How did you start out?

[DaveDiamond]

This video randomly popped up in my YouTube feed, and I liked the idea of making something that tasted like Vodka and Orange.
The goal now though is to make a decent sparkling Apple Cider. My wife used to drink Mead, so I'll try to make Cyser too.
Here's my 'Brewery' so far. I'll be racking these later today (It's been a week), and filling another tub with freshly made up bottles. I get 16 2 litres in a tub, and the initial stage was pretty easy as there's nothing to sterilise, but the racking is going to be a different story. Some of these are orange juice and they just wouldn't stop fizzing over, hence the layer of juice in the bottom even though I cleaned everything on day 3. You can't see what's orange and what's apple atm! I'll be concentrating on Apple juice this time and trying a slightly different recipe each bottle. So far the tub has worked out well, and I figure with the lid on the tub must be filled with CO2 so the chance of O2 contamination should be minimal.
There's a lot of variation in the colour of the Apple Juice, I think perhaps the darker one will make better cider, but I'll do up one of the lightest and one of the darkest the exact same and see what the difference is.

Anyone care to comment and share their first endeavours?

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I made cider once and it turned out really good. I used store bought juice, nothing fancy and not the fresh kind from an orchard. After fermentation I back flavored it with raspberry concentrate and let it sit for another week in case it wanted to ferment more. I could have kegged it at that point for a sparkling cider though.

 

[DaveDiamond]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I made cider once and it turned out really good. I used store bought juice, nothing fancy and not the fresh kind from an orchard. After fermentation I back flavored it with raspberry concentrate and let it sit for another week in case it wanted to ferment more. I could have kegged it at that point for a sparkling cider though.

being able to keg it would be great, but it's not gonna be a possibility any time soon, bottling it is.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

being able to keg it would be great, but it's not gonna be a possibility any time soon, bottling it is.

I can appreciate that. I keg all of my beer but I have been into thus gig for a long time.

 

[DaveDiamond]

I can appreciate that. I keg all of my beer but I have been into thus gig for a long time.

I've been wanting to brew, but the Winter Solstice was June 23, the middle of winter, and it won't be long before it's just impossible for anywhere in the house to be under 32c.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I've been wanting to brew, but the Winter Solstice was June 23, the middle of winter, and it won't be long before it's just impossible for anywhere in the house to be under 32c.

That's hot, about what Wisconsin temps have been lately. It's been a brutal summer so far, either very hot or torrential rain and both. I hate winter but it might be our only relief, maybe a better fall.

 

[jacoob]

This is how I got into brewing. In college I tried fermenting organic apple juice I got from the store. It came in a 1 gallon glass carboy, so pretty much just had to buy the sanitizer, bung, airlock, and yeast. Still have some of those original carboys.

The "hard cider" produced was quite gross. I tried a few times and there was a persistent sulfurous aroma and taste that didn't age out. I'm probably understating just how bad it was, because I was far less discerning in my tastes in college. Not really sure what the ferment needed to come out better.

I gave up for a bit after several failed experiments at "prison hooch" and after I graduated and had a bit more money I got into beer brewing instead.