Recent content by Sballe

Not at all - although I didn’t keep the lid open on the bucket for long, so didn’t taste it. Also - it is my understanding that vinegar-mothers are more porous, more spread-out thru the whole liquid. These were very defined round gelatinous lump. No strings or hairy bits … And … it has been...

Been making cider for 4-5 years, but never seen this before ..!? Homepressed apple juice from September has been fermenting in a shed outside during fall and winter… Today I saw some weird solid gelatenous chunks floating around … size of skittles/m&ms and pretty much same shape. Solid and...

That is exactly what i did :) Found great info on sur Lie and batonage methods when it comes to Wine-making. Alteady have a gallon going as an experiment. I was hoping to get more info from cider-makers doing sur lie … this has been quite difficult to find. Also some more specific info on yeast...

Yesterday I found an old bottle of cider from one of my first batches 3 years ago. When I was a real newbee ;) It was supposed to be a sparkling-champagne-style, but it was a plastic-cork which probably had leaked co2 so it was completely still. Also - I didn’t do any secondary back then, and...

I tasted it about 2-3 weeks after pitch … tasted just like apple juice; and the SG hadn’t moved a single point !

So - I have run into an issue, and not really sure if I have to ditch about 10 gallons of cider 😳😳 In 3 buckets each with about 3-4 gallons I am now seing a weird gelatinous layer on the surface … looks like a scoby similar to when making kombucha. It is milky in color - very thin but firm...

So - I’ve done cider for 2-3 years, both Wild and commercial yeast; never really had many major issues — also thx to this site :) This year something weird and unfortunate happened — and I don’t really know what to do: My late varieties were a little slow to fully ripen this year, and I also...

Awesome Thx 🤣 …for how Long though? 1-2 years?

Was thinking maybe I should make a little campden-solution… and add to each bottle with a syringe. I used swing-to bottles so fairly easy. Of course the dose won’t be very precise; so perhaps it is overdoing it a bit…

Fermentation is definitely done … so I am mostly worried about oxidation. But I don’t know how big a problem it is or what it will do to my brew? Also since the ABV is so high I believe vinegar is not a concern?

I didn’t weigh the apples before the pressing but I usually get around 50% juice by weight (metric here so around 5 liters per 10 kilograms)

I made a fortied apple wine - around 15% ABV and a FG of 1,030. I had it in a small oak barrel for 3 months and just finished bottling it all. Looked awesome - crystal clear. BUT - I didn’t add any campden !?? Is this really a must? Should I empty all bottles and start again with added...

Cant g’et FACJ here unfortunately 🤷‍♂️

🤣💪

I have tried freeze-concentration before for making ice cider - and it is pretty simple. Only thing I haven’t been able to figure out — the freeze concentration increase the sugars … but does it not also increase the acids? Since my apples are quite acidic already I am a little nervous that I...