Recent content by dcrookston

These aren't all related specifically to homebrewing, but they're all either alcohol-related, or touch on alcohol and brewing occasionally. Written: just /r/homebrewing on Reddit YouTube channels: * How to Drink * Tasting History * Still It * The Thought Emporium (mostly this is just...

I didn't, no. I ended up going to Carlson in person and buying ten gallons straight from their giant tank. It all fermented nicely and is currently aging in a used whisky barrel in my basement :rockin:

I'm buying raw pressed cider. Carlson Orchards is fine, the juice is delicious for drinking straight, but it doesn't make the best cider ever. I just spoke to them on the phone and they specifically said that they don't provide (and have no intention of providing) any cider made from specific...

So I make cider in the fall, and I'm looking for a good local orchard that will provide juice made primarily from bittersweet or bittersharp apples. I've been going to Carlson Orchards (http://www.carlsonorchards.com/) who provides a good blend of juice from several orchards, but doesn't really...

I live in Boston and I've been getting my juice from these guys: http://www.carlsonorchards.com/ I haven't had a lot of success despite my best efforts, so in the tradition of lazy bastards everywhere I'm blaming my juice source rather than my own process :cross: Has anyone had experience...

I've decided that I'm going to name my ciders after significant events in my life. One of them is going to be called A&A, after two girls I know named Alicia and Amanda. (The label will be reminiscent of the A&W label, with the cream / brown half-circles - appropriate because Alicia is blonde...

Last December I brewed a cider and bottled it after "a few days" of fermentation (that's as specific as my notes go - this was only my second batch, give me a break) while it was still going strong. I tried to avoid getting the lees in my carboy into the bottle, but now that I'm opening them to...

If you mean it wasn't done fermenting when I bottled it, you are correct and it was on purpose. I was trying to create a sweet, sparkling cider by bottling it while fermentation was still "quite active", waiting a brief period of time (8 hours in this case), and then pasteurizing to stop...

I didn't do any gravity readings. I just let it ferment out (straight apple cider, Red Star champagne yeast, 1tsp nutrient) then racked to secondary for a week, then bottled. I suppose since I am now apparently serious about this, I should by one of those things-you-read-gravity-with and learn...

So I bottled my first cider about a month ago. Decided to open one on Christmas to see how it's doing. It's basically colored JP8 at this point. If I pasteurized them, will they continue to develop in the bottle? Or are they going to stay that way forever, now?

I figured there would be a lot of headspace at the top of the carboy, and I didn't want to have oxygen sitting in there to potentially turn my cider into vinegar. So I thought, what the hell - add some more sugar, they'll ferment it and the CO2 will drive out the O2 - plus I'll have a prettier...

Yet Another Did I Ruin My Cider Thread ;) So last night I moved my cider from primary to secondary. Prior to using any of the equipment I let it sit in star-san for a bit over two minutes, then took it out and set it in the (just finished running) dishwasher to let it drip dry. Well... I...

I live in Somerville. I've got my first (non-hobo) batch going in the basement right now. Should be interesting to see how it turns out...

I am so new to this that I'm not just wet behind the ears, I'm positively soaking. I didn't fall off the apple cart yesterday - I'm still bumping along the road going "OW OW OW OW OW!" In the basement right now I've got one gallon of cider that's been fermenting with a champagne yeast + some...