arringtonbp
Well-Known Member
I've read http://makinghardcider.com/index.html that site, and I plan to follow those guidelines to make my cider.
I wanted to ask a few questions:
1. I'm using nottingham ale yeast. My apartment is set at 76 F, but my room is a little cooler (not sure how much cooler, maybe 2-4 degrees). Nottingham yeast's optimal temperature is under 70 F. Do I have to wait for temperatures outside to drop, or am I good to go?
2. I plan to bottle the yeast in old Dos Equis bottles (lol). I'm going to buy a capper and some caps. Are there any problems with this?
3. If I start the process at the end of this week, when will I have good cider?
NOTE: I am interested in a medium-sweet, carbonated cider. I plan on back sweetening with brown sugar and apple concentrate (no preservatives in any of these).
4. I am planning on hot pasteurizing the bottles once they are carb'd and sweetened to my taste, as demonstrated in the sticky.
5. For now I'm only doing one gallon. I plan on using cheaper cider (I paid 7.50 for this gallon, but I have two glass jugs now) after this. If I want to start a new batch, but leave enough time to learn from any mistakes I make, when would be a good time to start my second batch?
6. What smells do I need to know about? (I.E. rhino farts, any indicators of good cider, any indicators of bad cider)
Thank you guys for the info. I hope to scale this up once I learn how it all works.
I wanted to ask a few questions:
1. I'm using nottingham ale yeast. My apartment is set at 76 F, but my room is a little cooler (not sure how much cooler, maybe 2-4 degrees). Nottingham yeast's optimal temperature is under 70 F. Do I have to wait for temperatures outside to drop, or am I good to go?
2. I plan to bottle the yeast in old Dos Equis bottles (lol). I'm going to buy a capper and some caps. Are there any problems with this?
3. If I start the process at the end of this week, when will I have good cider?
NOTE: I am interested in a medium-sweet, carbonated cider. I plan on back sweetening with brown sugar and apple concentrate (no preservatives in any of these).
4. I am planning on hot pasteurizing the bottles once they are carb'd and sweetened to my taste, as demonstrated in the sticky.
5. For now I'm only doing one gallon. I plan on using cheaper cider (I paid 7.50 for this gallon, but I have two glass jugs now) after this. If I want to start a new batch, but leave enough time to learn from any mistakes I make, when would be a good time to start my second batch?
6. What smells do I need to know about? (I.E. rhino farts, any indicators of good cider, any indicators of bad cider)
Thank you guys for the info. I hope to scale this up once I learn how it all works.
