I've been drinking cider for years and finally decided to try and brew some myself. I've spent numerous hours reading posts from this awesome community's members(special thanks to idtapthat). All of the information has been soooo helpful.
After much thought about which way to start, I opted for buying store bought pasteurized sweet cider. It's from a well established orchard a few hours away. It's available at a local grocery store and comes in 4litre glass jugs for about $10. I figured this was a good deal as I'd likely have to pay $3-$5 just for the jug alone. As well, it saves the sterilizing the jug process.
I bought 5 jugs of the cider. My idea was to keep the juice consistent and use a few different yeasts. Things didn't start as planned, my daughter and I drank 4 of the jugs, oops. This ended up being a good thing, as I really like the cider and now I have 4 jugs for secondary fermentation. I bought 3 more new jugs of cider and decided to start.
I am fortunate to have a great brew store close to my work, Homecraft Brew and wine supplies(Kingston, Ontario). The internet is great, but being able to stop in to a brick and mortar shop with experienced staff and all the supplies you need is awesome. Support your local brew store!
It took me a handfull of false starts before I got the ball rolling. I'd get everything out and realize I didn't have cleaning solution, or sanitizing solution. I'd go back to my phone re-read my favourite posts on the forum and regroup with a list things needed.
The brew shop had all the yeasts I wanted to try. I decided to try:
Safale S04
Mangrove Jack's Craft series M02
Nottingham ale yeast
Everything I read about S04 and Nottingham sounded like what I was looking for. The M02 was suggested by the shop as they said a lot of local home brewers gave it great reviews.
Finally this past Saturday, all my ducks were in a row and I started my first batch. I got my spare bedroom closet shelf cleared to store the jugs. Checked the temperature, it consistently stays between 60-63°F.
I keep the light on in the closet with an incandescent bulb, it seems to be the cheapest way to help keep the temp where I want it. I don't think it creates enough light to cause any change in the fermentation. Thoughts?
I cleaned and sanitized my equipment and working area. opening jug at a time, I poured close to a cup of the must into a test tube. Took SG, PH readings and marked them on the labels along with yeast and date. For some reason I left a 0 out of the SG readings.The yeast came in 11g pouches, they are meant for 5gallon batches approximately. I measured it out to 1/2-5/8 tsp per gallon. Holy crap, I just pitched the yeast. I put the stoppers and air lock in place, half filled the airlock with Star San solution. What a feeling! The S04 and M02 I put in dry but the Nottingham I mixed with water first. The last jug I did with Nottingham as well but I added 1 cup of maple syrup and mixed well before pitching the yeast. I placed the jugs in the closet and have been waiting like a six year old waiting for Santa. I'd check them every few hours to see if they were bubbling yet. The S04 started fermenting first within a 12 hours. The others were closer to 24-30 hours in. Everything is bubbling nicely now.
I feel confident that I followed all of the best practices I've leaned so far. I'm sure I'll end up with a drinkable cider. I'm now looking forward to getting everything ready for stage two. Hoping to get an total acidity testing kit.
Thanks to everyone for your informative posts that helped me get to this place. I want to share my experience and look forward to many more batches.
Cheers!
View attachment 1448987926316.jpg
View attachment 1448987945006.jpg
After much thought about which way to start, I opted for buying store bought pasteurized sweet cider. It's from a well established orchard a few hours away. It's available at a local grocery store and comes in 4litre glass jugs for about $10. I figured this was a good deal as I'd likely have to pay $3-$5 just for the jug alone. As well, it saves the sterilizing the jug process.
I bought 5 jugs of the cider. My idea was to keep the juice consistent and use a few different yeasts. Things didn't start as planned, my daughter and I drank 4 of the jugs, oops. This ended up being a good thing, as I really like the cider and now I have 4 jugs for secondary fermentation. I bought 3 more new jugs of cider and decided to start.
I am fortunate to have a great brew store close to my work, Homecraft Brew and wine supplies(Kingston, Ontario). The internet is great, but being able to stop in to a brick and mortar shop with experienced staff and all the supplies you need is awesome. Support your local brew store!
It took me a handfull of false starts before I got the ball rolling. I'd get everything out and realize I didn't have cleaning solution, or sanitizing solution. I'd go back to my phone re-read my favourite posts on the forum and regroup with a list things needed.
The brew shop had all the yeasts I wanted to try. I decided to try:
Safale S04
Mangrove Jack's Craft series M02
Nottingham ale yeast
Everything I read about S04 and Nottingham sounded like what I was looking for. The M02 was suggested by the shop as they said a lot of local home brewers gave it great reviews.
Finally this past Saturday, all my ducks were in a row and I started my first batch. I got my spare bedroom closet shelf cleared to store the jugs. Checked the temperature, it consistently stays between 60-63°F.
I keep the light on in the closet with an incandescent bulb, it seems to be the cheapest way to help keep the temp where I want it. I don't think it creates enough light to cause any change in the fermentation. Thoughts?
I cleaned and sanitized my equipment and working area. opening jug at a time, I poured close to a cup of the must into a test tube. Took SG, PH readings and marked them on the labels along with yeast and date. For some reason I left a 0 out of the SG readings.The yeast came in 11g pouches, they are meant for 5gallon batches approximately. I measured it out to 1/2-5/8 tsp per gallon. Holy crap, I just pitched the yeast. I put the stoppers and air lock in place, half filled the airlock with Star San solution. What a feeling! The S04 and M02 I put in dry but the Nottingham I mixed with water first. The last jug I did with Nottingham as well but I added 1 cup of maple syrup and mixed well before pitching the yeast. I placed the jugs in the closet and have been waiting like a six year old waiting for Santa. I'd check them every few hours to see if they were bubbling yet. The S04 started fermenting first within a 12 hours. The others were closer to 24-30 hours in. Everything is bubbling nicely now.
I feel confident that I followed all of the best practices I've leaned so far. I'm sure I'll end up with a drinkable cider. I'm now looking forward to getting everything ready for stage two. Hoping to get an total acidity testing kit.
Thanks to everyone for your informative posts that helped me get to this place. I want to share my experience and look forward to many more batches.
Cheers!
View attachment 1448987926316.jpg
View attachment 1448987945006.jpg