First Cider from Scratch.

Hello everyone!

I've been browsing through this forum for the last week or so and I have just decided to actually join and hope to get some information first hand and post a few pics of my results etc for the sheer banter

I'm in the process of making a Cider!

I've pressed the apples myself as I have my own we small orchard of perhaps 12 trees.

I've decided to call it quits at 9 gallons lol.

one of these gallons is in a demijohn with nothing added to it whats-so-ever just straight from the press and into it, air locked and put away.

The other 8 gallons are in fermentation bins (5 gallons in 1, 3 gallons in the other)

For the 5 gallon bin i decided to use 4 gallons of red eating apples (very sweet) with 1 gallon of green apples (quite bitter)

for the 3 gallon one i have used roughly 2 gallons bitter, with 1 gallon sweet.

i have added 5 campden tablets to the 5 gallon drum, and 3 campden to the 3 gallon drum.

i have waited the 24hours (roughly 28/9 now) and im ready to add the yeast. The yeast im using is youngs super wine yeast compound. 60g's in total (not sure to use it all or not yet?)

The questions i would like to ask at the moment are...

How much yeast should i add to each drum?

and

Should i add sugar to these or not? and if so, how much?

Yeast Calculator - http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html

About the sugar addition, it's wise to have the starting sugar gravity (you'll need a hydrometer/saccharometer) somewhere around 1055-1060. So add sugar in small amounts and do consequent several readings until you're there.

You can check the potential ABV % (alcohol by volume) with this http://www.rooftopbrew.net/abv.php and this http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/, so you can have an idea on how much sugar to add, depending on your preference.

I hope this helps.

Good luck !

thing is i dont have a hydrometer... well i did for like a day and i was a careless plank and smashed it within 2 seconds of laying my hands on it. dont suppose there is an 'old school' method for testing this?

None that I know of. You can buy them online, some cheap, depends where you do your shopping. Search ebay and homebrewing shops.

could i just take a chance and activate the yeast and throw it in with a bit of sugar and just keep an eye on it?

yep, you just won't have a guage to know your final ABV. You really want an ABV of 5% or higher to keep from spoilage as it ages. I've found that most of my ciders from pressed dessert and cooking apples tend to have an SG around 1.045 +/-0.005. If you assumed a low end of 1.040, you could use that to guide the amount of fermentable sugar you want to add to get yourself to 1.055...however, it won't be exact AND you won't be able to tell what your final gravity is when you are done to ensure that you have fermented completely.

So...here is my suggestion (barring you actually getting another hydrometer), don't move your cider into secondary. That way you always have that CO2 layer protecting it before you bottle. Then, after you have bottled or during bottling, pasteurize, refrigerate and don't let it age more than a couple months. Also, always check for any funk in the bottles before pouring and drinking...it really is a safety hazard with cider to keep it more than a few weeks with a low ABV.

what if i was aiming for a fairly high ABV? say... 8-10%?

The wine yeast should be good up to 16, maybe even 18% ABV. You'll want to check the website to see what it's tolerance is.

I have been using Lalvin EC-1118. I switched off Fleischmann's because I have a real nice brewing shop nearby. I wanted Pasteur Champagne yeast but they were out, but from what people tell me, the Lalvin works great. It's VERY vigorous with yeast nutrient. I'd recommend Brew and Grow if you do not have a shop nearby, they have all the necessities like hydrometers. I think I paid like 5-6$ USD for one. Very handy gadgets.

Good luck!

yeah i must get a new one. hard to believe i was so careless with it. i was just exhuasted from crushing and pressing all the apples i didnt think to take care with it.

well i added the yeast there about 4-8 hours ago... its just started to bubble. i added about say half a pound of sugar to the demijohn... would that be about right? im kinda tryin to see what its like with less added sugar and more natural sugars? (wish had the hydrometer!)

d0nni,

The nice thing about cider is that it takes such a short time to make. If you make a bad batch it isn't like you were spending months and months and lost of money. A half pound into a demijohn will keep the yeast going fine. I'd recommend a nutrient to keep it going longer, organic natural raisins work well. Mash them into a sludge water and pour some into your juice before you cap it and airlock it. If you put get a few raisins in it doesnt matter, they all come out in the end. If they haven't been mashed to bits, they come out re-hydrated and yeasty!

