First Ever Homebrew, Cider

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JayBeer

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I've been looking all over YouTube at videos on Cider, and I decided to make my first batch last night.

I used a One Gallon Jug of Organic AJ. The Jug is awesome cuz it's a friggn carboy!

I stopped at the HBS and picked up a bung and airlock and went with Champagne yeast, cuz I heard It would yield a nice dry cider.

I took out a cup of AJ and enjoyed it. The juice was sweet and had a great mouth feel. I added a cup of sugar to boost the ABV (hopefully).

I didn't take a reading of the starting gravity of the juice, or juice plus sugar, cuz i dont have a hydrometer. This is my first brew ever, so I dont have a lot of gear yet, and am kinda planing to buy as I need it. Just tryna have fun right now and see what happens.

Now, the thing Im worried about... i didnt dissolve the sugar, and boil it, just poured it in and shook violently.... i think i should have boild it first! :(:(

Pitched my yeast, and shook gently, set the bung and lock and set to staring at it for a few hrs.... haha. :drunk:

The mix started bubbling after a few hrs, gently.

overnight it's still going, but rather gently.

Howm I doin so far.... go easy... Im a virgin....:p
 
Ha, and I was thinking about it all day at work, like, "Man, I'ma get home and my Cider is gonna be all FUNKY!"

Thanks, Brew-seph!
 
it should be fine, some people just add it into the apple juice, shake it to dissolve it in. then add into primary. Other heat the juice, add sugar and as it cools stir to dissolve it in. Both are good options and you will be good.
 
I prefer to boil my sugar to sterilize/invert it, but that's a PREFERENCE not a nesessity. Your champagne yeast will give a dry cider, and its a hearty strain used to difficult conditions, but you will lose some mouthfeel. If you decide you want more 'body' try lalvins d-47 or red stars cote de blanc yeast strains. They will need a bit of nutrient to keep them happy though. Good luck!
 
You will be perfectly fine, after it ferments dry prime and bottle. Anyone that is use to commercial cider may find dry cider a touch sour, although it's one of the easiest and most delicious things to brew.
 
Thanks for the tips, guys.

Its been about a week, and I gotta say, my yeast seem to be going sloooow...
The bubbles are getting tiny few, and my air lock "glugs" about once every few seconds.

Is this normal?

Thanks again.
 
It sounds like the yeast are doing their job and are near the end of active fermentation. Activity tapers off at the end.

If I decide to let the cider clear for a few weeks, will the yeast still be active enough to carb when I bottle?

Thanks:mug:
 
Just a correction, It's been Five days since i started this, my first ever, batch of Apple Cider. Not a week.

Does this sound like normal activity for Champagne Yeast?

IDK why I feel like the fermentation should be going a little more vigorously, still.

Thanks.
 
Yeast will consume sugar at their own pace. They work faster in a warm environment.

Once the cider reaches final gravity, you can rack off to a seconcary and let it sit for months. The remaining yeast will still carb in bottles. My last batch sat for two months before bottling.

Cider gets better with time. Let it sit as long as you can stand before bottling and consuming. Waiting is easier when you build a pipeline.
 
Yeast will consume sugar at their own pace. They work faster in a warm environment.

Once the cider reaches final gravity, you can rack off to a seconcary and let it sit for months. The remaining yeast will still carb in bottles. My last batch sat for two months before bottling.

Cider gets better with time. Let it sit as long as you can stand before bottling and consuming. Waiting is easier when you build a pipeline.

I've found the longer you let it sit in the secondary the longer it takes the bottles carb.
 
I've found the longer you let it sit in the secondary the longer it takes the bottles carb.

Ditto, as well as clearer cider taking longer.

I'll add more yeast at bottling time if the cider sits for more than a couple months in secondary.

Different amounts of priming yeasts at bottling time will alter the character of the carbonation. The size, duration, and even source of the bubbles can all be controlled.
 
Ditto, as well as clearer cider taking longer.

I'll add more yeast at bottling time if the cider sits for more than a couple months in secondary.

Different amounts of priming yeasts at bottling time will alter the character of the carbonation. The size, duration, and even source of the bubbles can all be controlled.

Interesting, never tried that!
 
Lots of good Information Guys! Thanks a lot! It's still going, slowly but surely, but its going.

I just got home, gonna set my one gallon batch on the back-center of the stove top, and turn the oven on, see if i can heat her up a tad from the residual heat.

Thanks again.
 
Lots of good Information Guys! Thanks a lot! It's still going, slowly but surely, but its going.

I just got home, gonna set my one gallon batch on the back-center of the stove top, and turn the oven on, see if i can heat her up a tad from the residual heat.

Thanks again.

Now you're just getting excited, you need to distract yourself and leave it alone to do it's thing. Go get a colouring book or something.:D
 
Haha; naw I was just worried cuz we got a cold front and the old lady wont let me turn the heat up

Also heard about setting it in a bath of Luke water to keep the temp steady.

