Beginners guide?

[realityinabox]

I have wanted to start brewing cider for years now. I am a DYIer at heart, so I want to stop buying from the store and start brewing myself. I have a gluten allergy, so cider is a great alternative to beer, especially since I haven't found any decent GF beer. Perhaps once I get a handle on cider, I'll try GF beer. But every time I decide I want to start, I invariably end up here lurking through threads, then get overwhelmed by all of the jargon and say 'maybe next weekend'.

I constantly hear that it is easy, but I can't seem to find an entry point for the true beginner. It seems any guide I've found assumes some level of previous brewing knowledge, either moving from beer, which I'm not, or starting above the entry level.

I'm a pretty decent cook who isn't afraid to experiment a bit, and also an engineer, so the technical doesn't really scare me off (though I'm an electrical, so the chem/bio aspects are still a bit of a learning curve).

I'd love to get a book that would teach me all the basics. When I was mastering my pizza making, I read several books. I'd love something similar for cider brewing.

Also, my biggest question on starting cider is where to get juice. I don't think I want press my own apples, at least not any time soon. Is there anything store-bought that I could start on? I live in MI, so ciderys abound. Is it impolite to call up a local cider mill and ask to buy their unfermented juice? Feels a bit like calling up Hersey and asking for their bulk chocolate. I do live close to a farmer's market that is about to be inundated with apples, though, again, I'd prefer to not press my own when I still don't have a handle on brewing in general.

 

[W0GWT]

Read about EdWort's Apfelwein. I think a lot of people get their feet wet by making that. Once you get your process down, branch out from there.
Any juice is fine, as long as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is the only other ingredient; other things may interfere with fermentation.

 

[Maylar]

Read this:

http://www.howtomakehardcider.com/

It's what got me started, and IMO it's the best beginner's guide to cider. She covers the whole process and discusses the options along the way.

 

[bernardsmith]

IMO, Drew Beechum's book on cider making will take you from the very first steps to something a lot more sophisticated.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1440566186/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Beechum starts you off using store bought apple juice that you can find in any supermarket (tho as W0GWT says the juice cannot have any chemical preservatives in it - these will inhibit if not prevent the juice fermenting - pasteurization is OK as that only kills yeast and bacteria already in the juice and has no impact on the yeast that you will be introducing) and using virtually no special tools or equipment shows you how adding yeast to the fruit juice will result in hard cider. Once you have made this kind of attempt and you understand the whys and the wherefores then everything else that cider makers do is done to improve the final taste and the pleasure .
I think cider is perhaps one of the easiest ways to get into the hobby of wine making - not least because the apple juice (filtered or unfiltered) is readily available and costs only from about $3.00 a gallon. Since it is already sold in containers - short term - you don't even have to buy carboys. I say short term because I think if you intend to age the cider a few months then it is not obvious that the plastic containers the apple juice is often sold in are really suitable for aging alcohol without leaching chemicals into the cider or indeed allowing air to transfer through the walls.

 

[realityinabox]

Read about EdWort's Apfelwein. I think a lot of people get their feet wet by making that. Once you get your process down, branch out from there.
Any juice is fine, as long as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is the only other ingredient; other things may interfere with fermentation.

Thanks for the advice. I ended up getting three 64oz jugs of Indian Summer juice at the super market today for like $2.25 each (so much cheaper than in fermented form!!). They had a larger jug for even cheaper per oz, but I figured I'd start off with small batches.

Read this:

http://www.howtomakehardcider.com/

It's what got me started, and IMO it's the best beginner's guide to cider. She covers the whole process and discusses the options along the way.

Thanks for the link, I'll definitely give this a read through!

IMO, Drew Beechum's book on cider making will take you from the very first steps to something a lot more sophisticated.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1440566186/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20...

Awesome, I just ordered this! Between this and the above link, I think I'm well on my way