I see that my fellow Virginian has started on kegging. I just thought I'd interject some information on starting the brewing process. Granted I have been
imbibing tonight so forgive me if I miss something. After pressing your cider:
1. Clean your fermenting bucket, hydrometer, wine thief, and cylinder (because youll be drinking out of it). Do this with either a special cleaning solution, or a mild scentless soap. I use a cleaning solution from my local home brew store which reminds me of oxy-clean. It works well and it doesnt leave an after taste.
2. Sanitize the equipment using Star San. I like it because it doesnt require very much sanitizing solution, it doesnt take very long to sanitize, I havent noticed any off odors or taste, and it can be stored and reused for later.
3. If you wish, you can boil water and rinse your tools off. This is a touchy subject with some, because you are supposed to rinse off the sanitizing solution, but many people have skipped this step because of the low concentration of cleaning solution.
4. Air dry your equipment in an area that is clean, without a fan or air conditioner blowing on it. I know this sounds funny, but I guarantee that I can find more dust and mold on your fan and air ducts than on the surface of your kitchen counter. You dont have to be overkill, just be smart.
5. Store all of your tools in a place that is safe from contamination. If you are unsure that you will be able to keep them clean, just hold off on sanitizing them until step 13.
6. Pour your unfermented cider/juice into the clean fermenting bucket or carboy. I do 5 gallon batches but I brew about 5.5-6.0 gallons, leaving some space between the brew and the top of the bucket.
7. Crush 5 campden tablets and add them to the cider. I think its better if you add it slowly while pouring the cider into the fermenting bucket. You can also mix it with boiled water, but I dont like adding extra ingredients where they are not needed.
8. At this time, I cover my bucket with the lid and use the air lock to seal the hole in the lid. While pressing down on the lid, there is always the chance that there will be a little bit of suckback where the negative pressure of the bucket sucks in liquid from the air lock. Instead of water, I use a neutral grain vodka (not potato) when filling up my air lock because if I do get suckback it will only add to the ABV and the neutral grain will not damage the flavor of the cider.
9. Let it sit for about 12 hours.
10. Add the pectic enzyme, and cover the fermenting bucket.
11. Let it sit for about 12 more hours.
12. Prepare your yeast starter if you have a dry yeast. If you have a liquid yeast, remove it from the fridge and let it sit until it is at room temperature. It is best to READ the PACKAGE for instructions! If you want to (and I recommend it) add your yeast to some yeast nutrients and yeast energizer. Use a clean and sanitized container for this! Make sure that you either cover your yeast starter if it is in a bowl, or seal it if using some sort of bottle! If you dont see much yeast activity, dont worry. Some yeast is just slow to start.
13. While your yeast is prepping, use a clean and sanitized wine thief to take some of the cider from the fermenting bucket and dump it into your cylinder. If there is any doubt that your wine thief is clean, re-clean and sanitize it!
14. Take a hydrometer reading. Make sure you spin the hydrometer to release bubbles, then look at the gradient lines measuring at the bottom of the curve in the liquid. If you cant tell where the bottom is
just guess. Again, youre making cider, and you wont get an F in science class or anything. Take the temperature of the liquid in the cylinder, and correct your readings. Your hydrometer should come with a chart.
15. WRITE DOWN THE READING.
16. Open the fermenting container, and pitch your yeast into the bucket.
17. People have countless ways of aerating their yeast, and I can tell you that there really is no wrong way of doing it. Some people just give the fermenting bucked a really good shake. Some people using a mixing spoon, and other people use an aerating stone or fish aquarium pump. It is my opinion that the more you put into your cider, the higher chance you have of introducing bacteria. Using a large spoon is just fine. I use a cooking spoon that is cleaned and sanitized. Its good to stir up the cider a bit, then slowly add some yeast, stir, add yeast, stir, etc. This way you get it mixed in really well and it introduces a lot of oxygen.
18. I know that some people dont cover their fermenting vessel, some cover it but dont air lock it
I seal the bucket completely. I seal the bucket, with the air lock. Pressing firmly around the edges a few times helps out, because most buckets come with an air-tight gasket that makes it hard for the bucket to close. Push down hard, youre making a cider, not delivering a baby. Take your palm and lightly press down on the lid in the center to make sure that some air bubbles come through the air lock. Dont do this too hard, just enough to see movement in your lock. This lets you know its working properly.
19. Be patient. You might not see activity in your air lock, but it can take a while. If theres no activity after a couple of days, then worry. Dont get out of bed in the middle of the night and sit in front of it
waiting for bubbles
20. Come back to the forums and discuss what kind of cider you would like, so while it ferments you can decide if you want to stop the fermentation short, or let it ferment out to a dry cider. Well also talk about things like sweetening it or carbonating it. As mentioned above, you can also keg it. I dont keg, so I cant help you there. I feel like Im missing something from my list so Ill probably remember it later or one of the other forum members will call it ou
