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Thanks for the info. I have not made a study of the yeast's top abv, but I have been taking notice of it. I'd hoped that I could eventually produce a higher abv cider that was tasty. I like the 10% Angry Orchard "Iceman" except that it's a bit sweet for my taste and I also like a bit more...

I used four different yeasts and I can't tell quite yet if there are any that are preferable. There are some that were "yeasty" tasting even after rack'ing and after several weeks, while others were not. Problem is that I put my details in a spreadsheet and I mixed up the row numbers with the...

I'm into my 8th thru 12th gallon. I've made some that tasted pretty good, others that are not so great. Part of what has made my brew a little peculiar is having used coconut sugar. It is a bit of a noticeable flavor that competes a bit with the apple flavor. It's not that it's bad; it's just...

These are the readings I took. BATCH 1 - M02 - 12 oz date syrup "Sgrav-1.080 PABV - 11 % Sugar - 20.5 ------- 2nd reading - 8 days Sgrav - 1.000+ PABV - 0+ % Sugar -0+ ======== ABV - 11%" Batch 2 - M02 - 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar "Sgrav-1.085 PABV - 10.5 % Sugar - 20 ---- 2nd...

Thanks very much for your advice. I'd better check my notification settings as I didn't get an email for your update. I took two of the four gallons out of the frige and was going to take the other two out today...not knowing what that will cause. My thinking was that the warmth should get...

I have my first four gallons racked and in the frige. I had not read anything about head space until now, but in all four gallons I have at least 2 cups gone. I have not added campden or sorbate yet and frankly I'm just not sure what to do next. Add apple juice to about 1" from the top and...

Hi, I've got all the above racked once and in the frige, but I'm wondering if it should be back at room temperature? I'm hoping I can do that because I don't want to take up 4 gallons worth of space in the garage frige. I read that if there's a lot of head space, I might need to put some...

First two gallons were M02 Cider yeast and the bubbling slowed considerably by day 4. After reading 90 seconds between bubbles, I stopped counting and decided I'd take readings in week. 2nd two gallons use S-04 yeast and I started a day later (last Sunday). Here are the measurements, if I...

I was thinking of doing that. Always good to get the reinforcement from folks who've already been there. Thanks a bunch. I'll update with the results this Saturday.

another question... my most active batch started Saturday has slowed quite a bit on the bubbling activity I noticed this morning. It's about 20 seconds between bubbles where as it used to be several per second from the outset. Is this normal? I was expecting to wait two weeks before even...

I had not heard that xylitol takes getting used to, but it would be worth investigating. Honestly it was not a laxative affect with me. It really causes stabbing pains in my gut. I think like any food or drug it can have different effects on different people. Given it's benefit of not reacting...

I think I read something about gelatin once, but didn't pay close attention. How does it work? I like the taste of xylitol (just like sugar) but it gives me bad gas and abdominal pains in any quantity. Thanks for your input.

Ok, thanks for the tip. How do I know when it's done?

Hi, First brew - I've got four separate gallons fermenting now: 2 are MO2 and 2 are S-04 yeasts all at house temp of 74 degrees. I used 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar in two and 12 oz date syrup in the other two. fwiw; the date syrup for either yeast start up in a matter of two hours. The coconut...

I suspect 6.5 is the one that's best. I cleaned/dried off the inner bottle neck with paper towel and also the stopper, then put rubbing alcohol on both which dried quickly. That worked except for one stubborn one I had to do twice. These bungs just a little too big. thx.

Thanks. I think with all the contamination warnings, I'll plan better next time and try to do 2 to 4 at a time and split the package between them so as not to waste.

Maybe I'll do four 1 gallon ferments at a time and split a package amongst them. I hate to waste them. That is until I decide to jump up to the 5 gallon carboy stage.

Sorry; 1 gallon each. I'm doing 2 more gallons now using Safale S-04. I feel really uncoordinated doing this stuff right now because it seems nearly impossible to keep everything sterile. I spray things down with Star San, but I don't have the patience to wait til it dries. And wet or dry, I'm...

Thanks Gavin. Is that Earth Fair cider? It looks the same as what I'm using. I wondered what size stopper you use? I'm using #7, but they don't fit unless I dry off both surfaces and really squash them in. When wet, they slide up and pop off. It just seemed like the #6.5's were so much smaller...

Thank goodness I was not the only one. Amazingly easy once you know how. Thanks for asking the question.