My ciders are usually 7-10 day affairs. I am going to run 2 weeks with the carboy I have. 4 days later, the airlock is still popping about once every 1.25 seconds.

yeah my demijohn has been bubbling away now for 4 days, it was very active for a day or 2 bubbling once every half a second or so, its slowed down to once every maybe 10 seconds.

My 5 gallon batch just started being very active today. it was bubbling away once every minute or so (intense strong bubbles each time) but now its roughly every 10 seconds so everything is lookin good.

I have another drum of 3 gallons in it, it was the one i was most concerned about, but it appears to have started fermenting today, and will probably get going properly within the next day or 2.

I had intended on letting them ferment for roughly 2 weeks - a month then let it sit and settle for another month. once settled i was going to start bottling and letting them sit and hopefully ferment a we touch in the bottle to add fizz. but i was going to get some to fizz and some to be still just to see which i prefer. ill add a few pics in my next post.

here's the pics ive taken so far of my cider

one thing id like ask is... once finished and im drinking this... does it 'skitter the ass outta ya' as we would so elegantly put over here in ireland lol

Also, I have been checking out the EdWort recipe, which lists many different methods I didn't know about. Just type in "EDwort Cider" or edwort apfelwein, you'll find it.

I made a batch of cider (only a half gallon roughly) 2 weeks ago and after a week of fermenting and then freezing for 36 hours, I got some pretty powerful stuff. I didn't have a hydrometer then, but when in doubt, just freeze it out. It clears nicely!

d0nni said:

one thing id like ask is... once finished and im drinking this... does it 'skitter the ass outta ya' as we would so elegantly put over here in ireland lol

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You will be potted, pissed, gone, a good crack.

all of the batches are now fermenting which im very happy about cant wait to get a few bottles into me. im aware it isnt going to taste like magners or anything but im quite curious to how its going to taste. my friend made one last year and said it was quite stinkin? im hoping that was just because of the types of apples he used.

It could also be Camden tabs still letting off, if he used them. I've found that using them adds a few weeks to my secondary to finish out before bottling.

d0nni said:

all of the batches are now fermenting which im very happy about cant wait to get a few bottles into me. im aware it isnt going to taste like magners or anything but im quite curious to how its going to taste. my friend made one last year and said it was quite stinkin? im hoping that was just because of the types of apples he used.

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It might be from pesticides? I've heard of apples treated with suflites will have a stinky smell. The eggy smell would more of a bromide reaction, but I can't see why that would occur.

I'd say just let it age out and it should go away.

I can't find Magner's out here, but my cider is very drinkable. Very dry, but I added a spoon of sugar to even it out. I have had 2 24 oz mugs this evening and I am getting there nice and easy Not sure what the ABV is because I didn't take a reading. The 2 carboys are sitting for long term purposes, they should be knockouts when finished.

ok, i aint posted here for quite some time. ive just bottled my first cider and obviously tasted the balls outta it while doing so, and i must say it tastes rather good. during the racking stages i added cinnamon and nutmeg to it, along with roughly 750g of xylitol sugar to sweeten it (5gallons), as it was really dry, not what my palate or family would drink. so anyway. i just bottled it tonight and here is the finished produce. very proud of this we achievement, and was glad i waited it out. ive added some sugar to the bottles to get some fizz, but it still tastes fantastic flat. much thanks for all the advice throughout. and CHEERS

Also my brother wanted to be involved in some way, as he would have helped only hes in uni over seas, so thats his colourful mug on the bottle!