Equipment Needed

I'm looking for the basic equipment to make cider (but not too basic). I am curious do you use a lot of similar equipment for beer & cider? I'm under the impression this is some (if not all) of what I need. Please correct me if I'm wrong/add to it if I need more:

5 gal. of Cider
Yeast
A 5-6 Gal Stainless Steel Pot
'' '' '' '' '' Carboy
Airlock
Bottles (Can I use Wine bottles?)
Bottle Capper
Sanitizer
Syphon tube w/Syphon wand to fill bottle
Decent temperature/Time

Anything I'm missing or wrong about? (I've heard hydrometers and the like are a nice 'add on' but are not necessary.)

Thank you for your time.

Steve

You'll probably want a bottling bucket- a 5-6 gallon bucket with a spigot on it that you rack your cider/beer to before bottling. You could get by without it, but it will make your life a lot easier, and is not a big expense.

That's pretty much the basic list if you want to ferment and store your cider. Wine bottles are fine if you plan on leaving it flat. I am making one of my batches flat this year to see if I like carbonated or flat cider better. Actually if you are making cider, you don't need a pot. You just put the cider in the carboy, add yeast (if you want to) and let it rip

Thanks for the info. I will search out a carboy (we have a LHBS but I have yet to go) and get it and the cider/yeast and go to town. What's the difference in taste between flat and carbonated cider?

Still or 'flat' cider is not carbonated, ie, there are no bubbles in it - kinda' like tap water, where carbonated cider is, well, carbonated - you know, like soda pop is .....

So the taste is the same? I'm confused.

If you pick up a wine starter kit, you'll have everything you need for cider. Primary bucket, secondary, siphon, hydrometer, corker, etc. The only other thing you would need are the ingredients (cider & yeast) and some wine bottles.

Check out:

this link, it's the starter that I got. It's pretty complete, and it's cheaper than others I've seen on line.

Yes, it's the same equipment that you use to ferment anything. The only thing eles you need for beer is a pot and possibly a wort chiller.

anlgp said:

So the taste is the same? I'm confused.

Click to expand...

No.

Carbonation does a few major things. One is that it acts as a vehicle to basically transport the aroma of the beverage into your nose. This can often have a stunning effect on how you are perceiving the beverage, because after all the sense of smell and the sense of taste are intertwined.

Secondly CO2 is acidic. So it will increase the sourness of your beer. Although it may not be the difference between say tasting vinegar and tasting orange juice (in contrast) it will add (or possibly) subtract to/from the experience. In part this is why Hefe's are particularly refreshing in the summer months. Acidic foods and beverages help give the perception of thirst quenching (remember that thirst quencher gum?).

Thirdly, CO2 will 'lighten' the beverage on the mouth as the bubbles pop. Additionally the CO2 has a 'scrubbing' effect on the palate, making it a much better choice for pairing with fatty foods, strong flavors, etc.

So they are quite different. Although I can't argue either case yet, as this year is the first time I have bottled some flat, I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the carbonated cider from last year. You have to see which you prefer. Traditionally it is flat. I'd say bottle half flat and half carbonated if you want to experiment.