The apparatus:
3 gallon water bottle, still full, I will of coarse empty it.
Cheapo el-sticko thermometer.
Siphon hose
Air dam that I will have to fit to the top of the bottle before starting
1% USP Iodine. I asked the gal at the brew store, she said to dilute it because they use iodine 12 ppm when they do it.
The bottles:
Grolsch bottles. They have already gone through the dishwasher, but I will re-sterilize before I use them. Plenty of time for that still!
The ingredients:
The good stuff!
I have 3 gallons of this cider from Olympia, Wa. Very, very sweet. Conspicuously labeled "Pasteurized. No preservatives. No Added Sugar"
Gal at the brew store says that's exactly what I need. At $7.99 a gallon, not exactly cheap!
Yeast activation packet. There was bunches and bunches of different yeasts there. The name of this one started with a K, I forget exactly. But I chose it for the temp range, it is supposed to work well from 56 to 75 or so.
So that's it for now! I pop the yeast activation packet. I wait for the cider to come up to room temp. I empty the water bottle, and fill it w about 2 1/2 gallons of cider and the yesast. Then I let the little devils do the job!
I also got an ounce of hops, thinking I might try it, but I am still unsure. If I were to use it, what I would do is put it in water, bring it to a gentle, rolling boil for 3-4 minutes, strain it and add it to the mix before I seal it. But we'll see!
Sorry about the fuzzy pics, my lens was fogged up. You get the idea!
I was amazed by the store. Tons of different types of grains and malts. Lots of glassware and chemical buffering agents. They must have had 50 different kinds of hops. They also had the "all in one" kind of packages for Ale brewing, so who knows, maybe that will be my next project.
Cheers!!