Avid homebrewer to try hand at Cider

Hi Guys,
Let me start by saying I love to homebrew and the people on this site are the best. I have been homebrewing for a little over 2 years now and my hobby has grown into something of a beats lol. So I thought and so did a friend of mine that I should try my hand at cider. One problem I haven't clue one about making cider other than I need yeast, easy enough, and apple juice. So My questions are many. If anyone could walk me through the process and give me any suggestions I would be very grateful Thank you all again and as always Happy Brewing.

I'm sure that if you enjoy brewing that you'll love making a hard cider. The beauty of it is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. If you're interested in something simple, you can check out EdWort's Apfelwein recipe. Being an experienced brewer, you might be interested in Brandon O's Graff. There are a number of recipes that run the gambit from simple to overly complex, involving selecting specific apple varieties. It really is as easy as just pitching yeast into some apple juice with sugar. However, if you can get some fresh apples, I would recommend using fresh juice.

One important thing I should mention, that is a recurring issue on the forums, is preservatives in apple juice. Make sure that your juice does not contain preservatives. Other than that I don’t think there are any other things to worry about that I can think of…you being a brewer you should already have cleanliness and sanitation under wraps.

Thanks for the rsponse. So do I boil the juice? Do I need yeast nutrient?

don't boil the juice, nutrient is good

OK so How do I ensure that the bacteria in the juice is dead without boiling. Sorry if these seem like easy questions I just want to be sure on the process. Thanks for your help guys

I am a total newbie at brewing, but I bought Tree Top Apple Juice, pasturized. I don't think I have to worry about bacteria in there. If you use fresh squeezed juice:

If everything is ready, and you are satisfied with your SG, add 1 crushed campden tablet per gallon of wine. The campden tablet will kill off any wild yeast in your must. Must is what wine is called before it becomes wine. Put the lid with an airlock on the container; let it set for 24 hours.
After 24 hours add your cultivated yeast to the must. Let it ferment in the primary fermentor until the must SG is at 1.040 or lower. Usually this will be with in 4 to 7 days.

http://www.homebrewit.com/genwineprocedurefresh.php

You won't have to worry about bacteria. All juice that you will buy in a store will be pasturized, and if you even buy fresh pressed, most likely the orchard that sells it will still of heater or UV light pasturized it as well. You will have to "unlearn" the need to boil like you do for beer brewing. For meads and ciders, cysers I never boil anything, and only lightly heat sometimes to help with mixing. Other than that DON'T boil. Good luck
Dan

make some graff, it's what I consider a perfect tasting cider.

recipes section, cider recipes.

Brandon O said:

make some graff, it's what I consider a perfect tasting cider.

recipes section, cider recipes.

Click to expand...

+1 on graff!

wow, brandon - haven't seen you posting much lately! hope all is okay, and welcome back!