Recent content by Kiwi-brew

Cider went flat in a matter if minutes. It's been bottled and conditioning for 3 weeks and was nice and fizzy when I popped the top. It was slowly foaming for about 5 minutes, had to hold my thumb over the top to avoid it spilling all over my bench. However it was still fizzy when I poured it...

Checked on the cider today and the foam had disappeared. Pulled a sample and it came in at 1.008. Going to cool it for 24 hours to hopefully try and clear it a bit before racking into secondary. Tastes quite sour and dry at the moment. Oak hasn't overpowered it. Almost like a bad chardonnay.

Free fruit!! 10 apple trees, 3 pears trees, couple of plum trees and a rather large apricot tree. And thats only within a couple of blocks. All organic too.

Thanks for the advice bernardsmith. I was using the bubbles as a visual reference that the fermentation was still active. It will be going into a secondary once fermentation nears the end, a carboy with little/no headroom. Thought I already mentioned that. Also, pears contain sorbitol which...

Thanks buMbLeB. I'll probably only end up with about 12 bottles. Once I give a few away to close friends or family i doubt the rest will last 6 months. I will omit the sulfites this batch. May consider if I have a larger batch or intend on aging longer in the futre.

I'm a let it go dry all the way. Hoping the 10% pear juice I used will help it retain a little sweetness. Aiming for about 9-10% abv. Plan on aging for at least 3 months in secondary, then bottle conditioning in champagne bottles. Do you guys add anything when racking and bottling to prevent...

I was a bit worried that my fermentation had stopped. After 36 hours the foam had gone and there was only the odd large bubble floating on the surface. Glad I gave it a bit longer though as I checked this morning and its bubbling away quite quickly around 13deg C. Dropped it back to 12 deg (like...

Had 3 gallons on primary for a few days now. Hoping to get at least 2.5 from it, fermenting dry and then dry hopping it. 23 + 2.5 = 25.5

Took my daughter for a walk this morning through the "Red Zone". After the earthquakes we had here in Christchurch a few years back, our government cleared a whole lot of residential areas that they deemed no longer suitable for housing. What we were left with is hundreds of sections with no...

Thanks Maylar. I have a scondary that holds 8 litres and plan on moving it to that for a few months once primary is complete.

Well thanks for the vote of confidence!

Have finally got my first brew underway. 11 litres of store bought organic apple and pear juice (90/10%) and two cups of homemade rhubarb juice fermented with Mangrove Jack M02 cider yeast, SG 1.078. Have slowly been gathering the pieces and have found the time to get it all going during xmas...

I added my Oak chips (30g and more like saw dust than chips) to 10 Litres of Apple and Pear juice (store bought 90/10) and two cups of homemade rhubarb juice. Put in some pectalose and let it sit over night and just pitched in my yeast this morning. Was planning to try dry hopping it during...

I was going to add 30g of oak chips to 12 Litres of my cider. Packet I bought says to add during primary fermentation but from what I've read most, if not all, prefer to add it during secondary. I'm assuming these instructions are for wine but does anyone see any cons for adding it during...

Thanks hdbii. Maybe saving myself the trouble of riddling sounds like the route to follow. I'm not too keen on a bone dry cider either. Could you please elaborate how and why you use Cold Crashing for your sours. I always thought this was a method used when seperating your cider from the yeast...