Day 11 (Batch 2) Racking Day

I racked Batch 2 today. I put it into the bucket below, cleaned out the carboy, and then put all the contents back in the carboy.

I used a non-food grade bucket, which is technically a "no-no." But it was literally in there for only 10 minutes. (My general rule is that if its in there less than a day, I don't really care about the plastic.).

I took a quick taste -- it was STRONG, but otherwise tasting good!

I am a little perturbed the color is still so dark, but apparently this is normal. I was also a little concerned because after 11 days it was still fermenting very heavily. (This was the batch where I put in two pounds of sugar for three gallons, so maybe this is alright).

Day 8 (Batch 1) Racking Day

I racked the first, smaller batch of cider today.

As such, this represents the first chance I had to really check things out -- and more importantly take a quick taste.

Even with only .75 pounds of sugar, I got the quick burning sensation of alcohol with my first swig. (Not 100% that is a good sign or not.).

Again, there was some rookie mistakes along the way.

First of all, I am struggling to keep everything sterile and clean. I am not rolling stuff around in the dirt or anything, but I am wondering if I am not taking enough precautions.

Second, I somehow screwed up the air-fermentation device (see picture from previous post). Some water leaked into the cider. It was clean water (I had just filled it), but it is annoys me.