Recent content by Chalkyt

I made some batches of hopped cider a few years ago using both Galaxy and Citra hop pellets. The "takeaway" from this was that you have to taste, taste, taste every day then take the hops out when the flavour is right as it is taken up very quickly. Roughly 3g/L of hop pellets for 3 - 7 days...

Yep, Dave... that is the sort of thing we have been talking about. Use whatever works. BTY, I think that B&D do some pretty good stuff.

Yep, I can confirm that 1.020 - 0.980 finishing hydrometers are easy to break, especially if you accidently drop them into an empty measuring cylinder. I have broken two that way!!!! I agree that buying two is the best insurance... now that I have a spare, I haven't had a break! FYI, the new...

I recall doing a trial comparing a squeeze bottle with the pressure gauge results (it was posted Nov 4 2024) so I looked up my notes. Basically, both worked but the squeeze bottle was hard at 1.6bar (about 2.5 volumes of C02) so there was no way of knowing when the pressure was getting higher...

A couple of answers here… Re S-04 stalling. Somewhare in the dim, dark, past I came across some information about S-04 from (I think) Scott Labs who rated it as high nutrient demand. Generally, ale yeasts are considered to be in this category compared with wine or champagne yeasts. I understand...

A couple of answers here… Re S-04 stalling. Somewhare in the dim, dark, past I came across some information about S-04 from (I think) Scott Labs who rated it as high nutrient demand. Generally, ale yeasts are considered to be in this category compared with wine or champagne yeasts. I understand...

There is not a simple answer to your question since the rate of fermentation depends on a mixture of the type of yeast (i.e. how robustly that particular yeast gets stuck into gobbling up sugars, and regenerating itself so that here is more yeast to eat sugar and generate C02), the temperature...

I try to ferment at 15C - 18C (60F - 65F) because the folklore says "low and slow is the way to go". Generally, with typical 1.050 juice this takes 5 -10 days for the foam to settle (at around 1.020) then another 10 days or so to get down somewhere around 1.005. However, this isn't at all...

A bit mundane sounding but I have had success with straight Pink Lady, Granny Smith, and a blend of Golden Delicious with 20% Granny Smith. A little bit of fiddling with Malic Acid (not really necessary when Granny Smith is involved) and Tannin (powder or tea) makes a great "summer cider".

I just take a sample with a turkey baster (i.e. el-cheapo wine thief) but you have to degas the sample (quick spin in a microwave oven or just stir and let it sit until the C02 bubbles don't stick to the hydrometer). I use a "finishing" hydrometer with big graduations for this as by then the SG...

Yep, I have been down this path. This is my step-by-step method. IMO, the best approach is to decant the cider into a large container and measure how much sugar is left by taking a hydrometer SG reading. How much carbonation do you want? Your 20g sugar per gallon should be about 5g/litre or SG...

Yep, I wasn't too impressed with Mercury even though it is readily available on the mainland. Despite Mercury's heritage and Tasmania's "Apple Isle" reputation, unfortunately it is produced by CUB which is now owned by Asahi so heaven only knows what the production process is. The best ciders...

Yep... a couple of observations from trying to go down this path. I found out that Fuji juice has twice the sorbitol of most other apples and certainly I ended up with a touch of sweetness in fully fermented cider that had a lot of Fuji. However, this "sweetness" is like many other...

Thanks Dave. I hadn't heard of Bravo Apples, but I see that they should be readily available in Coles and Wollies. They seem to have a bit of a history like Pink Lady (Crisps Pink as a parent). I have used Pink Lady from Bellevue Orchards in Victoria as a base for some of my ciders this year (my...

Yep, all of the above. In fact, in Chapter 1 of his book Claude Jolicoeur suggests "For the primary fermentation, a large food grade plastic bucket with a lid works well". I do this, most of the time with just a cloth over the bucket to keep nasties out and rack to secondary under airlock once...