making my first Cider brew

[Pumbaa]

hell you dont even really need a 5 gallon carboy. The problem with what you are using now is that they probably allow air to get into your "brew". Granted it's not a lot but it is enuff to mess ya up.

I just checked Northern Brewer, it's a online brew store http://www.northernbrewer.com/ferment.html
For about $12 you can have a decent fermentor and airlock, and that $12 you'll probably never have to spend again if ya take care of it. After that all you'll have to buy is your juice and yeast . . . and there are plenty of ways of getting around buying yeast if you are interested.

One more thing, yeah you have to be 21 to buy beer and booze in the US BUT . . . anyone can walk in and buy malt or yeast or hops. I would be very shocked if a LHBS turned you away. PM me with your location and I'll find you a homebrew store close by . . . or atleast I'll try to.

Side note to yuri . . . . I so wanted to screw up every spelling and every little part of grammer I could . . . but I was nice
grammer nazis suck:fro:

 

[the_bird]

One more thing, yeah you have to be 21 to buy beer and booze in the US BUT . . . anyonecan walk in and buy malt or yeast or hops. I would be very shocked if a LHBS turned you away. PM me with your location and I'll find you a homebrew store close by . . . or atleast I'll try to.

Interestingly on this note, someone posted a link to a HBS's website the other day that specifically said that people under 21 could NOT purchase home brew supplies. I'm presuming that it was their store policy.

What was most interesting was that this store was located in New Hampshire, a state very well known for its hatred of individual liberties (tongue firmly in cheek).

 

[xunedeinx]

Nah, i jus gave in like 30 min ago and baught a 3gal carboy...

About the grammer, i cant spell worth a donkys @$$, sorry. I do better in spanish then i do in english class. But, im a criminal justice major, which means its a doctorate of science, so i only need 3 credits of english, which im finishing up right now.

Now, formulas and science, i am amazing at!

Why is air bad for it?

I checked, my bottles are airtight, nothing gets in, only CO2 gets out.

I now got my carboy, airlocks, and yeast en route to my place.

Now, for the good stuff!

if this stuff taists good to me, i wonder how good itll taste (eat it, i spelled it right =p) done the right way.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Nice response...didn't mean to be so harsh...I'm just a picky m-f-er.

I forgot to mention it, but Pumbaa was spot on about the worst thing in your setup. Air is bad because it carries bacteria, wild yeast, mold spores, and fungus spores. Airlocks are essentially cheap one-way valves that keep contaminant laden air out while allowing fermentation by-products (namely CO2) to escape. They aren't ABSOLUTELY essential, and some beers are actually intentionally exposed to wild yeast by leaving the ferementer open (look up lambic style beers). However, they are cheap insurance against a batch of brew going rancid.

 

[Pumbaa]

Nah, i jus gave in like 30 min ago and baught a 3gal carboy...

About the grammer, i cant spell worth a donkys @$$, sorry. I do better in spanish then i do in english class. But, im a criminal justice major, which means its a doctorate of science, so i only need 3 credits of english, which im finishing up right now.

Now, formulas and science, i am amazing at!

Why is air bad for it?

I checked, my bottles are airtight, nothing gets in, only CO2 gets out.

I now got my carboy, airlocks, and yeast en route to my place.

Now, for the good stuff!

if this stuff taists good to me, i wonder how good itll taste (eat it, i spelled it right =p) done the right way.

Now that ya got a carboy only put about 2 - 2 1/2 gallons of juice in that bad boy or you could potentially have a mess. I have never had a significant kreusan with my cider but better safe then sorry. If you can get your hands on some vodka it works great in your air lock if not plain old water is just fine.

Also if you have a firdge in your room do a search on this site (or the web I guess) about yeast harvesting / washing and save yourself some cash that way too. Not that I am saying to do one thing or another but I'm guess you may be able to find some labware somewhere on campus

 

[xunedeinx]

Whats a kreusan ?

And why voddie over water?
help taste?

