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I use wine yeasts on all of mine, and have yet to try a cider yeast. Good thing about wine yeasts is that they are known to let fruity flavors though.

I asked that question of a craft cider maker a few months back. He responded, "One is the risk of infection from non-yeast organisms, bacteria etc, which may have multiplied with the yeast and carried over. In breweries, where re-use is common*, yeast is often acid-washed to mitigate this. Two...

Okay, the OG isn't important at the moment. Find out what the SG is to see where it is at now. I still recommend racking it, as I wonder if that is part of the reason it is sour. I was once told that you won't lose a batch racking too early, but you will loose a batch racking to late...

You know, I have to add this - cider is fermenting apple juice. No sugar added ever. Moment you do that, you are making wine.

Montrechet Yeast will not cold crash. Ciders in general do not cold crash. Cider makers allow their stuff to freeze in outside tanks, and when they thaw, they start fermenting again. How long ago did you start your batch? Since you said it quit bubbling, it might just need to be racked...

When ever I see that question, I point them to Andrew Lea's website. He wrote a book on craft cider making. http://www.cider.org.uk/part4.htm Read that over, then post again if you still have questions.

I am most familiar with ciders, though I am making a few fruit wines. Today I was in a brew supply store near the in-laws and saw some Wine Conditioner. It isn't the first time I have seen it, but the cider people I mosty talk to wouldn't dream of adding anything to their craft ciders, so I have...

If you flip though fruit winemaking books, the general "recipe" is 3 lbs of fruit, 2 lbs of sugar, and 1 gallon of water, and then all the extas like acid blends, tannins, yeast, etc. That's what I did, and it smells great. I'll be bottling this week. I'm not sure how raisens fit into that for you.

You really should add chemicals to make sure the yeast stays dead if you want to sweeten it. Or, and some people cringe at this idea, use Splenda because it won't start fermenting again.

It if fine if you ignore my blog, but ignoring my advice on bottling is what got you into this mess. Sorry, I already gave you advice once, and you "ignored [it], as such."

If I remember to put in enzyme, it clears. I've read some books talking about how Americans are finicky about clear cider and that scrumpy doesn't do so well. Those same books also indicate that the taste really doesn't change. I wouldn't worry.

There is a guy in Astoria, Oregon who makes cranberry whey wine. I have no idea how he does it. Also, the Norwegians make a cheese out of whey that is called gjetost. It is usually in any cheese making cook book. Basically, you spend 14 hours caramelizing it, and it is ready to eat. Here in...

First off, I recommend you get on the Cider Workshop group because it is based out of your neck of the woods. Lots of excellent cider makers there, and you probably could even meet a few. I'm jealous. http://ciderworkshop.com/ Secondly, you did not cold crash outside. These guys ferment...

I don't really think it would. You might read this website if you have questions: http://www.cider.org.uk/part4.htm

Yes, the SG can drop below 1 to something like .99. You can always let it ferment a little longer, but you might get it off the lees if you do so that they don't cause off flavors. At this point, you could chemical it and bottle it without much worries of exploding, but if you do back sweeten...

I recently checked out some books from the library on making liquors. What they were doing was taking a base spirit, like vodka, rum, brandy, etc and infusing it with ingredients like fruit, spices, extracts, etc and adding sugar to make it a liquor. Totally legal, and takes about 2 weeks to a...

Oh, what college is it? I've been poking around and found that Washington State University and some other school (UC Davis?) out of California have online programs for wine certification.

The best batch you have ever made, and you will never be able to duplicate it again. Don't you just hate that?

Thanks for the tip!

Ah. I was wondering how to fit fruit in a bag thought the tiny neck of a carboy and then get it back out again without squeezing it.