It did kick up tho
 
Getting a hydrometer and a wine thief would help loads here. You can never be too certain just by going off of bubble activity.
 
Getting a hydrometer and a wine thief would help loads here. You can never be too certain just by going off of bubble activity.

could you elaborate, I plan on getting some more equipment, and a hydrometer is the next on my list. Im gonna start a new batch here in a few days.

Thanks for the help.
 
could you elaborate, I plan on getting some more equipment, and a hydrometer is the next on my list. Im gonna start a new batch here in a few days.

Thanks for the help.

Wine theif let's you take a sample out of a demijohn without wrestling the bugger and pouring it out.
 
So today was my tenth day of fermentation. There were only the slightest tiny bubbles left coming from my cider. I racked into a clean sanitary jug and bottled one with about a teaspoonful of honey to prime. I wanted to try this one before I bottle more and I also want to see if my cider will clear out any before I bottle more. Its been about three hrs since I racked and bottled the one and there is no activity. I'm worried that my yeast are done with, pooped out. What do youthink guys? I'm worried my cider wont carb
 
I usually prime by weight of fermentables. A good rule of thumb is one ounce of sugar/honey/malt extract per gallon of brew. How much does a teaspoonful of honey weigh?
 
Well, I will see if I can scrounge up a conversion! :)

As for not having 'activity', remember that you are just priming the cider for carbination. You won't have anything noticeable for at least a week, and even then all you will 'see' is a thin layer of sediment at the bottom of your sealed bottle (this is yeast settling out after chewing up the little bit of honey you added). Keep the sealed bottle @ around 70 F for at least a week or two. By the end of that time, it should have carbed up nicely! :)
 
Well, I will see if I can scrounge up a conversion! :)

As for not having 'activity', remember that you are just priming the cider for carbination. You won't have anything noticeable for at least a week, and even then all you will 'see' is a thin layer of sediment at the bottom of your sealed bottle (this is yeast settling out after chewing up the little bit of honey you added). Keep the sealed bottle @ around 70 F for at least a week or two. By the end of that time, it should have carbed up nicely! :)

Wow, thanks a lot for the info, IDK why i was under the impression that carbing was supposed to look like fermenting? I was expecting to see bubbles coming from the bottom of my bottle, and fizz??? I guess its all the talk about bottle bombs that led me to this ass-umption :cross:

But now, i see a thin layer of sediment at the bottom of the one grolsch bottle that I bottled, and after only three days, it has cleared markedly!

Thanks again, I think i will finish out the remainder of the week clearing out my batch, then bottle all of the rest.

Might play with sugar/honey/br. sugar/concentrate, so I can find what I like best for my next batch.

:D to the brew cave!!!
 
I have a 3 gal batch sitting in wine bottles right now that was:

3gal unpasteurized local cider
1 cup dk brown sugar
1 cup lt brown sugar
1/2# local wildflower honey

It was pitched with wyeast 4766 cider yeast.

After the primary fermentation I cold crashed, and added concentrate to the secondary (this ended up fermenting some more) the 4766 can really eat through sugar. All in all. Been in for 3 months and still far from ready.
 
Long story short...if your lookin for a sweeter cider you might want to consider a British ale yeast. Also if I do it again I might substitute turbinado sugar for the lt BS to give it more depth.
 
Long story short...if your lookin for a sweeter cider you might want to consider a British ale yeast. Also if I do it again I might substitute turbinado sugar for the lt BS to give it more depth.

I will consider this. Thanks.

I was thinking that your recipe had a lot of sugar, but then, I was still thinking in one gallon-er mind set, haha!

So you cold crashed, then primed?

What is the pro/con of cold crashing first? Clarity, is what Im guessing?

Thanks for the help/info.
 
I'm sure someone with more experience can help...I was basically trying to back sweeten and failed to clear the yeast...they survived and munched through the concentrate. I now have more of an apple wine than a hard cider per se.
 
So my first batch of cider is still in the works. Ive since bottle it, and have now put a few bottles in the fridge to cold crash.

The bottles in the fridge seem to have a rather thick layer of sediment that appears gelatin like? Is this normal? I want to give it a taste, but Im afraid that the sediment will swirl about too much and that I will get some of that sediment taste?

Any Ideas of why this is? Will it settle even more?
 
So my first batch of cider is still in the works. Ive since bottle it, and have now put a few bottles in the fridge to cold crash.

The bottles in the fridge seem to have a rather thick layer of sediment that appears gelatin like? Is this normal? I want to give it a taste, but Im afraid that the sediment will swirl about too much and that I will get some of that sediment taste?

Any Ideas of why this is? Will it settle even more?

Yep, and don't forget to rise it out of the bottle after you drink it or else it's a pain to wash out.
 
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