Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I am a little late on posting today. I almost forgot to post the thread today. Have had a couple of my Power House Porters @ 11% ABV I lost track of time. My trip to Mississippi to check on my house and property went well. We picked up a few things we left on our first move to Texas that we missed the first time and brought them back to Texas. I hated the drive back pulling a small utility trailer that wanted to sway and wander around at any speed over 50 MPH – long drive back. Mmmmm These porters have aged well after a few months and are now quite tasty. :)~
I pinged y’all to an Applejack thread earlier this week and I am so wanting to do some apple cider for my next brew project. That thread inspired me to try this for my next brewing project. I do not have any apple orchards near by to get fresh apple juice and I need some advice on what brands to look for in the local supermarkets to make an Apple Jack with and what brands or type of apple juice do y’all recommend I stay away from?
I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing or let us know what your favorite brew, wine or spirit is.
I was in Germany back in the late 70’s, in a downtown bar talking to a couple of young men who told me they were in school to learn to be braumeisters. I told them about using raisins and making jack and they acted like the the world had just ended. Even tho I was 35, confident in my homebrew abilities, and able to kick all their asses, I let them win the argument. 2 or 3 years later I introduced my 65 y/o German father-in-law to the joys of making your own and the rest is history. An entire extended famly of in-laws travels from the beer capital of the world, 4000 miles away, every year or so, to sample my home made stuff. Right now it’s a nice brown ale in the glass, and a Belgian ale bubbling away in the carboy. Sunday in the secondary, a week or so later in the fridge, then wait for Octoberfest and the influx of Germans. Zum Wohl!!!
http://thepauperedchef.com/2009/11/the-final-word-for-now-on-homemade-hard-cider.html
An article on making cider from store bought apple juice, I think “Musselman’s” was the brand they liked best. Some of the comments are good.
Can you link the applejack thread here? I thought you just freeze and filter hard cider- and that it is considered the same as distilling by the law. so don’t tell anyone.
What do you use in the way of fermentables to get the ABV so high?
http://makinghardcider.com/fruit-yeast.html
“...Bottom line: Look for cloudy cider/juice. Avoid any cider that has a listed ingredient (other than ascorbic acid) that says “in order to preserve freshness.” Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, etc... Those bad boys are yeast killers.
Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is a perfectly harmless additive, for both you and your cider yeast...
The two commercially available ciders that I have used with great success are:
1. Musselman’s Apple Cider- A nice sweet cider with lots of solids. Sold in a plastic one gallon jug. It was $3.48/gal at the WalMart here in Rogers, AR, Nov -2010.
2.Whole Foods 365 Organic Apple Juice - Labeled as apple juice, not cider, but this is still a wonderful base for cider. It has many more suspended solids, so it does not yield quite as clear an end product. If you would like to go organic, this is an excellent choice. $6.49 at Whole Foods Denver Summer 2009. This juice will yield a cloudy cider, no matter what you do, because of the pectin haze that is formed when they pasteurize it. Oh well, it still tastes just fine.”
Gonna be doing my first brewing, cider, when it gets cooler.