So I realized that I never finished talking about the cider that I made for Christmas.  It turned out pretty good.  Rather flat after a couple of weeks of conditioning then all of a sudden WHAM-O…super carbonated.  ABV turned out to be way higher than expected, probably around 12%.  Tasted more like a dry apple wine than a cider.  I learned a lot from this experiment and expect this year’s batch to be even better.

this is my crew

And this is where the hard cider project begins.  It is pretty simple really.  Juice the apples, add the sugar, and then heat for 45 minutes, but don’t boil or you will cause the cider to become forever cloudy.

While that is cooking use the B.E.S.T. sanitize everything that the  cider will come into contact with.  This prevents stray bacteria and other yuck from crashing the party.

Once the mixture is done cooking let it cool down to room temperature.  This takes a long time and is really annoying, but if you skip this step you will kill the yeast and just have a lot of juice in a jug with dead yeast.

When cool enough, it is time to add the yeast.  Follow the instructions on the package.  Mine said to mix yeast with 2 oz. warm water, let sit 15 minutes and then stir.  When that is done add the yeast nutrient to the yeast and gently mix it up.

Now put the sugary apple juice mixture into the sanitized carboy and add in the yeast mixture.  Give the jug a little swirl to make things are mixing together nicely.  Put your stopper and airlock in the carboy and fill the airlock with water.

Now it is time to let our little friends the yeast do what they do best.  Put this whole setup in a dark place where the temperature will not exceed 70 degrees.  Gas should start venting from the airlock within a day or two which will let you know that the yeast are happy.  Just let it sit.  Don’t move, don’t taste it, don’t add anything to it.  In about two weeks the primary fermentation will be done and it will be time to move onto the next step.

A couple of days ago I read an article about how to make your own Hard Apple Cider.  It was one of those familiar moments when you just know it has to be done.  Sorta like building a jump for your bike as a kid just because you found an old cinderblock and a piece of plywood.  The materials were there, and it seemed like a good idea at the time so you just went for it.  This weekend I think I’ll go to Oak Glen and find some apples and then just go for it.