Always wanted to try making hard cider. So while on a trip out of town, I stumbled upon "apple valley" in Henderson NC.
Found a place called the cider mill, near chimney rock park and bought 6 gallons. I asked before buying about any preservatives of pasteurization, and I was told they do nothing, just raw pressed cider.
I put the cold gallon containers into the fridge when I got back to the cabin rental.
Then I logged onto HBT, and found that while simple to make cider, that the devil is in the detail.
So the more I read, the more questions developed than were answered.
Hoping to get a few basic answers to these basic questions, or at least some steerage in the right direction.
First off, I do not know the apple varieties or the press date on the cider. The soonest I could add yeast would be this Sunday, six days after buying. All this time it's been unopened in the fridge. I am hoping that this is still acceptable.
The big questions I have are:
Add sugar or no? I will need to measure the brix/SG when I get home, and I understand I should ferment to 1.000. I'd like a 5-5.5% ABV cider when I'm done. I imagine I will need to add some sugar and stop fermentation before its none dry to preserve some sweetness. Are there any hard and fast rules or even rules of thumb to go by here?
Pastuerize or no? I am considering pasteurization in the bottle after fermentation is complete. What are the pros and cons of pastuerizing before pitch vs after? What are pros and cons of pastuerizing in the bottle after some carbonation has developed, and would I need to do this if I pastuerize from the beginning?
Sulfite? As an alternative to heat pasteurization? Again, what are the pros and cons, or should this be considered a necessity from the beginning?
Oxygenation and pitch rates? I assume similar for ale fermentation as far as pitch rates. I understand that there is often sufficient oxygen in the cider already since it has browned and thus no additional oxygen necessary? What about any yeast nutrients?
What about adding ascorbic acid? pectic enzyme? Clarification?
What about back sweetening or adding acid blend to adjust flavor?
Thanks for any help in advance..
TD
Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Found a place called the cider mill, near chimney rock park and bought 6 gallons. I asked before buying about any preservatives of pasteurization, and I was told they do nothing, just raw pressed cider.
I put the cold gallon containers into the fridge when I got back to the cabin rental.
Then I logged onto HBT, and found that while simple to make cider, that the devil is in the detail.
So the more I read, the more questions developed than were answered.
Hoping to get a few basic answers to these basic questions, or at least some steerage in the right direction.
First off, I do not know the apple varieties or the press date on the cider. The soonest I could add yeast would be this Sunday, six days after buying. All this time it's been unopened in the fridge. I am hoping that this is still acceptable.
The big questions I have are:
Add sugar or no? I will need to measure the brix/SG when I get home, and I understand I should ferment to 1.000. I'd like a 5-5.5% ABV cider when I'm done. I imagine I will need to add some sugar and stop fermentation before its none dry to preserve some sweetness. Are there any hard and fast rules or even rules of thumb to go by here?
Pastuerize or no? I am considering pasteurization in the bottle after fermentation is complete. What are the pros and cons of pastuerizing before pitch vs after? What are pros and cons of pastuerizing in the bottle after some carbonation has developed, and would I need to do this if I pastuerize from the beginning?
Sulfite? As an alternative to heat pasteurization? Again, what are the pros and cons, or should this be considered a necessity from the beginning?
Oxygenation and pitch rates? I assume similar for ale fermentation as far as pitch rates. I understand that there is often sufficient oxygen in the cider already since it has browned and thus no additional oxygen necessary? What about any yeast nutrients?
What about adding ascorbic acid? pectic enzyme? Clarification?
What about back sweetening or adding acid blend to adjust flavor?
Thanks for any help in advance..
TD
Sent from my iPad using Home Brew