Not my first cider, but definitely my first good cider!

[MtnGoatJoe]

I just wanted to say thanks to all the folks who have helped answer all my questions. I've tried to make a good, sweet, cider intermittently over the last several years (just small batches), and haven't had any luck. But this year was different, and it's get me super excited for next autumn.

My process wasn't difficult in a theoretical sense, but keeping things sanitized was way harder than I thought. I used Starsan for sanitizing, but it was hard to keep my scatterbrained mother and wife from touching things after I sanitized them. Good help is hard to find ;-) That said, I'm very, very grateful for their help!

Basically... I pressed, heat pasteurized on the stove, and then stored in a bucket for a couple of weeks until I was ready to ferment. I added honey and light brown sugar to take it from 1.050 to 1.070 SG. Fermented it down to 1.020 SG, heat pasteurized again, and then stored it in some glass growlers. I let is sit for about 8 weeks, and then force carbonated at 15 psi in a 64 oz uKeg growler with a 16g CO2 cartridge. After 3 days with the growler in the refrigerator, it’s absolutely delicious!!! My wife, who can be very picky with my projects, was very impressed!

I thought I wrote down the yeast I used, but I can't find that note. I think it was 71B from Lallemand. I'm looking forward to experimenting with yeasts next year.

I'm going to fill my uKeg again tonight and then try bottling to see if the carbonation holds up. Fresh out of the uKeg is great, but I'm wondering how much CO2 I'll loose transferring it to a bottle. In another thread, someone recommended that I chill the bottles before transfer and also use a tube to fill the bottle from the bottom.

I only made 2 gallons of cider this year from the 5 gallons I pressed. With the luck I had with my previous attempts, I saved most of my pressing as juice and gave it to family. But next year, now that I have a successful process, I'll aim for a bit more!

 

[Sammy86]

Congratulations! While I only brew cider 1-2 times a year let me say there is nothing better than getting a good result!

As far as your question, you are going to lose some carbonation and it probably won't last too long transferring from the uKeg. My inexperienced uneducated bet would be a week, 2 tops. Definitely use a piece of tubing and poor as slowly as possible. Good luck!

 

[Epond83]

I have bottled from a ukeg. It had less carbonation but it did have some after 6 months.
Keep the ukeg as cold as possible for a week or so to maximize CO2 on solution. I kept mine around 32* the alcohol should help with it not freezing, but keep an eye on the sight glass
As mentioned get a tube for the spout so you can fill the bottle from the bottom.

 

[MtnGoatJoe]

Thanks for the help Sammy and Epond!