Recent content by dacole

Thanks Fatbloke, thats what I was looking for.

I have read the re-hydration document here and the one on the Yeast Whisperer website, but I am confused about one item. Do you hold the temperature @ 104 for the 15-20 minute duration or do you put the yeast into the water @ 104 and let it rest on the counter for the 15-20 minutes to let it...

I think it would be a good thing if laws were passed to allow it, but I can see where the dangerous aspects are of the hobby of making hard alcohol and can understand that it may not be a good thing to legalize, other than freeze or evaporative distilling.

You have given me a lot to think about here. Its currently 8 degrees fahrenheit here, so maybe I should utilize the weather to make apple jack!

Cool. When you top off do you use water or more cider? You have a cold storage room to get that cold of a temperature?

Thanks CidahMastah. Do the bottle need to be in the fridge or a cold place while it ages? Do they need to be preserved or anything like that with the low alcohol content or is the bottles being sealed good enough?

I bottled it up tonight and have been drinking the stuff that didn't make it into the bottle. It tastes all right, not the greatest, but I am hoping that once its carbed it will have a more pleasent mouth feel, plus it may taste better chilled. I used Allen's Apple Juice and Coopers beer yeast...

Thanks for the reply. I do have a hydrometer so I can measure the gravity of the juice, but maybe I will try that next time. I went and bought the priming sugar so I will try that method. What do others say about the stirring? Thanks for your help CidahMastah and Calder.

Thanks for the reply. I shall try that method. Could you use a certain amount of apple juice to do this method instead of the sugar water?

Hello all, I have a 1 gallon jug of hard cider that has finished fermenting, is clear and tastes good. It has been in the primary fermenter for 1 month. I am wondering what my next steps are to get them into bottles and carbonated. Is it possible to have this all done and carbed for...

Thanks for the reply. That helped put it in perspective.

I like to work with one gallon sizes so maybe I should just try all these different techniques. There is so many ways to do things that its daunting to even try. Some guys say do this or it won't work and other guys say do it, it will work. How much of a difference do these extras make...

Thanks for the reply.

Hello, I have some questions about the primary fermentation stage since there seems to be lots of different ways to do it. 1. Is the air lock needed or is putting some cheese cloth on the top acceptable? (I have read that the initial stages of fermentation should be exposed to the air...

My basement is ~16-17 deg C and the upstairs is kept around ~20-21 deg C. The yeast I am using is 71B-1122. Here are my questions: 1. Would it be best to do the primary fermentation upstairs and move it downstairs during the bulk age? 2. Would it be exceptable to do the whole thing in...