Search results

I plan on backsweetening with a can or two of apple juice concentrate for flavor and add a tiny bit more than that to be used for carbing, then bottle and once the plastic bottle gets firm, stovetop pasteurize. I hate the taste of aspertame, etc and the concentrate is already pasteurized and...

I did soak all my bottles in oxyclean for 12 hours. The labels on the new (or, recently emptied) Sam Adams bottles fell right off and after wiping them with a sponge and a bit of dish soap they look perfect. There was never any mold in them though. The other bottles I have were given to me by...

In about a month I'll be racking my first batch of hard cider into bottles, so while I wait for the cider to clarify I'll be cleaning my bottles. Some of the bottles I have were used with homebrew before, and were never rinsed out so they have mold/yeast on the bottom. The bottle brush my kit...

The airlock started to bubble last night. I so much as touched the bucket and a bunch of gas blew out of the airlock, and then started bubbling once every 2-3 seconds. Now its a little faster than 1/sec. I plan to leave it in the primary for a month, move it to the secondary for a month, back...

Thats actually a really good idea!

I tried taking the reading from the tube its packaged in. It works, but it sure would be nice if they included a graduated cylinder with the kit, or at least had one of the cap ends on the tube be flanged out so it can act as a stand.

I got my 5 Gal batch started last night. Unfortunately the cider was still 54 deg. F when I pitched the yeast in (double pitch, actually) and about 24 hours later I have yet to see any bubbles from the airlock (cider is 72* F now). I checked the lid and its on good and snug. How long should I...

I guess I don't know how long or when I should transfer to the secondary, and how long I should keep it in the secondary. I know I should let it clarify in the secondary, but beyond that I'm unsure.

This will be my very first time brewing anything, and so to get started I bought this kit: Deluxe Brewer's Best® Equipment Kit: 6.5 Gallon "Ale Pail" Primary Fermenter with Grommeted Lid 6.5 Gallon "Ale Pail" Bottling Bucket with Spigot 5 Gallon Glass Carboy Easy Clean No-Rinse...

Yeah, I'm starting to find there are a lot of ways to get great cider. Everyone has their own way and while my first batch will most likely not be perfect and land in the "pretty good" arena, I can always make more. As for ending up with apple vinegar, I thought the only way that would happen...

So after most if not all of the fermentation is done in the primary (maybe a month), rack it into the secondary, then continue to monitor until it settles out and the SG remains stable for a few days. Then rack into the bottling bucket, sweeten with table sugar to taste and bottle? I will do...

Thanks dinnerstick! Here's another dumb question for you: How do you know its time to move from the primary to the secondary fermenter? I take it after I bottle, I'll have to try it every day or so until its carbbed (and hopefully before the caps start to bulge) and then pasteurize?

Every October for the past 5+ years I remind myself that I've always wanted to make hard cider. This year, I'm actually making that happen! I have a few questions before I get started, though... I bought a brewing kit that has most everything I need in terms of equipment, and maybe more as I'm...