Every October for the past 5+ years I remind myself that I've always wanted to make hard cider. This year, I'm actually making that happen! I have a few questions before I get started, though...
I bought a brewing kit that has most everything I need in terms of equipment, and maybe more as I'm not sure what I'll do with the glass carboy (more on that later. The kit I purchased includes:
I also bought:
Now, what I'm looking for is a hard cider about 6-8% ABV, preferably sweet and sparkling. I did a bunch of reading, and here's my plan of action (after disinfecting, etc):
Sound like a good plan? My kit came with the two plastic buckets and the clear glass carboy. Honestly the first time I heard about using a carboy just for settling the drink prior to racking into the secondary fermenter is new to me, and may not be necessary for hard cider. Should I settle it out in the carboy before placing it into the secondary fermenter bucket, or is that really necessary?
Since the cider is unpasteurized and has no preservatives should I pasteurize it myself or allow the wild yeast to add to the flavor?
I bought a brewing kit that has most everything I need in terms of equipment, and maybe more as I'm not sure what I'll do with the glass carboy (more on that later. The kit I purchased includes:
- 6.5 Gallon "Ale Pail" Primary Fermenter with Grommeted Lid
- 6.5 Gallon "Ale Pail" Bottling Bucket with Spigot
- 5 Gallon Glass Carboy
- "Home Beermaking" Book
- Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleanser
- Twin Lever Capper
- Triple Scale Hydrometer
- Siphon Hose and Shut-Off Clamp
- Driilled Universal Carboy Bung
- Liquid Crystal Thermometer
- Lab Thermometer
- Brew Paddle
- Airlock
- Fermtech Auto Siphon
- Bottle Filler
- Bottle Brush
- Carboy Brush
- Equipment Instructions
I also bought:
- Red Star Premeir Cuvee active dry yeast
- 5 gallons of my favorite apple cider. Unpasteurized and with no preservatives
- 2 LB bag brown sugar
- 2 LB table sugar
Now, what I'm looking for is a hard cider about 6-8% ABV, preferably sweet and sparkling. I did a bunch of reading, and here's my plan of action (after disinfecting, etc):
- Dump the cider into the primary fermenter bucket, stir in and dissolve the 2 LB brown and 2 LB table sugar. Add the yeast, close the bucket and place on the airlock.
- Watch the airlock and wait a week or until it slows down. Test the SG and maybe give it a taste. Wait and repeat as long as necessary until the SG is at the low end of where I want it.
- Once the SG is where I want it, I'll rack it all into the 5G glass carboy and let it settle out. Once settled, siphon it out into the secondary fermentation bucket.
- Give the cider more time in the secondary fermentation bucket until the ABV reaches around 8% ABV, I'll taste it again, back sweeten it more if I like and then bottle.
- Wait 24-48 hours, open a bottle and give it a try. If its as fizzy as I want, I'll pasteurize all the bottles in the dishwasher, and then put in the fridge.
Sound like a good plan? My kit came with the two plastic buckets and the clear glass carboy. Honestly the first time I heard about using a carboy just for settling the drink prior to racking into the secondary fermenter is new to me, and may not be necessary for hard cider. Should I settle it out in the carboy before placing it into the secondary fermenter bucket, or is that really necessary?
Since the cider is unpasteurized and has no preservatives should I pasteurize it myself or allow the wild yeast to add to the flavor?