New Start with cider

Hi All I'm new to the home brew scene and I haven't really gotten that much into trying to make really good apple cider.I have really only had experence with trying to make cider from store brought juice in college and here lately with Red Star Champagne yeast and needless to say they both didn't turn out really well. I guess my aim there was to try to make a quick cider which could be consumed after a short period of time.I must say I am 25 before I continue.I would like to learn to make better batches I just don't know where to start because I don't really know where to get the equipment from to start out with.I also don't really live that close to an ochard the closest one is 25 miles away from me.Sorry for the long post but I'm eager to start making cider that really tastes better and get into the hobby a little more.

You could just add some everclear in whatever proportions you like to the store bought apple juice... that would be pretty quick... If you want to ferment it yourself, get rid of all notions of 'quick' and enjoy the process

If you want to make cider with fresh juice you need a mill and a press. I use a garden mulcher for a mill and a home made apple press. You don't need apples from an orchard to make cider, any ripe apples will do from wild or crab apples or backyard apple and pear trees. Often in areas where apples grow well they will be self seeded along the roadsides. I think freshly pressed juice is the real deal but many on this forum make good cider from storebought juice - look at the threads on edworts apfelwein.

yeah the closest orchard to me is about 25 miles away ,but the local grocery store giant Krogers who I work for carry some of the usual apples that people like .Not sure which ones would be best for cider? I would be interested in hearing what people have found to be good ones to try.

If you're looking for a quick and drinkable cider forget about pressing your own apples, I leave that for those who enjoy that part of the process... Head to Krogers and buy as much pasteurized apple juice as you would like to turn into cider, just make sure it is without any preservatives other than ascorbic acid (vitamin C). You can make some very delicious cider in a fermentation pail with some quality Hefeweizen yeast like Wyeast 3068. I chose to let mine ferment for a very long time, although I could have bottled it after 3 week, which would have been more like 2 weeks if I wasn't fermenting it below the recommended temperature. Also, I wouldn't recommend adding any extra sugar to the apple juice. Most commercially produced juices will produce a 5% ABV cider without any extras, which won't require nearly as much aging as a >7% ABV cider would before it's palatable.

The Hefeweizen yeast lends some greatly appreciated character to a cider, in the case of Wyeast 3068 banana and clove are the most pronounced. I got a lot of peanut butter from mine, but I think that this was due to the low low temperature, it went away eventually anyways.

Nottingham Ale yeast and Safale S-04 also come highly recommended. They leave some residual sugar in the beer like the Hefeweizen yeast so the cider will be drinkable sooner, although the final alcohol content would be slightly less.

catsintheworks said:

yeah the closest orchard to me is about 25 miles away ,but the local grocery store giant Krogers who I work for carry some of the usual apples that people like .Not sure which ones would be best for cider? I would be interested in hearing what people have found to be good ones to try.

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The best apples for cider are the sweetest. If you are choosing apples taste them, whatever is sweetest will have ripened the most. It doesn't matter if they are a bit overripe or bruised, apples which are picked too soon will not make good cider.

WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research & Extension Center
This is a US site about cider apples.