First Time Cider Production Questions

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BobTrempe

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Everyone,
Once again, this is such a great forum.
I have just bottled my first homebrew (classic english pale ale) and find myself with an empty carboy and an itchy brewing finger. I thought I would give cider a try. I do have some questions....

I have the following ingredients:
4gl Farm Flavor Apple Juice (unsweetened no preservatives, pasturized)
10grams (2 packets) Lalvin EC-1118 dry Yeast
1lb Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
Potassium Sorbate (if needed)
Campden Tablets (if needed)

Do these ingredients sound about right? Is there anything I should add or remove?
What should I expect in terms of a time frame before being able to legitimately sample the cider?

Any suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Bob
 
BobTrempe said:
Everyone,
Once again, this is such a great forum.
I have just bottled my first homebrew (classic english pale ale) and find myself with an empty carboy and an itchy brewing finger. I thought I would give cider a try. I do have some questions....

I have the following ingredients:
4gl Farm Flavor Apple Juice (unsweetened no preservatives, pasturized)
10grams (2 packets) Lalvin EC-1118 dry Yeast
1lb Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
Potassium Sorbate (if needed)
Campden Tablets (if needed)

Do these ingredients sound about right? Is there anything I should add or remove?
What should I expect in terms of a time frame before being able to legitimately sample the cider?

Any suggestions you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Bob
Click to expand...

I dont think you relly need to PS and the CT's unless you are making Apple Wine but the Recipe looks good and the good thing about cider is that you can drink it during Fermentation whenever you want so sample away.
 
Sounds good to me. I wait several months at least before tasting my cider. Usually, in my way of doing things this means when it has fully cleared out by itself, which is a minimum of 3 months or so. I have this years cider, which was pressed in October bottled (well most of it anyhow) and it is still clearing.
 
Thanks gents for the votes of confidence and suggestions.
Do you think I need all 10grams of yeast (two packets?)
Bob
 
I think you'll only need one packet of yeast, each packet is good for up to 5 or 6 gallons. As far as the PS and Campden, if it's pastuerized apple juice from a store then you shouldn't have any problems. Really I only use those for my ciders that are made with fresh pressed cider.

As far as a (rough) time frame, give it about a month in primary (until fermentation slows), then a month or so in secondary (until clear enough to read a newspaper through), then (optional) rack again into bulk aging for 3-6 months for Malo-lactic fermentation to take place. As long as it's cleared and the SG has stopped dropping, you should be safe to bottle, but if you can wait, it only gets better with age.
 

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