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Bottled wine and wine in the anaerobic phase of fermentation (commonly refereed to as "secondary") can be ruined by exposure to light (so called "light struck"). Cider however does not appear to be affected by light. I ran across a reference to cider's immunity to being light struck but can't...

I have purchased root stock from Grandpa's and found them very helpful. If you tell them the diameter of your scions, they will try to send you root stock of similar diameter. Last year's water sprouts from the top of your tree will be the most vigorous and most likely to not only graft well...

Wuyi, the funky flavor is probably not related to brown sugar. Most European ciders have this barnyard taste to one degree or another. It is known as "old horse" in the UK. You would have a hard time finding a bottle of cider in France or Spain that doesn't have some variation on this...

I don't use yeasts that were developed for brewing beer but I suspect all dry yeast needs to be re hydrated according to the instructions on the package. You have a lot of sugar in solution and as I said if all of that ferments in your bottles after adding yeast, they are going to explode. I...

That is probably film yeast which is indeed an unwanted infection. It is easy to treat. It doesn't hurt to remove it with a turkey baster so long as you have completely sanitized your turkey baster before sticking it in your cider. Even though you have removed the film yeast you can see, you...

This cider could be salvaged by putting it back in a carboy with some nutrients and some viable yeast then let it finish. After transferring the bottled cider to a sanitized carboy, I'd be inclined to add sulfite 24 hrs before pitching new yeast to try to kill off any bacteria that might have...

I think the key factor is you stuck your cider at 1.014. There are several things that will cause this. The most likely is the yeast ran out of nutrients. This is generally a good thing. By warming it to 68 with that much residual sugar plus some priming sugar, you proved your yeast was dead...

Your cider looks healthy. Campden tablets or more generally sulfite does not kill yeast. It inhibits yeast but only for a while. It does kill bacteria and reduces or prevents oxidation which is its main function. If your cider is somewhat acid, fermenting it to dryness is very likely to...

MLF is not going to happen if your temp is much below 60 deg. In my experience, MLF forms distinctly different lees than yeast. Bacteria whether malolacitc or acetobacter create a gel like body though ML in my experience sinks to the bottom instead of hanging in suspension like a vinegar...

I used Splenda for the first time in 2015 and am drinking the results now. I am accustomed to Splenda and it's aftertaste in my morning cappuccino so I knew what I was getting into. I used Splenda in several batches that were dry at the rate of 1.5g/liter (that would be an oz per 5 gal)...

I seal my pressure gauge mount with Permatex silicon gasket sealer and cure it on top of my furnace for 24 hours. So far not leaky gauges.

Silver, If you haven't had a bump in pressure, either your cap is leaking or your yeast were dead when you bottled. All is not lost. Still cider can be quite good. It might be risky to pour your bottled cider into a sanitized plastic bucket, add champagne yeast, and re-bottle. I wouldn't...

Ciao HairyHop, Give your tongue a break. IPA carpet bombs your taste buds so hard you probably can't tell the difference between La Pasta di Camerino and Pasta Carbonara after drinking an IPA. Cider will free you from the chains of hop. How much do they charge for that gauge that I make for...

I don't brew beer but my cider can take a week or more to start building pressure. It all depends upon temperature, sugar content, and the starting population size of your yeast. That said, I generally move my bottles into a space that is 65 deg. Sometimes I add yeast if I think there are no...

Hi Dimax, Your PET bottle was not built for carbonated beverages (that is a Pom Wonderful bottle right?). It might work fine but then again, you might find the cap leaks or worse, the bottle splits. Not as big a problem as a glass bottle bomb but you might lose your monitor when you need it...

I changed my system to the one Maylar uses and have had great results. I have found that in every case, the pressure has risen as bottle conditioning has proceeded and I am working under the assumption that the pressure in the PET bottle with the gauge is the same as the pressure in my crown...

I prefer these Dew Caps that I got on Amazon to rubber stoppers. They fit 3 and 5 gal glass or plastic carboys. Since they are made for water bottles, they leave no taste. You can drill or melt a hole in the middle, trim the edge of the hole with a sharp blade, insert a grommet, work a...

I got my crates when I bought used carboys from spring water companies. Here are two manufacturers based on their name on the crates. I have two other types without the manufacturer's ID. I would like to get crates for my 3 gal carboys so if anyone has any luck contacting these guys let us...

Your cider looks healthy to me. There has to be something going on in there to have such a homogeneous color. Turn the lights out and shine a bright light from behind and I bet you will see a pretty strong parade of bubbles. You can't hurt anything by pitching a starter if you already have...

I forgot to mention one more step which will strengthen your "rescue" starter. You should get the yeast accustomed to the new alcoholic environment it will encounter. When your starter is going strong, dilute it by adding 10% target cider followed by another 10% dilution when it recovers from...