Hello from Washington

Hi- I came back from a trip to BC with three gallons of hand-pressed cider in a cooler, and decided to try my hand at turning it into booze. Two weeks later, it's reading 14 percent and it's sounding like it needs to mellow for a good long time...

Making it was so much fun that I'm going to be planting an orchard next to my house this winter, and will have six apple trees producing fruit in a couple of years. So, I should be able to show up to parties with home grown, homebrewed hard cider sometime around 2011...

Welcome.

My only caution to you is Don't take too many gravity readings. I know it's fun and all, but don't be opening your fermentors and secondary just to take a sample....it's just another potential for infection. But it sounds pretty good.

Thanks!

The primary fermenter I'm using has a tap on it, so I don't need to open it to take a reading. There's no more sugar in it though (specific gravity was close to 1), so I don't see how it's going to get any stronger unless I add more...

Whats up CiderPat? Where you located?