I am getting interested in brewing my own beverages. I'm not a huge fan of beer or wine, but I love cider. This being my first venture into cider brewing, I naturally have a few quesitons.
Some people tell me cider has a very short shelf life. Anybody care to comment how long it lasts before it spoils? Would spending a bit more on the oxygen-absorbing bottle caps be a good idea if the cider is going to sit for upwards of 6-12 months?
All the recipes I find online tell me to use 5 gallons of juice with the standard packet of yeast. If the cider goes bad quickly, I'd like to keep my batches down to 2-3 gallons at a time (especially with the first few batches that I'm probably going to screw up). Should I adjust how much yeast to put in or does it not make too much of a difference?
Is the secondary fermentation period for maturation? Could this be done just as easily/safely in the bottles, or does that generally lead to cider grenades?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Some people tell me cider has a very short shelf life. Anybody care to comment how long it lasts before it spoils? Would spending a bit more on the oxygen-absorbing bottle caps be a good idea if the cider is going to sit for upwards of 6-12 months?
All the recipes I find online tell me to use 5 gallons of juice with the standard packet of yeast. If the cider goes bad quickly, I'd like to keep my batches down to 2-3 gallons at a time (especially with the first few batches that I'm probably going to screw up). Should I adjust how much yeast to put in or does it not make too much of a difference?
Is the secondary fermentation period for maturation? Could this be done just as easily/safely in the bottles, or does that generally lead to cider grenades?
Thanks in advance for the help.