Recent content by blandeena

I started with 5 gallons of unfiltered(cloudy), unpreserved, pasteurized central market brand apple juice. I added 3 tsp of yeast nutrient and a vial of WLP720 sweet mead yeast. It started off at 1.050, and after a week was down to 0.99. I transferred to 5 separate 1 gallon glass jugs with half...

I started my cider batch Feb 8th, and transferred over to secondary fermentation a week later. It's been just over a month total now, and I guess I'm just waiting for it to go clear before I bottle it. I was just wondering if it will for sure ever go clear. My cider didn't start off clear when I...

How much time is ok to leave the cider exposed to excess head space before oxidation is an issue? I'm guessing as long as its pretty actively fermenting, the CO2 it produces will be enough to protect it from oxidation. If using one larger secondary, would you just top it off with another gallon...

I was hoping for air bubbles, so I would know when to transfer to secondary. It sounds like the timing on that isn't entirely critical though, so I guess I should just trust it, and leave it go for a week or two and then transfer over to secondary. I was originally planning on racking to my...

On Sunday, I started my first batch of cider. My plan was to start off simple to get the process down, and possibly do something fun with secondary fermentation. I'm not sure my primary fermentation is even doing anything. I put 5 gallons of preservative free, pasteurized(that's all I could...

Thanks again for your response. I think you're my personal cider consultant! I think I'll follow your advice and just pitch my yeast into my cider without adding anything else. If I feel like experimenting a little, I might just separate out 1 gallon and dump some cherry into it during secondary...

I've seen many different cider recipes with very different amounts of sugar added. Is there a standard OG/ beginning sugar content I should be striving for? I'm assuming this will vary based on my desired alcohol content and strain of yeast used. Is there a chart out there that lists suggested...

Thanks so much for taking time out to reply to all of my questions. It is very helpful and appreciated! I hope I'll be as knowledgeable as people on here someday so I can be helpful to someone. I just got back from my home brew store with some white labs sweet mead yeast. It seems like that...

I can see why so many people like kegging, it sounds like it makes things much less complicated! I think understanding all of the science details will make it a much easier process. If I understand correctly, when the airlock stops bubbling and the SG reading stays the same, the yeast aren't all...

I've been reading posts on here for hours, trying to come up with a good method and recipe for some cider. Ultimately, I would love to create a sweet and slightly tart sparkling cherry apple cider. It looks like there may be a few obstacles in the way: **Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just going...

thanks for the response, I've been curious for awhile!

I've been wondering what the technical difference is between cider and wine. At first I thought that it was just that ciders are carbonated, but that's not always the case. Ciders can be carbonated or still, and wines are sometimes carbonated(sparkling). Then I was thinking it was the type of...

I have helped several friends with brewing of beer and wine, but am about to make my own for the first time. I was given a 'Selection Estate Series' Washington Columbia Valley Riesling juice kit, and a standard 6 gallon wine making equipment set. I generally like Rieslings, but sometimes find...