earthboundagain
Well-Known Member
Hello All I am new to the home brewing game, so I thought I would run bye my plan of action, to make sure I am not going to totally bomb my first attempt at making alcohol.
First of all I will list what I have in the way of equipment and ingredients.
Ok the local Krogers was having a sale on 64oz jugs of Motts natural apple juice. I had to buy 8 jugs but I got them for 99 cents each. I also picked up a small kit at a local shop, which includes:
2 Gallon Bucket with Lid
1 Gallon jug & 38mm Screw Cap
5' of tubing & shut-off clamp
3 piece Airlock
Coarse Straining Bag
Easy Clean Cleanser
Sodium Campden Tablets
Active Freeze Dried Wine Yeast
Mini Auto Siphon
I will trash the yeast, since I do not know how fresh it is. I also picked up another 1 gallon jug with stopper, airlock, and a hard rubber cap. I also picked up 1 packet of Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast. I did forget to pick up a hydrometer, but I plan on picking up one soon.
Ok so here is the plan: I will start of bye sterilizing, all the equipment, which I know is a very necessary step. Once I get started I planned on doing one gallon of juice in the bucket and then a separate gallon in one of the growlers, so I have two batches going at once. I would use the second growler to rack into at secondary, and then clean the first growler to use it as the secondary for the bucket.
Back on track I was not planning on adding sugar to either batch, but going just with the plain juice and the natural sugar. Though I would like to add some organic mint leaves to one batch. I was thinking to keep them in primary for two months, and then rack them to secondary for another two months or more.So here are my specific questions:
For the batch I want to use the mint leaves in, should I add them to the primary or at secondary and how many should I use?
If I only do 1 gallon in the 2 gallon pail, while all the air space be too much for the batch?
Can I get away with doing these first two batches without taking hydrometer readings?
How long can I keep the cider in the secondary before I bottle it??
Can I use the one pack of yeast to do both batches, and how would I go about it??
Thanks in advance guys; I appreciate any help you can give. I have been reading up and watching YouTube videos for a while, but it always helps to get your questions answered. I have noticed this site is much friendlier to beginners then some I have been on before. I have been in the craft beer scene for a while, so I have been around a few forums. I have to do a few things this evening, so I wont be near the computer, but I will have the blackberry on me, so if you need more info just let me know.
First of all I will list what I have in the way of equipment and ingredients.
Ok the local Krogers was having a sale on 64oz jugs of Motts natural apple juice. I had to buy 8 jugs but I got them for 99 cents each. I also picked up a small kit at a local shop, which includes:
2 Gallon Bucket with Lid
1 Gallon jug & 38mm Screw Cap
5' of tubing & shut-off clamp
3 piece Airlock
Coarse Straining Bag
Easy Clean Cleanser
Sodium Campden Tablets
Active Freeze Dried Wine Yeast
Mini Auto Siphon
I will trash the yeast, since I do not know how fresh it is. I also picked up another 1 gallon jug with stopper, airlock, and a hard rubber cap. I also picked up 1 packet of Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast. I did forget to pick up a hydrometer, but I plan on picking up one soon.
Ok so here is the plan: I will start of bye sterilizing, all the equipment, which I know is a very necessary step. Once I get started I planned on doing one gallon of juice in the bucket and then a separate gallon in one of the growlers, so I have two batches going at once. I would use the second growler to rack into at secondary, and then clean the first growler to use it as the secondary for the bucket.
Back on track I was not planning on adding sugar to either batch, but going just with the plain juice and the natural sugar. Though I would like to add some organic mint leaves to one batch. I was thinking to keep them in primary for two months, and then rack them to secondary for another two months or more.So here are my specific questions:
For the batch I want to use the mint leaves in, should I add them to the primary or at secondary and how many should I use?
If I only do 1 gallon in the 2 gallon pail, while all the air space be too much for the batch?
Can I get away with doing these first two batches without taking hydrometer readings?
How long can I keep the cider in the secondary before I bottle it??
Can I use the one pack of yeast to do both batches, and how would I go about it??
Thanks in advance guys; I appreciate any help you can give. I have been reading up and watching YouTube videos for a while, but it always helps to get your questions answered. I have noticed this site is much friendlier to beginners then some I have been on before. I have been in the craft beer scene for a while, so I have been around a few forums. I have to do a few things this evening, so I wont be near the computer, but I will have the blackberry on me, so if you need more info just let me know.