noob cider and keg questions

Heya! Thanks for being here....

I'm gonna try basic hard cider.... yeast and sugar in a jug of retail juice with a ballon. Reading here I've learned that at best it won't have much apple taste and could easily be undrinkable. I also (now) know it won't be very good at all for some months.
Reading here I found the thread on Graff and have quickly decided to give this stuff a good try. I'm gonna research a couple of local suppliers to learn what's available to me and what it will cost.

But my first questions for you experienced folks...
I'm ok with the process... Primary to Secondary.... to bottle or keg. For myself, one of the Heineken baby kegs -
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=&t=21461
would be simplest and most ideal for my limited resources.

For my secondary stage, can I siphon from (5-6 gallon) carboy to the original gallon jugs the cider came in? (cleaned and sanitized!!) And from those 1 gallon jugs, one at a time siphon them off into the small keg?

Can I sugar for carbonization the single batches in the keg? What are the factors which limit the oppurtunity to carbonize with sugar and the brews residual yeast? Are these kegs actually sturdy enough to hold that natural pressure?

Cold Crash to halt fermentation- This is probably a more advanced question than I need to worry about now, but ...
Anticipating I want a sweeter beverage, can I by monitoring my numbers anticipate that I have a comfortable alchohol level and cold crash the fermenting brew, halting the process and preserving natural sugars for a sweeter beverage?


Thanks in advance for your input. I promise to keep ya'll posted on how this all goes down. I did start a blog here... it will be usefull to me in chronicling my efforts. Hopefully someone else will later find it usefull or entertaining.

I have been wondering myself if the minikegs could hold enough pressure to carbonate a beer. I could fit 4 of them into my mini fridge and would love to find a way to put a tap on one. Four taps ran off a paintball CO2 tank that can easily and cheaply be swapped out? Im game.

Buktwild said:

Reading here I've learned that at best it won't have much apple taste and could easily be undrinkable.

Click to expand...

Flavors change in fermented beverages. Read some tasting notes on fine red wines. You'll see descriptors like cherry, plum, fig, tobacco, etc. When's the last time you read one that said "tastes just like fresh grapes"?

GinKings said:

Flavors change in fermented beverages. Read some tasting notes on fine red wines. You'll see descriptors like cherry, plum, fig, tobacco, etc. When's the last time you read one that said "tastes just like fresh grapes"?

Click to expand...

I've had commercial Hard Cider and it tastes like cider, not wine.
I have read remarks that the applewein does taste like wine and that is not what I want. I may try it later, maybe to get a potable white wine but for now I'm staying with cider flavor as my target.

Just in the short time since I posted my remarks, I've read a lot more and now realize that applewein is not what I'm creating; if for no other reason I won't be using a wine or champagne yeast. I'll be very happy if my brew comes out more sweet than dry.

I wasn't trying to compare the taste of cider and wine. I was just trying to say that you shouldn't expect hard cider to taste like an apple. The flavor changes when it's fermented.