My first cider experiment

I've never made cider before, but as my wife can't drink beer, I thought I'd give it a try. I have some 1 gal jugs, so a test batch was easy to do. I took three cans of concentrate and added enough water to get to 1 gallon. I'm letting it rest with some camden overnight, and I will pitch my Nottingham yeast tomorrow. I have to go away on business for a couple of months after labour day, so I'm hoping that I can have it in secondary by then. With luck, we'll be drinking it by Christmas.

You might want to leave a bit of headspace at first! Nottingham will work very hard and produce lots of krsn. I had to clean out my airlock 3 times. I have a batch going for 2 weeks now and it appears the fermentation is finished. A bit of suspended CO2 but that's it. Not clear but it could be racked. I will be testing this weekend for taste and gravity.

Anyway thought I would let you know on what timeline I have had for mine.

Sounds good. I'm going to try my first cider on friday. Definitely good advice to leave a little room so you don't get a blow off. It might be a good idea to add some sugar for a little extra kick.

I was always under the assumption that the Camden tabs were just to get rid of wild yeast on pressed apples/fresh juice, not to use with already pastuerized juice or concentrate.

BrewFrick said:

I was always under the assumption that the Camden tabs were just to get rid of wild yeast on pressed apples/fresh juice, not to use with already pastuerized juice or concentrate.

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Correct. No need for them if you are using concentrate.

BrewFrick said:

I was always under the assumption that the Camden tabs were just to get rid of wild yeast on pressed apples/fresh juice, not to use with already pastuerized juice or concentrate.

Click to expand...

That's what I initially thought too, but when I spoke to some other folks. Most recommended some camden as I intend to force carb and kill the yeast beforehand with potassium sorbate. Apparently the sorbate can leave an off taste if you don't use a sulfite with it.