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RIP (They always were an adventurous couple) ;)

I read the entire thread and I'm happy that your cider turned out as good as it did. Frankly, when I read your very first post (above), I thought "this is going to be a crap shoot because nothing was done to neutralize the wild yeasts." I'm clearly not an expert, having only 2 successful...

;) Welcome to the club. Sounds like you did pretty well, for a first timer. I too relied heavily on advice given in this forum for my first attempt at making hard cider just last fall and the results ... total success.

What is sitting in the bottom of that one jug in the middle? :confused: Sliced pickles? ;)

Add pectic enzyme 12 hours before pitching yeast. I don't test acid levels. I do take specific gravity readings however: original gravity and then again after fermentation. This is my first season making cider and I'm still trying to get the basics down. With much help from the kind folks on...

Looks good to me. What is your plan after fermentation? Is that electrician tape holding the airlock in place? I know the rubber stoppers can be somewhat slick when wet with Star San and tend to want to ride up the neck. I find that by "twisting" the rubber stopper when inserting, the layer...

Sounds reasonable to me. Thoughts from others are welcome.

Just to be "clear" (pun intended), you don't recommend adding any campden when you first transfer from your primary fermentation vessel to secondary container(s), only at the racking that follows and every other subsequent racking? And BTW, I didn't know that sorbate was ineffective when...

Interesting approach. Assuming 10# is 10 pounds, how much juice did you start with and what was the specific gravity after adding 10 lbs. of sugar but before pitching? I'm not sure what you mean by figuring out how much I diluted it with juice. To refresh, (and to keep on topic and not...

So, do you begin to rack before airlock activity stops? I mean, what is your trigger for the first racking? I'd love to arrive at a "sweeter cider" without having to ferment fully and then add sweet back in. I'd hate to rack too early however, and not have the ABV where I'd like it. Thanks.

And from there do you bottle? If yes, have you had any gushers, even with the ksorb and kmeta and if so, how long was the juice in the bottle before you opened the gusher(s)? With respect to the original post, the idea of adding a truckload of sugar on the front end to bring the OG up, let it...

Have you determined why the 2nd batch went bad?

Do you keep your juice in the primary for the entire time and then go from there directly to bottle?

With respect to the 60 days, in each of the 5 or 6 batches I've made so far (using the apples described above and Cider House yeast) most if not all of the lees dropped after 2-3 weeks. After that, small bubbles have been observed for another week or so. Now, after 30 days, things are pretty...

I'd like my next batch of cider still and slightly sweetened. I just want to double-check something before back-sweetening a gallon I made from apples (Tompkins King, Pippin, & Macintosh) picked from trees in my yard and juiced in a centrifugal juicer. After fermentation I racked to secondary...

I'll drink a nice cold Woodchuck Hopsation any day of the week. Two or three, actually.

My freshly juiced cider typically measures 1.052 although late season (just this week) I've juiced a few gallons that measured almost 1.06. AT 1.045 it appears you have some way to go, if I'm understanding the process correctly (I'm a newbie). Good luck. By the way, any links to photos or...

I agree 100%. This is my first season making hard cider and I've just finished juicing my 9th gallon using an Omega model #1000 centrifugal juicer. I purchased it years ago and today a new one will run around $200. I've seen pre-owned on eBay for much less. I've found using the filters...

Caveat: I'm new to cider too. You won't need 2 carboys in my opinion. As mendari said, grab a new 6.5 gallon bucket for your primary and from there go to a (one) carboy for secondary. Less expensive way to go.

Yeah. I read that in your sticky comment after I had already added the two simultaneously. I'll add in sequence next time. In spite of my simultaneous addition of Camden and PE, I happy to report that except for the "stuff" on the bottom, the cider no longer looks like cider but more like...