Recent content by OrganicBrews

Hello again, I'm ready to move 4 gallons of fermented cider from a bucket to a glass 6 gallon carboy for a bit of aging. I'm worried about oxidation though. My plan is to add some additional sugar ( this was suggested to me ) to generate additional fermentation to push out the oxygen in...

Do they have any Organic juice?

Also, I was just reading that swing top bottles create problems with the heat pasteurizing process. I don't know if this is true or not. I hope it's not true, but I wanted to pass that one, since you mentioned the swing tops. Someone in another post suggested that they won't hold the carbonation...

Are you planning on adding priming sugar? I guess it depends on what yeast you use, but I was under the impression that the cider will be flat after fermentation. If you pasteurize it too soon, you'll just have flat apple wine. This is just my understanding though. I'm still a rookie myself...

So Mindi, your cider already has the amount of carbonation you want in it?

I'm in Oregon also, in Portland. I've been using the Red Star yeast, which is $1. So far, it seems to be working just fine. Although, I've yet to taste my cider. Still fermenting. I've tried two different kinds of Red Star. I definitely want to try some ale yeast next, like nottingham or...

Kirkwooder, are you suggesting I leave it in primary for another week, after it's done fermenting, or that I move it to secondary for a week before I try adding the pectic enzyme?

6 bucks! I'm new to this, but I like the idea of $1 for yeast. I guess I want my costs per oz to be as low as possible. The juice itself costs so much already....

Would it be smarter/easier for me to just open it now and add in the pectic enzyme and let it finish fermentation? Or should I just let it finish first? It's been going now about 12 days.

Kirkwooder, it was probably closer to 90 degrees, but I took it off the heat before I mixed it in. I was following the instructions on the packet. I did about the same with my first batch, and the yeast seemed to kick in and bubble fine. Hopefully it wasn't too warm. I need a candy thermometer...

Congrats!

Ok, I have my newest batch of cider brewing now. I'm brewing 4 gallons of organic cider. The OG of the cider alone is 1.050. I added 1 lb. of organic coconut sugar. The OG is now 1.060. I think it now has a potential alcohol content of almost 8%. I mashed up some organic raisins while boiling...

Thank you Randzor and Yooper. Yooper, thank you for the yeast suggestion! I did get a new hydrometer yesterday ( and it sounds like I need a second, so that I won't break one ;) ), but I wasn't able to measure my first batch before fermentation began. I was just planning on waiting for the...

Thank you for the advice, Yooper! I will definitely have to try some cider with ale yeast. Do you have a specific type of ale yeast you can recommend for cider? kirkwooder, that cider sounds good! I had some cinnamon Angry Orchard that was pretty nice. So, after the fermenting is done, there...

So I just read that organic raisins can be used as a yeast nutrient, which sounds like a better option than diammonium phosphate.