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Me too. I have tried it both ways and I prefer the sparkling version.

Well, IN THEORY you should get more bitterness than aroma since you will be boiling them for the entire boil once the steeping phase is done. Should drive off a lot of the aroma volatiles..but the THEORY of brewing doesn't always account for the results!

Well.. Windsor is known for leaving a relatively high gravity and sorbate is one of those additives you DO NOT WANT in a fermentation. Sorbate will not kill yeast, but will prevent them from multiplying. It is used to stabilize wine after all fermentation is done. IF being used to STOP...

Montrachet will probably go 14% (it is a Wine Yeast after all!). EC-1118 will easily go to 16% and I think is rated at 18% alcohol tolerance. Might need to have a good nutrient schedule though to keep them happy that long since Apple juice alone is lacking in a lot of the nitrogenous nutrients.

The Dextrose is for the purposes of carbonation. It will not dry things out appreciably as all the fermentable sugars have already been dealt with. The small amount of priming sugar is added to generate CO2 to carbonate the beverage. I guess you can drink it still, but I like my ciders bubbly...

Let it sit. No need to rack until bottling time. I typically have left mine in primary for 8-12 weeks and then bottled.

I generally prime with 1 oz (by weight) dextrose per gallon of Brew. Using DME, approximately 2 oz (by weight) per gallon according to references I have seen. I have never used DME to prime personally. Here is a handy priming calculator that you can use to determine your desired level of...

You might want to sulfite it with Campden tablets to kill off any wild yeast or bacteria, (then wait 24-48 h before pitching) but many contend that it is JUST these wild beasties that make the best cider. You might also want to add some pectinase (aka pectic enzyme) at the beginning of...

Bottle priming with DME will not add much sweetness because the yeast will eat up the sugars just like regular priming sugar. Might add a little maltiness, but that's it.

Ok there goes that theory :) Must be mixing...

Did you by any chance use LME instead of DME???

I'm surprised. EC-1118 usually tears through everything. I do usually rehydrate it, though, following the directions on the packet. Not really a STARTER, per se.

Well the best way would be to get another container to store it in (you might want to do this anyway... I use big gallon Ziploc freezer bags). Transfer it to the Ziploc with a measuring cup (or 1/2 cup, whatever) Count the number of transfers and you can calculate the oz by weight/unit volume...

There is not much head retention, but then again most commercial ciders don't have it either. As with beer, you would get a bit more head retention at higher temps, but I like my Apfelwein ice cold. You can try Brandon O's GRAFF recipe which is more of an apple beer using some malt extract and...

I posted this exact same thing 4 messages ago...:D Hehe just kidding. Great summary! :mug:

Probably nothing to worry about. The really active fermentation is over pretty quickly. Not much color change until it begins to clear around 4 weeks. I wonder, what the K-Meta was for????? If you added it at the same time as the yeast was pitched, you might well have killed a lot of them...

I prime with 1-1.2 oz by weight of priming sugar per gallon. I pretty much do the same for beer. More reliable than volume measurements IMHO. A kitchen scale is well worth the investment. Here is a good priming calculator: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

It is a matter of taste. I like wine, but I much prefer the Apfelwein carbonated. Maybe because I always enjoyed the commercial carbed ciders (Woodpecker, Woodchuck etc..) and my carbed Apfewein is better than either of them!!!

The generic store brand apple juice I used with EC-1118 came out pretty good. More residual sweetness than the same juice fermented with Montrachet. I wasn't expecting this. FG was the same in both cases, but EC-1118 seemed to leave more apple flavor as well as sweetness. As to the plastic-y...

You must be reading it wrong. My Motts has a sugar content on the label of 28 g/8oz. This works out to almost exactly 1 lb/gallon. Sucrose is 45-46 points, so I would expect a gravity of 1.045-1.046. A lot of references show Apple juice/cider at around 1.040-1.044 so this is pretty close...