"Brewed" my "first" cider tonight!

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TheFlyingBeer

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Well a few things to start out with, there was obviously no brewing involved and this wasn't technically my first batch. After spending half a year living and brewing in Australia I am finally back home and just started brewing again thanks to a little purchase from craigslist. While in AU I made a couple of cider batches but they were from an extract so tonight I made my first real cider batch.

Pretty simple ingredient list:
  • 5 gallons of homemade pressed apple cider (made once a year at our neighbors orchard from a different mix of apples each time)
  • Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan Weizen yeast pack
  • cup and a half of brown sugar
Here is a picture of the half gallons of apple cider and my brew buddy for the night, Murphy.

applecider1.jpg


Once I thawed all the cider out I simply added it and the brown sugar into my glass carboy and then pitched the yeast. Here is a picture of the full fermenter.
applecider2.jpg


I'm hopping I will have the time to go make more of the cider this fall so I can experiment with other recipes. I plan to let this sit in the fermenter for a good while then keg it and serve it on tap, posting any updates in this thread. All I can say is that if the finished product tastes anything like the plain cider itself, it is going to be hard to keep this drink on tap long.
 
wow that looks good man

Edit: Nice pup, I have two of those sitting next to me at work right now
 
Took a while for the yeast to kick it into gear, most likely due to the colder temperatures of the thawed cider. But this morning the fermenter was going strong bubbling away like mad.

Oh and Murphy is one of the most curious dog's I've seen... he just had to get in on the brewing activities.
 
[ot]Does he have separation anxiety like my bosses dogs? Apparently it has to do with the breed[/ot]
 
98EXL said:
[ot]Does he have separation anxiety like my bosses dogs? Apparently it has to do with the breed[/ot]

Must be with with the breed because he gets a little nippy if you come home from work then leave right again and he likes to make his rounds of the house at night to make sure everyone is still there. There are a few mixed up wires in his head (chases shadow, lights and moths) but overall he's an excellent dog.
 
I have two of the same doggies (sisters) and they are high strung as well. Great dogs though! Is that a 6.5g fermenter cuz the level looks a little low for 5g. I really need to get out to my local orchard and buy some cider to fill up some of these empty carboys!
 
billpa said:
Is that a 6.5g fermenter cuz the level looks a little low for 5g.

Yessum, 6.5 gallon. Each fall we basically fill up our upright chest freezer with this cider then take a jug out whenever it's needed. During the summer just thaw the cider a bit then give it a good shake and you have the best apple cider slushies ever. Our supply is running a bit low now and the 5 gallons took a small dent in it so I will have to wait until the next batches for any other brews.
 
billpa said:
I really need to get out to my local orchard and buy some cider to fill up some of these empty carboys!

In another month or so, you should really head to Lancaster and poke your head around Amish country for orchards and a press. If you were closer to me, I'd direct you to the local orchards and cider press.
 
zoebisch01 said:
In another month or so, you should really head to Lancaster and poke your head around Amish country for orchards and a press. If you were closer to me, I'd direct you to the local orchards and cider press.

I work in Ephrata so I can definitely do that. Have any suggestions for local places in Lancaster?
 
Lancaster is 2 hours from my house, and semi on the way to my buddies place. If you have any suggestions, let me know too, I'm interested!
 
billpa said:
I work in Ephrata so I can definitely do that. Have any suggestions for local places in Lancaster?

I wish I did, but I don't. I do know that the Amish have got to have somewhere they press the apples. :D The best thing to do would be search out some Amish veggie stands and ask around. They are usually pretty good about helping.
 
The orchard we go to is in the south western corner of the state, takes about 2 hrs to get to as well. When I am going to school back up in Grand Forks it will probably take a good 6 hrs. It's worth it for a years supply of cider though.
 
Here's an update to my cider. After nearly 13 days in the primary it is still bubbling away which has me stumped. I have never had anything actively ferment for that long, and this only had a IG of 1.052. Any thoughts or is this nothing special. Other than the long primary time it is going and smelling great, can't wait til its done.
 
I guess this can serve as a final update, placed the cider on tap last weekend and I think it is great! It is really dry and quite tart... sometimes I place a small amount of sugar in the bottom of my glass before pouring. The final gravity was around 0.995 which was also surprising. Quite potent stuff and it goes over well with the ladies as well.
 
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