Recent content by Crossczek

I saw these too, and am wondering the same question(s)!

Hi all, I've got tons of experiance with wine and (award winning) hard cider, now I want to get into home brew. Because of my cider, I have everything I need to ferment and keg my product. Recently I have come into possesion of (3) 15 gal. kegs that I want to use to brew with. I've done some...

I know of some people that have had some great luck with the following. Go ahead and back sweeten any way you want. I usually use regualr old sugar or a little more concentrate. Bottle and wait a couple of weeks. After 2 weeks open a bottle and see if it's at the right carbonation, if not...

My local brew/wine store sells concentrate that I have used to backsweeten my fermented (fresh pressed) juice with. They sell it as an "apple wine concentrate" but I'd be willing to guess that if it was diluted down to regular strength and fermented it would do just fine. If you're...

I just kegged my cider and my wife said it tastes just like Strongbow. I can taste some similarities, but it doesn't taste just like it. I think she's trying to butter me up for something. Anyway, here's what I did: I used fresh pressed juice from the orchard. Than I added 1/4 cup honey...

If you're going to back sweeten and bottle, make sure you stabilze it with some sorbate to prevent renewed fermentation. I too prefer the fresh juice instead of the store bought. The degree of tartness that it leaves behind is perfect. Store bought will work just fine though. Just make...

I gererally wait 1 full year before bottleing my cycer and have never had it not carbonate in the bottle (with the typical 1 cup sugar per 5 gal). It takes a good 4-6 weeks, but it happens. Good luck, and cheers!

It might be worth noting that you should use unpreserved juice/cider. You can use (heat) pasturized ingrediants but the juice will not ferment if it's been preserved. For best results nothing beats fresh pressed stuff right from the orchard, but it's a little late for that. If your going to...