Tricks of the trade

Good afternoon. Firstly can I appologies for my pure ignorance because I'm wanting to get into brewing cider at home but have no idea what I'm doing other than the basics. I have ordered a couple of books to get me started but this seems like the best place for me to come along to and just ask : anything that I should know before diving in? I know the books will help but is there anything you think would be good to know that may not be in the books or just from your personal experience of things you wish you had known when you started off?

All advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Expect things to not go as planned and still turn out fine.

You'll be tempted to obsess over minor issues (real or perceived) and/or freak abut about little issues (e.g. OG/SG off by a couple of points). Don't give in to the temptations. More than likely, if your doing a lot of reading on this forum, things will work out.

That, and sanitize the hell out of everything. If you think you're being too aggressive with the sanitization, you're not.

My advice is to start simple. There are an incredible number of different ways to make cider. Think about how you want your cider to be...still or sparkling, dry or sweet, spiced or not...those are starting points. Find a good simple recipe and get yourself some of the best, freshest cider you can find. Go for it.

The other thing I'll tell you is this...don't try to cool a carboy of hot pasteurized cider by setting it on a pile of snow

Ferment your cider in a cool area <70F. Don't do it at room temp even if the yeast you're using suggests higher temps.

Also try out a few different to see what you prefer, I still like my store bought juice cider better then the unfiltered juice(cider). But it's always a matter of your own taste.

Get yourself a hydrometer. It's one of the most important tools you'll need

-Kingboomer

Thanks alot guys. I think I'm just nervous about my first batch but from what I've seen on here I should just jump right in and learn from my mistakes.

One question I have is can anyone give me a very simple one line explaination of how to make a cider sweet/dry, still/sparkling and most of all (I know it'll be in the books) what exactly is back sweetening?

Sorry for all the ignorant questions but thanks alot for the advice!

ziggy203 said:

Thanks alot guys. I think I'm just nervous about my first batch but from what I've seen on here I should just jump right in and learn from my mistakes.

One question I have is can anyone give me a very simple one line explaination of how to make a cider sweet/dry, still/sparkling and most of all (I know it'll be in the books) what exactly is back sweetening?

Sorry for all the ignorant questions but thanks alot for the advice!

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I am new to this hobby as well, so I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong....but to reiterate, if you want to get into the questions you are asking, the hydrometer is an invaluable tool.

To that end: Whether your cider is sweet or dry will mostly depend on the final gravity, or, how much sugar has been converted to alcohol. If most of the sugar has been converted, it will be drier, if less has been converted, it will be sweeter. The ways to stop the yeast where you want it are to let it ferment out to a final gravity (FG) of about .980. If you bottle it then, it will be still and dry because there is nothing left for the yeast to eat and poop.

If say you bottle it at 1.005 and let it finish in a room temp spot, it will keep fermenting. The bubbles can't escape through an airlock and gets forces back into the cider so it will be dry and sparking.

If you like it sweeter and still, say 1.020 you can put it in the fridge and the yeast will rest. Be careful though because if it warms up the yeast will wake up and you could have little bottle bombs.

If you want sweeter and sparking, you can bottle it, but put some in a small plastic bottle (like a club soda bottle) when the club soda bottle gets firm you either put it in the fridge (see prior warning) or pasteurize it (see sticky thread)

Back sweetening is when you let the sugars become exhausted, and then add a sweetener like frozen apple juice concentrate or splenda. The AJC will give the yeast more sugars so you either have to refrigerate it after or kill off the yeast through pasteurization. Something like splenda, the yeast can't eat.

Those all pretty well cover it, if you backsweeten with a non ferment able sugar like Splenda, zyletol or lactose you won't have to stabilize ( kill off yeast) before sweetening. Read the sticky thread on bottle paturization it's really good. I tend to use an ale yeast like Nottingham for my ciders, I let them ferment dry and then add some sugar (a measured amount) to bottle carb. I find the ale yeast leaves a small amount of residue sweetness, just the right amount as I don't like sweet ciders.

Agent, let me ask you a question...how do you know what the measured amount is to bottle carb?

It's day two and this is what I woke up to. Is that normal?

Foam early on in the fermentation is pretty normal, it should subside in a couple of days.

Day three. Got about a bubble a second, is that too fast or fairly normal? How long would you suggest leaving it to ferment before bottling? Then how long before I can try it?

Should I do any secondary fermentation ect and how do I do it?

I have been waiting about a week to 10 days and then put it in the secondary fermenter. From what I have read, this helps cut down on 'off flavors'. It also seems to slow the fermentation a bit. After that, it stays in the secondary another week or 2. I am trying the method I described before...I let the SG get down to 1.022 and bottled it. I put some in a plastic bottle and will monitor firmness as to when I pasteurize it or chill it.

1oz of dextrose/sugar per gallon is medium carbonation

Just a note you will want to top up your bottle to the neck in secondary to reduce likelihood of oxidization, also I leave mine in secondary until it clears, there is no need to rush unless you want cloudy cider, allow the particles to drop, and if the sediment gets to like half to three quarters of an inch rack again, you won't be sorry, you will get a nice clear cider. As for topping off, you could use some apple juice, or some more cider if you have some.

If you are bottling it before fermentation is stopped don't add any ferment able sugar to it, you could get bombs, only add priming sugar to a fermentation that is done. Sorry I just reread your last posts about bottling it when your sg gets to 1.022

agent44 said:

If you are bottling it before fermentation is stopped don't add any ferment able sugar to it, you could get bombs, only add priming sugar to a fermentation that is done. Sorry I just reread your last posts about bottling it when your sg gets to 1.022

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Yes!

Get some walmart or tree top cider (cheapest), some sugar, and yeast and watch the beasts go to work.

Yeah my best ciders were made with plain ol great value juice from walmart lol