Hi folks, first time brewer here. I went to a supply place and got a 5 gal glass jug and 1 gal glass jug both with stoppers and "S" air locks. First batch I did in the 1 gal glass jug with I gal of pasteurized apple cider. I added cider to glass jug and then took a little bit of the juice, yeast and approx 1 lb of white sugar and boiled it to melt the sugar and yeast. I know now that was a mistake because it sat for a few weeks and did nothing, so I then added another "live" yeast packet and it took off running. Bubbles oh my! Very bubbly within days and friends of mine were telling me to let it bubble until there were no more bubbles coming out. If I did drink it before the bubbles stopped completely, then I would get bad diarrhea from it. They were right, and I did.
Anyway, I cleaned out the 1 gal and tossed that batch because it was no good. It did give me a buzz though, after about 2 wine glasses worth.
So, I started a new batch, this time from a cider mill. I dropped off both the 5 gal and 1 gal and picked em' up a little later. Nice looking brown cider, not heated or treated in anyway, not even flash pasteurized. Just raw, fresh squeezed apple juice. I picked the brain of the guy at the cider mill as to how to make some good hard cider. This is what he told me:
Don't add anything. Just put the stopper and air locks on and forget about them. 6-9 months later, they are ready to drink and will give you a hell of a buzz.
I was happy to hear his method which was pretty low maintenance. He also said to not open them until you're ready to drink otherwise if you expose them to the air you may get the bacteria that makes vinegar and you got a batch of vinegar.
I let them sit for a couple weeks in my basement which is about 10 degrees F cooler than my room upstairs. No action, I guess I was impatient. I brought the small one up to my room and once it got up to room temperature, it took about 2 weeks for it to start bubbling and boy was it bubbling! It has since slowed down significantly and is around 1 bubble per minute. Is it done? What is the possible alcohol percentage? I'm happy with close to 5%. I know I need a hydrometer and I'm gonna get one, but I also don't want to risk opening it and disturbing any processes of conversion.
I have included some photos of the two jugs, both different colors, even though they were exactly the same when I started. In the 5 gal jug, there are what look like chunks of something rising and dropping. What are they? Should I be concerned? Is the batch still good? I have not opened it since I started on January 14th, 2012. Thanks so much for any feedback, Sam
P.S. Should I keep them in the dark in cooler temperatures and just wait 9 months?
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3344746421880.164361.1365345904&type=1
If you can't view these, then friend request me on facebook and I'll confirm. Not sure how to get photos up to this website. My photos don't have URLs.
-Thanks, Sam
Anyway, I cleaned out the 1 gal and tossed that batch because it was no good. It did give me a buzz though, after about 2 wine glasses worth.
So, I started a new batch, this time from a cider mill. I dropped off both the 5 gal and 1 gal and picked em' up a little later. Nice looking brown cider, not heated or treated in anyway, not even flash pasteurized. Just raw, fresh squeezed apple juice. I picked the brain of the guy at the cider mill as to how to make some good hard cider. This is what he told me:
Don't add anything. Just put the stopper and air locks on and forget about them. 6-9 months later, they are ready to drink and will give you a hell of a buzz.
I was happy to hear his method which was pretty low maintenance. He also said to not open them until you're ready to drink otherwise if you expose them to the air you may get the bacteria that makes vinegar and you got a batch of vinegar.
I let them sit for a couple weeks in my basement which is about 10 degrees F cooler than my room upstairs. No action, I guess I was impatient. I brought the small one up to my room and once it got up to room temperature, it took about 2 weeks for it to start bubbling and boy was it bubbling! It has since slowed down significantly and is around 1 bubble per minute. Is it done? What is the possible alcohol percentage? I'm happy with close to 5%. I know I need a hydrometer and I'm gonna get one, but I also don't want to risk opening it and disturbing any processes of conversion.
I have included some photos of the two jugs, both different colors, even though they were exactly the same when I started. In the 5 gal jug, there are what look like chunks of something rising and dropping. What are they? Should I be concerned? Is the batch still good? I have not opened it since I started on January 14th, 2012. Thanks so much for any feedback, Sam
P.S. Should I keep them in the dark in cooler temperatures and just wait 9 months?
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3344746421880.164361.1365345904&type=1
If you can't view these, then friend request me on facebook and I'll confirm. Not sure how to get photos up to this website. My photos don't have URLs.
-Thanks, Sam