so pleased you had such a good result.

I honestly think if most people knew how easy it was to make hooch the stores would go out of business.

Cheers!

knewshound

[djf]

BTW, I forgot.

Last weekend I got the hydrometer and started taking measurements of my new batch.

But not till today did the light go on and I decided to take a measure of the first batch.

It came in at 1.005

Assuming the original was in the 1.055 range, this translates into an ABV of about 6.5 percent. By taste, it is very dry, and slightly fruity, which is perfect for my taste.

In my second batch, which is going now, I used the Wyeast 4766 cider yeast. I am not very impressed, it is a slow acting yeast. Time will tell. But my first batch, I accidentally, but luckily, used the Wyeast London ESB variety, which was quite vigorous and gave me quite good results after 9 days of fermentation.

There may be differences in the cider itself. I remember noticing how the original cider, in the jug, was a fair amount darker than the first batch, in the same style jug.

The new batch of cider I bought was a bit lighter in color. Not sure what that means.

Anyways, cheers!

[djf]

My third batch has almost completely stopped bubbling, so yesterday I racked it out twice, untill there was almost no sediments at all in the bottom.

So today I sterilized and started bottling... bottles (and stoppers) were vigorously, meticulously sterilized and rinsed



For five of them, I decided to try a sparkling cider by adding 1/4 tsp corn sugar. I dabbed the tops with a black magic marker.



I still have about 3 quarts left in my jug, think I will let it settle and see tomorrow about how/what to bottle it in.
Tastewise, this last batch is by far, the best. Crisp, clean, quite dry with only the tiniest hint of sweetness. Packs a wallop to! I figure it's coming in between 6-7.5 percent ABV.


Next: An Ale in a can!!

[djf]

Hey!!

Thanks for telling me about the “One Step” stuff. My latest batch was a Coopers Bitter in a 5 gallon plastic carboy.

It left tons of junk in the top, but the One Step (and a whole lotta shakin goin on) cleaned it out better than new!

That stuff is really the way to go!

[Lurker]

Yep. The One Step is great for Carboys.

Here's another tip to save you a bit of time. Take the rubber seals off your bottles and run a batch worth of them through your dishwasher on the 'sanitize' setting.

Your equipment doesn't have to be sterile (according to the FDA 99.9% of all organisms dead), just sanitized (FDA standard 99% of all organisms dead or inactivated).

And that Coopers Bitters is one of our favorites. Good stuff.

Let me know how your sparkling cider turns out. It's one of our personal favorites. After a while, try a sparkling mead.

Best,

L

[djf]

Well, I haven’t had any problems with contamination (that I know of) yet.

I just try to be prudent. Make sure everything is clean and rinsed. Make sure whatever I’m gonna ferment is at the proper temp before I pitch the yeast. And finally, give the yeast a good, long time to get going before I pitch it.

The cider came out WONDERFUL!!

Using the Grolsch bottles, you just bottle it and let it sit at room temp. It gradually carbonates.

About once every three days, I loosen the top to let off the excess pressure. When I do, you can see it starting to fizz from the bottom. I drank a bottle the other night and it was truly superb. Nice head (which goes away quick). Clean, crisp, dry. Distinctly cidery.

I think in another three days or so, I will move it to the fridge.

The Bitters is also great. Just not carbonated yet. Today I racked it into two separate carboys to let it settle for a day or so. I got a feeling this stuff is gonna get even way, way better as it ages! (If it lasts that long...!!)