Day 2 (Batches 1 and 2)

Batch 2 was still coming along slowly, so I shook it a little to redistribute the yeast accumulating at the top of the bottle. This seemed to work well and it is now chugging away in the fermentation process.

(Here's a picture of the "gurgling action at work!).

Day 1 (Fermentation) (Batches 1 and 2)

Things are coming along nicely.

The smaller Batch 1 has a one day head start, but also seems to be fermenting at a much quicker rate. I am curious if this has to do with its smaller size or because the ingredients (especially the sugar and yeast) got a "head start" with the warmth of the juices left over after I heated it up).

Either way, Batch 2 (while still progressing) is much slower (as you might recall I only pre-heated a small portion of this batch).

Batch 2 is also showing some "rookie mistakes."


As you can see, some of the yeast got caught on the side of the bottle head (I was cutting corners and didn't use a funnel when adding the ingredients).






You can also see some of the yeast residue on the side of the bottle when I was transporting it.






These two mistakes aren't major, but the both slow down the fermentation process and result in me having more to clean when it is time to clean these things out.

Batch 2

With Batch 1 fermenting away, I decided to start Batch 2.

It was going to be the exact same as Batch 1 with the key difference being doubling the recipe -- making 9 Liters (approx. 2 gallons) instead of 4.5 Liters (approx. 1 gallon).

I did do a couple things differently.

1) I didn't heat the juice this time. I heated a small portion of it to dissolve all sugar, etc., but for the most part I simply transferred everything directly from the Whole Foods containers.

2) I used exactly 2 pounds of sugar.

First Batch

The first thing that amazed me about getting back into making hard cider was the deluge of information available on the internet. There are recipes, chat boards and even videos regarding the apple cider making process.

Of course, like all aspects of the internet, there is the fundamental problem: separating the wheat from the chaff.

Let's call a spade a spade, 95% of what you find on the internet is complete and utter garbage. Not only is it useless, but often manipulative garbage with the author trying to get you to do something (e.g., send in your e-mail address) or buy something.

There are a few exceptions (i.e., that 5%), but it really stinks you have to wade through so much waste before you find these rare gems.

Which brings us to our first problem -- where do we find a recipe for hard apple cider? There are literally hundreds of them on the internet. Each of them telling you to do different things and to use different ingredients.

Unfortunately, I have resigned myself to trial and error.

Which brings us to the the inaugural batch of cider.

Again, with thousands (probably the more accurate term is "tens of thousands") of recipes to choose from, it all comes down to luck. I chose my first recipe from this website: http://www.recipezaar.com/Hard-Apple-Cider-2714

It was one of the few websites that listed not only the ingredients conscisely but also the brewing practice (other sites spent literally four pages describing everything -- far too detailed for my taste).

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 liters fresh apple juice (no preservatives)
• 1/2-1 lb sugar (not more than 2 lbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme powder
• 1 teaspoon acid blend
• 1/4 teaspoon grape tannin
• 1/2 teaspoon yeast energizer
• 2 campden tablets
• 1 packet all purpose wine yeast

Directions

1. crush and dissolve campden tablets in a cup of warm water and mix well with the FRESH apple juice in your primary fermenter.

2. Let stand over-night. Mix in all other ingredients except yeast making sure everything is dissolved, then sprinkle yeast over top of juice and cover with plastic sheet and ferment 3 to 5 days.

3. Rack (siphon) into secondary fermenter and attach air lock.

4. Rack again in 3 weeks.

5. When all fermentation is finished, rack into a clean vessel and add 2 oz of white sugar and gently stir well.

6. (I usually put the sugar into a bit of water and dissolve it first by boiling it in the microwave) When sugar is well mixed, bottle and age 3 months.

7. This will give you a crisp, carbonated hard cider.

8. * the more sugar you add, the more alcohol you will get, but the longer it will take to ferment. I would recommend from 1/2 to 1 pound per gal/4.5 l and not more than 2 lbs.

Personal variations

Juice

For juice, I cheated. No apple presses yet. So I went to Whole Foods and bough a gallon of their pasteurized cider (with no preservatives of course -- which is absolutely key for hard cider brewing). While convenience is the upside, the downside is that the coventional wisdom is that this kind of juice makes the worst apple cider.

Campden tablets

I opted out of the campden tablets. Why? Not sure really. I have read mixed review about them. They kill the various nasties that could be lurking in the juices, but they also kill everything else. And there could be some good natural yeasts in there that can improve the flavor of the cider. It's a risk, of course. But I was curious to give it a go. (I also didn't like the big old "skull and crossbones" on the bottle. Not that I think this stuff can kill you -- especially when diluted with a couple gallons of cider, but there was a certain allure to making this as "organic" as possible and chemical-free).

Yeast

I was originally going to use champagne yeast, but at the brewing store I was convinced that I should use wine yeast (as the instructions above suggest). I opted for the Red Star brand.

Sugar

I eyedball this (which I am now regretting). I used approximately 3/4 of a pound of sugar.

Heating

Especially because I opted out of the camden tablets, I decided to pre-heat the juice before adding all the ingredients. I did this for two reasons. First of all, I wanted to kill some of the bacteria if possible. Second, I wanted to heat the juice so all the ingredients (sugar, etc.) would dissolve easier. The downside is of course the time issue. Not only do you have to wait to heat everything up, but you also have to wait for everything to cool down before you add the yeast (if you add the yeast and its too hot, you can kill it). There is also the risk that you "overcook" the juice -- which you should never let come to boil (the risk is that the pectins will burn discoloring your cider and adjusting the flavor). Unfortunatley, I am a little afraid I let this batch get a little too hot.

Genesis

I have wanted to make hard apple cider for years.

The home-brew fad (along with the micro brew fad) never appealed to me. It might have been a case where too many people were getting involved in it -- with every other man in the country (whether he be barber or high-risk investment banker) with a home brew stash somewhere in his basement.

I thought ciders represented something different -- something unique.

And unlike the barley, oats, etc. needed to make beer -- the key ingredients for cider were literally all around me. I had not one -- but two different apple trees growing up in my yard as a boy. And one is hard-pressed to drive through any American suburb without coming across at least one form of apple trees.

Hell -- they are even in the cities. Just look around, and you will see them.

Cider was the answer to a problem that combined boredom and restlessness with an artistic fervor.

But life got in the way . . . . .

Between work, school, and simple "growing up" there was simply no time for the often laborious task of making cider. Not that is a "back-breaking" task -- but the rest of my life was. After a hard day of work or school, the idea of sterilizing, bottling, and racking had no interest for me.

Space was also a key issue -- living in student dorms, group houses, and one bedroom studio apartments there was little room to store several multi-gallon carboys necessary for the brewing process.

And then there was boyhood attention spans. Let's face it when you are a young 20 something, there are dozen of more fun things to do on the weekend then grind apples, collect juice, and ferment alcohol. I could be out with friends drinking real beer and real cider, or scrubbing giant glass bottles with bleach and water. Of course, I chose the former.

But that has all changed.

I basically became an adult. Suddenly I had a house with a basement, and suddenly my Friday and Saturday nights were free. For the first time, in a long time I had free time to do things outside of school and work. I had time for hobbies.

Thus, in this very late stage, I decided to return to ciders. As a hobby for a man who now (and only now) has time for hobbies.

This blog maps the journey -- which I hope will not only be fun and rewarding, but also educational (not just for me), but for the reader as well.