New guy on the forum, questions and ideas?

[Snuffalupagus]

Okee dokee, I've decided to have a go at making my own Cider - Something about the possibility of getting shnockered on a beverage you make at home sounds like a fine idea.

while I'm not a total stranger to home brewing - my mom, (who is a total non drinker) has created some way dubious "adult beverages" just for fun sort of. on the short list is: wine from some unknown dark grapes in our backyard - using flieshman's yeast no less - the end result was something that tasted like welch's grapejuce with a serious kick. not sure how it aged as I forgot all about it after the first taste. another interesting concotion was an apple cider made from Seneca Apple juice concentrate - and flieshmans yeast and white sugar. this was pitched into a 5 gallon plastic bucket and covered with seran wrap. the end result was... interesting. it was very sweet, but still quite appley. to tell the truth it was kind of nasty likely a step above prison pruno (bearly) - but I drank it anyway, as to a 20 something yer old guy... free booze is free booze - right?

now I want to do it the right way.
I've orderd a pair of air locks and plugs for two 5 gallon bottles I happen to have. I'll be purchasing a few 5 gallon buckets for racking, and a few other tidbits of kit I thought I would need. also I ordered up some EC-1118 yeast

I intend to start with an apple cider first -
the hippie store down the street has some nice organic apple cider in gallon glass jugs (which will be handy later as demijohns and/or bottling the finished product) it contains only citric acid according to the label. I know this will work.
I want a basically dry crisp cider, with a high(ish) alcohol content (like 8-10%) I could add a bit of localy produced turbinado sugar to the primary (maui grown) and would like to make it carbonated - will the turbinado work for priming? access to brew specific ingredients and supplies on the island are limited. also while shopping at the hippie grocery store I noticed agave nectar sold as a sugar substitute sweetner and got the creative juices flowing... has anyone used organic agave nectar in the primary in an apple cider for sugar content and flavor complexity? will it work? I've read here that honey is used somtimes, and this agave nectar has a consistancy of really thin honey and on the label says it's 1.25 times as sweet as table sugar - how much of this stuff would be adviseable to add to a 5 gallon apple cider batch for a little extra interesting flavor and sugar boost? I'm assuming that agave nectar is fermentable -after all... they distill fermented agave into tequila. anyone think this might be an interesting addition? or should I just go for the basic apple on my first attempt?
since i'll have brew supplies for a second 5 gallon primary - I might have a go at making another fruit cider as well. an apple/mixed berry combo is one idea - or maybe a straight peary? decisions decisions.

 

[kaptain_karma]

Welcome to the forums! I would recommend making something simple for your first batch, like Edwort's Apfelwein. Once you're comfortable with the process, then you can start playing around.

 

[Freezeblade]

Actually, I think that cider is simple enough that as long as he doesn't get into the spices/tea/lemon/other fruit additions he'll be fine. Start a few one-gallon batches, each with one variable; one batch with a 1/2# of sugar, one with honey, one with the agave (I've used this before, unless you're talking the dark colored stuff it tastes almost exactly the same as honey and isn't worth the extra money it costs), and one with nothing added. the key here is to find what you like and to keep things simple.