First try at cider

[overdbus]

I just got 2 gallons of unfiltered apple
juice and am wondering if I can use Wyeast American
1056 that I washed from a batch of IPA that turned
out good ? and do i need to make a starter and if so
what do I use ? ( i have corn sugar, dme or the apple juice)
and is using boiled raisins/dates for a nutrient ok?
Would a pound of corn sugar and a pound of boiled honey
be about right for 2 gal ? - hence the starter question
Thanks

 

[Jrod]

I would just use apple juice for the starter but I would make sure to add some yeast nutrient to the starter and the batch of juice.

 

[Tw0fish]

I'd make a bit of a starter to be sure your yeast is still alive (no dig on your washing skills! just sayin haha)

Lotta guys swear by yeast nutrients. I like raisins just fine. You don't even need to boil 'em, if you ask me.

I'd start with a pound of honey plus applejuice and see what your SG (Thus: potential ABV) is.. the wyeast goes to 11% according to google but that may be a bit hefty depending on how you like your cider! Remember, less residual sugar and more alcohol means you're gonna have to age it longer, generally speaking..

Other than that, heck yes. Do it.

 

[overdbus]

I'd make a bit of a starter to be sure your yeast is still alive (no dig on your washing skills! just sayin haha)

Lotta guys swear by yeast nutrients. I like raisins just fine. You don't even need to boil 'em, if you ask me.

I'd start with a pound of honey plus applejuice and see what your SG (Thus: potential ABV) is.. the wyeast goes to 11% according to google but that may be a bit hefty depending on how you like your cider! Remember, less residual sugar and more alcohol means you're gonna have to age it longer, generally speaking..

Other than that, heck yes. Do it.

on the starter do i need to bring it to a full boil( like a beer starter) when using apple juice or will 170'ish be enough ? and do i need to wait for it
to "get going" like a beer starter ?

 

[overdbus]

Ok today was cider day , here's what I did ,started with 2 gal
of unfiltered apple juice (sun harvest) and added a qt of boiled
honey and water 50-50mix , a qt of Hansens natural apple juice
and ¾ of a cup of rasins and two dates that were heated then put
in the food processor and pureed then boiled and cooled an added.

My washed yeast ( Wyeast 1056) starter wasn't really starting , so I
added 1 more of the washed yeast (3/8 inch thick in bottom of ½ pint
mason jars) and still just a little bit of foam , this over the past 2 days
so plan B hit up the home brew shop and pickup another slap pack ,
so pitched half in the cider and half in a starter for an IPA on Monday.
All this around noon pst.

Got busy this afternoon and forgot to check gravity ,so went to check
it 6 hours latter and it's already got the foam going on top (3 gal water bottle)
and it's at 1.060 , Is this high – low or what ? And is a blowoff tube need
for this kind of batch ?

Thanks everyone for the help.

 

[overdbus]

Just checked it got 1.014 ,is this good after 13 days
and is it time to rack it to the secondary ?
still tasted a little sweet - good

 

[UpstateMike]

Just checked it got 1.014 ,is this good after 13 days
and is it time to rack it to the secondary ?
still tasted a little sweet - good

Depends on what you are looking for. Right now you have a cider that is a bit above 6% ABV. If you want higher, let it sit, potential is 8-10%. If you like how it tastes, you may want to bottle. Be aware fermentation will continue in the bottle unless you do something to stop it.

 

[overdbus]

Depends on what you are looking for. Right now you have a cider that is a bit above 6% ABV. If you want higher, let it sit, potential is 8-10%. If you like how it tastes, you may want to bottle. Be aware fermentation will continue in the bottle unless you do something to stop it.

Will going to a secondary help , hurt , I would like to try to clear it a bit
was thinking of straining it through cheeze cloth in to the secondary and letting it go another week ? taste is good but (rolls dice) could be a little better.

thanks

 

[dinnerstick]

cheese cloth is good if you want to make a mess, but won't help the cider very much... if you want to stop fermentation where it is and still leave it in a carboy to clear, then your best bet is to get it somewhere fridge-cold (just over 273 degrees kelvin for all you farenheight fans) for a few days to drop the yeast, and then carefully rack off the yeast. but remember fermentation will kick back off (albeit much more slowly) if you take it back up to room temp unless you "do something to stop it" -hey upstate mike it sounds like you know some people with sicilian nicknames

 

[overdbus]

Well today was bottling day, last week after deciding that the taste
was good to go I racked it to a secondary and added a pint of gelatin
and heated water mix and cold crashed it in the chest freezer , it froze
and thawed twice ( still need a controller) but stayed at 40f the last few
days. So yesterday transferred it to a new bottling bucket and put back
in the freezer ,this morning filled 12 Grolsch bottles and ran them in the
dish washer ,just pulled them out put some in the fridge some in a dark
closet and some are going to be gave away , they came out clear enough
to read through the bottles and taste is “apple/white/wine'ish not sweet
but not sour.

So now on to the next batch ,I need more Grolsch bottles. . . . .

Thanks everyone for the help an tips