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Took my wife out for a drive for our anniversary today (Oct 16th) -- I had pulled a map of all the apple orchards in Virginia, and I was looking for anything that would have some fun activities (and hopefully bulk cider) -- we would up at Drumhellers, in Lovingston -- a nice place, small-ish...

I've been asked to do a "cider get-together" by one of the guys at work for some of the folks in the office... Anybody done anything like this? Any hints? Anything I ought to consider, etc.? They've heard me go on about my attempts, and several folks have guinea-pigged for me with early...

I've been making kefir for a while, and long ago tried grape juice kefir. It was interesting for a brew, and definately alcohol-stocked, but not worthy of being called a wine. The most interesting aspect was that I didn't know about air locks then and just capped the plastic bottle that the...

I stopped by Whole Foods Monday night and drifted by their sandwich grill, where they have a list of rotating drafts. Just in is Crispin on tap. I got a sample and in a fit of sanity bought a growler and filled it w/ 40 oz. I've been sampling every night, and every night it gets better...

Just a bit of documentation lest I lose my paper notes. Dual 1/2 gallon ciders: Basis: Motts Natural ("Fresh pressed 100%"). SG is 1.050, Total Carb 27g, sugar 27g. Cloudy. Kedem ("100% juice, no sugar", "All natural Apple Juice"). SG is 1.047, Total Carb 27g, sugar 23g. Clear...

WF has a store in Richmond now. I drop by irregularly, and always have to scan their cider collection. JKScrumpy's there, of course (I can't find it elsewhere). Talked w/ the wine/beer/cider guy and he showed me two things in the wine department: Pommeau de Normandy, by Camille L Dupont --...

In a fit of "I've got to do something", I fixed up a gallon of AJ, SA04, and added a cup of craisins. I know they add a lot of sugar, but I just needed to tinker. They've been at it for a while, and everything is burbling merrily along, but they are floating high and I wonder if they will...

I have been getting the folks at work to save their empty soda bottles for me... PET bottles, designed for pressure, 20 oz, etc. It's cheap, I know, but I am frugal. See, frugal is a better word for it, because it's nicer. :D So anyway... one topic that comes up is The Incredible Shrink...

Actually broke out the wallet this w/e and bought a bottle of JK Scrumpy's from Whole Foods. I love that stuff... not too sweet, not too dry, nice carbonation, appropriate level of adult beverosity, etc. I noticed a thin thread of rust-colored debris in the bottom and thought back to...

While looking around for bulk apple juice pricing on the web, I came across an article: A new enzyme increases juice yields by 80-90%. Wow. New enzyme promises higher yields to apple juice processors I remember reading that in the old days, they pulped the Apples and let them age for a...

OK, I am a browserholic. I can't have just one window open, and as The Fixx said, One thing leads to another... Somehow I got sided on Mead and saw a reference to Pepper Mead (or Capsicamel or popsicamel or corpsecamel... I don't know what). I didn't see any refs under Cider. Has...

So there I was, walking through the grocery store pricing brown sugar every time I went shopping, thinking that I was justifed in the expense, etc., etc. Then, while catching some Alton Brown, he says that all the BS is, is sugar w/ a coupla ounces of molasses. Sugar is white, molasses is...

I tried the "cultivate your own wild yeast, easy!" method that Green Deane (Eat the Weeds) recommended. I guess I didn't have the right organics on my apple. I posted it in a 17.5 oz bottle of Nantucket Nectar 100% Natural Apple Juice. I know, but I was excited and in a hurry and I...

I couldn't wait another week, day, hour, or minute. I had to sample of the current batch. I had about 10 oz overflow from the most recent batch I started. This was 7 days old, and the result of 1 lb of dark brown on top of a gallon of Motts, with Nottingham. I wanted there to be some...

Well, I racked off my first batch last night at home, and set it up for aging, and I started another batch using a gallon of Motts, 1 # of dark brown sugar, and Nottingham. I haven't looked at the second batch in the apartment (store-brand apple juice w/ brown sugar and Montrachet), other...

I am loving this mad-scientist experiment I'm calling "Cider". I have essentially four batches going, in my own lo-tech way... two use local orchard organic squeezins', one in a low-temp slooow fermentation chamber (refridgerator), and it's brother w/ a pound of brown sugar to sweeten it...

... or actually, just outside of DC. A newb who is interested in learning new stuff, and cider. What a match. Just reading up on cider and getting ready to try my first batches. Pouring all the knowledge into my skull has been fun. Makes for lots of questions, which further reading...

Hi folks, this is an introduction post, I guess. Been reading here for weeks, and enjoying the show and learning new stuff. I have been waiting for about a year to try making some cider based on a buddy's recipe (-- 3# of raisins for 4-5 gallons of fresh cider, un-pasturized / un-preserved...