frascati
Member
I found a 5 gal plastic bottled water deliver carboy at a garage sale for a buck. It was flawless and perfectly clean. It triggered a dormant interest in some sort of brewing.
I wanted to start as simple and as rock bottom cheap as I could. The less expensive the first cup turns out to be, the more satisfied I will be with my accomplishment.
I researched recipes and just went with the simplest.
4.5 gallons reconstituted Meijer's brand apple juice. Only vitamin C added.
5 cups sugar.
1 packet champagne yeast.
1 rubber stopper and plastic bubbler trap.
The interior was spotless so I just rinsed well. Threw in two cups of pharmacy H202 and two cups tap water, swished really well, drained well.
Sanitized bubbler and stopper with H202. Drained. No rinse.
Added apple concentrate. Heated three gallons of tap water to 170F and filled carboy. Added sugar. Waited till temp dropped to 110F and pitched dry yeast. Swirled well to mix. Stoppered with bubbler.
Put in 70 degree basement.
Next morning it was bubbling away contentedly. So far so good.
Any strong objections to the novice approach so far?
I have no bottling equipment yet. As I said... just philosophically I'm hoping for some small success and coming in under the cost of bottled cider at the liquor store. I realize that If I go further with this hobby then the "sunk" capital initial investments in better equipment and ingredients will pay off. I just won't have any fun if my mediocre first attempts cost three times the price of store bought.
I'll taste "farmhouse" style when it's done. But I think I'd like it chilled and lightly carbonated.
So.... I'm anticipating going through about a couple cases of Molson Golden (best cheap beer to my taste and friends will make sure that the job of emptying them gets accomplished on time) with screw off caps. I'll sterilize the bottles and caps and then fill them for carbonation. Reusing screw off caps ought to be ok, no?
Remember... cheap and effective. Can the sugar used for carbonation stater come in the form of pear juice? And can I expect this to give it any extra flavor and sweetness? You can't add extra sugar for more sweetness (beyond what is added for carbonation alone) since the bottles will just blow up,,,, right?
How can I end up with a somewhat sweet final product or is it necessary to make that judgment before starting the whole process?
Thanks very much. Hope this isn't an inappropriate first post. I have read quite a bit before I got started. But the above questions don't seem to be directly answered in the information I found so far.
I wanted to start as simple and as rock bottom cheap as I could. The less expensive the first cup turns out to be, the more satisfied I will be with my accomplishment.
I researched recipes and just went with the simplest.
4.5 gallons reconstituted Meijer's brand apple juice. Only vitamin C added.
5 cups sugar.
1 packet champagne yeast.
1 rubber stopper and plastic bubbler trap.
The interior was spotless so I just rinsed well. Threw in two cups of pharmacy H202 and two cups tap water, swished really well, drained well.
Sanitized bubbler and stopper with H202. Drained. No rinse.
Added apple concentrate. Heated three gallons of tap water to 170F and filled carboy. Added sugar. Waited till temp dropped to 110F and pitched dry yeast. Swirled well to mix. Stoppered with bubbler.
Put in 70 degree basement.
Next morning it was bubbling away contentedly. So far so good.
Any strong objections to the novice approach so far?
I have no bottling equipment yet. As I said... just philosophically I'm hoping for some small success and coming in under the cost of bottled cider at the liquor store. I realize that If I go further with this hobby then the "sunk" capital initial investments in better equipment and ingredients will pay off. I just won't have any fun if my mediocre first attempts cost three times the price of store bought.
I'll taste "farmhouse" style when it's done. But I think I'd like it chilled and lightly carbonated.
So.... I'm anticipating going through about a couple cases of Molson Golden (best cheap beer to my taste and friends will make sure that the job of emptying them gets accomplished on time) with screw off caps. I'll sterilize the bottles and caps and then fill them for carbonation. Reusing screw off caps ought to be ok, no?
Remember... cheap and effective. Can the sugar used for carbonation stater come in the form of pear juice? And can I expect this to give it any extra flavor and sweetness? You can't add extra sugar for more sweetness (beyond what is added for carbonation alone) since the bottles will just blow up,,,, right?
How can I end up with a somewhat sweet final product or is it necessary to make that judgment before starting the whole process?
Thanks very much. Hope this isn't an inappropriate first post. I have read quite a bit before I got started. But the above questions don't seem to be directly answered in the information I found so far.