 

[the_bird]

Somehow, I think any vodka he gets his hands on WON'T be going into the airlock... not that there;s anything wrong with that.

 

[the_bird]

You use vodka rather than water as an extra level of precaution. Basically, instead of having water between your cider and the outside world, it's vodka (which nasties can't live in). I use water with no problems.

Krausen is the head that forms on top of the beer or cider during fermentation. Usually a bigger issue with beer-making.

 

[xunedeinx]

The foam stuff?

I always thought it was jus the yeast...

And i dont like vodca... nor anything over 40 proof.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Yes, krausen is the foamy bubbly stuff created by your brew off-gassing as it ferments. There is yeast in it, but it's mostly just foamy brew by-products. I like to use a no-rinse sanitizing solution in my airlocks (Star San is my sanitizer of choice). It helps keep peace of mind with sanitation, and it keeps the vodka in my martinis.

 

[xunedeinx]

What about a sanitizer solution?

At BK, where i unfortunatly work, we have sanitizer for the sinks. Its like powdered bleach and stuff. As long as it dont get into the cider, should be fine?

 

[Pumbaa]

personally I'd stick to water if I wasnt using Vodka . . . the sanatizer idea just gives me the willys

 

[Carne de Perro]

I love this guy (in a totally brotherly sense)! He's brewing w/the ingredients at hand, with off the Wal-Mart shelf equipment, and he's making cider that he likes. Sure his technique could be updated, but it still works! I reminds me of those wacky Belgians who like to break every "rule" in the brewing book and end up with some of the most mind blowing beers around. ("Con-tam-eenation? Pardon monsoir, what ees that?") :fro:

 

[xunedeinx]

Bubbles are basically stopped... I just Siphoned it into a clean container, then ran it threw a double layered coffee filter into another clean container. its nice and clear.

Added in a pinch more of sugger, and put it into about 10 used and cleaned water bottles, capped off, and there stuck under my bed for me to forget about for a week or two.

Taists ok. not as good as it was, kinda off-taisty, and tingey. Loads of alcohol though.

Cant wait till my **** comes in the mail monday and tuesday. going to make some real ****.

 

[NurseNan]

You may want to check those bottles regularly. I doubt fermentation is completely done, and having added the sugar may restart fermentation. Those bottles under your bed could blow............

 

[xunedeinx]

I doubt theyll blow, there plastic.

Ever make a dry ice bomb?

Take a bottle, half fill it with water, drop a chunk of dry ice in it, and toss it...

Itll expand to about 4x its origional size before it explosivly explodes.

 

[NurseNan]

I've seen plastic blow...........YMMV

 

[xunedeinx]

Ill be careful, i promise! Checked it today, still has soe squeeze left in it.

YMMV? whats that?

 

[NurseNan]

Your Milage May Vary...

 

[wundermary]

Hahaha, this is the best freakin thread!!!

 

[djamwolfe]

This thread gets me thinking .. Is there other easly obtainable off the shelf products that can be made into a sweet alchoholic beverage? Maby like table sugar or molassas?
Devon

 

[N3WWN]

djamwolfe, I was thinking the same thing!!

I was going to try a small (about 1pt or so) batch of molasses "mead".... no honey, just molasses and water and yeast (plus nutrients, acid blend, etc as needed).

This is essentially how some rum is made, from what I have found in my "research"... but without distillation, I am thinking of calling it "Rum in the Raw" or something similarly catchy

Then perhaps a molasses/honey hybrid-mead concoction...

Who knows from there...

-Rich

 

[xunedeinx]

Well, first batch turned out ****ing nasty, jus like everyone said it would...

Hats off to you all!!!

started a batch of real ****, and..it actually smells appealing...

Oh, and this thread got the most views!

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

Did nobody link this man to the apfelwein thread?

So uhhh.. I gotta ask... how'd it turn out?

 

[Caplan]

Did nobody link this man to the apfelwein thread?

Go read. He posted in it.