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The frozen is between the two in cost, it's def. something I could try. I currently use it for backsweetener, no reason it couldn't be primary also. Thanks!

Hey guys, just wondering if there is any reason to not use apple juice with calcium for cider. A gallon of pure apple juice at my grocery store is roughly 5.50, but a gallon of apple juice with calcium is only 3.50. My cider recipe calls for 6 gallons, so it's a decent amount of savings if I...

I would think you could just use campden tablets instead of heat pasteurization, if you don't want sparkling, or if you're going to force carbonate a keg. This seems like an over complicated solution.

Right, you can wait a day or two, and then re-pitch yeast to carbonate. But at that point, the yeast will just eat up all the sugar and I'm back to either having a dry cider, bottle bombs, or having to pasteurize aren't I?

Other threads had people talking about letting it age 2-3 months for some kind of off flavor to dissipate when they use campden. But I was prob. going to stay away from it anyways, so I could carbonate. I'm testing out dishwasher settings over the next day or two to find out if it can be used...

Thanks! I started looking into campden tablets after posting this as a potential solution, but it sounds like it really adds to the ageing at the end before it mellows. I'll just roll the dice.

Hey guys, I bought 6 gallons of fresh pressed, UV treated cider from a local apple farm. It took me 4 days from purchase to finally start my cider. At which point each of the 1/2 gallon jugs had sediment at the bottom. I put 5 gallons worth in a carboy along with my first attempt at a...

So how terrible would it be to use a gallon of store bought as a backsweetener, when bottling? Would the concern be off flavors from the yeast getting stressed, or potential bottle bombs from over carbonation due to the randomness?

I got the recipe from a friend. It's how he does his ciders, and their really good. I've never really payed attention to specific gravity until I started ciders, but I just add .5% to the final calculation and tell people, close enough. It's prob. terrible form to post to another forum, but...

Thanks guys! How important is it to wait for the fermentation to stop? Could I add stuff in my secondary or tertiary, even though I'm also adding more apples/sugar?

I'm currently brewing my second cider ever, for my wife's birthday in mid January. Started it two weeks ago (roughly oct 1st) My plan was a three stage brew, just like my first batch, but longer with each stage. So Stage 1: 2.5 pounds of apples, 1 cup of sugar, 5 gallons of apple juice...

Thanks, it's not terrible, but it's not great. It's for my sisters wedding end of this month. It could use a little extra sweetness, but I looked up the specific gravity equation, and it looks like I'm already at 5.5%. Right now the flavor is OK, but a weak finish. Making it sweeter could...

Hey guys, I've got a cider I've been brewing, and I'm finally using a hydrometer because I here ciders can be more finicky with timing than an ale. Anyways, back when I took the first measurement it was at a 1.05 I just took a measurement so I can start looking for the 5 days stopped...

Oh noooes, hopefully I wasn't to far above the nominal range then, I wouldn't be suprised if the first few hours last night were a bit to far on the warm side. Need this ale for my sisters wedding on 9/28, I guess I'll brew a secondary batch more carefully just to be safe. Worst case, we need...

Sitting at 74 now. I always thought the higher temp had a chance of killing the yeast, not making it more active. Good to know.

Hey guys, I just brewed a blonde last night, I also pitched the yeast when the blonde was still slightly over 80 F, because I'm an idiot and forgot to test that. last time I made it, it stayed pretty clear the entire time. This go round, it's super cloudy (i know it's only been a day) and...

Hey guys, I've been lingering for a few months while brewing for my wedding, used a bunch of your advice, and some of your recipes. (A blonde ale and a cream stout). Figured it was finally time to sign up, also so I could ask this question. I've added scotch soaked wood chips to brews in...