Summary:
== Hard Cider the Easy Way ==
Making your own hard cider is surprisingly easy, and the result is surprisingly good and versatile. Follow the instructions exactly as given, paying particular attention to sanitation and rules for patience. Once your cider is ready to drink, be creative mixing the 7%-9% cider with other juices (still or sparkling) or mixers to create crowd-pleasing summer drinks.
== Equipment and Supplies ==
You need the following equipment and supplies to get started. Don?t worry if you don?t know what these items are. Just take the list to your local homebrew shop?they?ll be happy to help and pleased that you are embarking on a brewing adventure.
<ul><li>Two 6.5 gallon buckets (or glass carboys)
<li>One bucket lid drilled to accommodate a #7 stopper with hole (don?t need this if you use carboys)
<li>One #7 stopper with hole
<li>One air lock (3-piece is what I use, but S-shaped will also work)
<li>One racking cane (make sure you get one long enough for your fermenters)
<li>5 ft. tubing to fit the racking cane
<li>Sanitizer (I use Iodophor, but several others are available at the homebrew shop)
<li>DAP (Diammonium Phosphate?you?ll need about 2 Tbs per batch)
<li>Champagne Yeast (I typically use two 5g packets of Lalvin EC-1118?Red Star Pasteur also works well)
<li>Apple Cider/Juice (I buy mine at Costco. Just make sure that it is 100% juice with no preservatives?citric acid is not a problem and the clearer the juice is to begin with, the clearer your cider will be.)</ul>
<br>The total cost of equipment should be less than $30. The cost of sanitizer, DAP, and champagne yeast should be about $3.00 per batch. The cost of juice depends on where and when you buy it?typically about $20.00 per batch.
The brewing process takes 14 days if you can keep the temperature in your brewing space between 70 and 80 degrees. If it?s colder, it will take longer; if it?s much warmer, you might get some funny flavors.
A note about sanitation: poor sanitation is the most likely cause of any outcome that you don?t find delightful. The average kitchen is full of microbes that would love to feast on apple cider left in a bucket at room temperature for two weeks. Most of the critters will just make your cider taste bad; some molds can actually be harmful to you. Attend carefully to the instructions on whatever sanitation process you choose. KEEP IT CLEAN!
The following process is for a 6-gallon batch?adjust quantities if you plan to make more/less.
== Instructions for a 6-gallon batch ==
=== Day 1 ===
<ol><li>Take the yeast out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature (70 ? 75 degrees F.).
<li>Clean and sanitize one of the 6.5 gallon buckets, the lid (or carboy), the stopper, and the air lock.
<li>Completely dissolve 2 Tbs DAP in about � cup warm water. This will take some stirring and 2-3 minutes. If you sniff the solution once the DAP is dissolved, you?ll notice a pronounced ammonia smell. Don?t let this bother you?yeast actually thrives on the stuff.
<li>Pour the DAP solution into the sanitized bucket (or carboy).
<li>Carefully pour 6 gallons of cider/juice into the sanitized bucket. Try not to splash too much in order to avoid mixing oxygen and microbes from the air into the juice.
<li>Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the juice?don?t mix the yeast into the juice and ignore anything you read or were told about rehydrating the yeast.
<li>Put the sanitized lid on the sanitized bucket. Do this carefully to avoid ?drowning? the yeast.
<li>Fill the sanitized air lock with enough water to form a seal. Don?t overfill.
<li>Put the sanitized air lock in the hole in the sanitized stopper and put the sanitized stopper in the hole in the sanitized lid.
<li>Put the bucket in a place that will be undisturbed and between 70 and 80 degrees for 7 days.</ol><br>
=== Day 2 ===
<ol><li>Look at the air lock. You?ll notice that CO2 is escaping. Sniff it if you like. It should smell like CO2 and the juice.
<li>Don?t disturb the bucket in any way.</ol><br>
=== Day 3 ? 6 ===
<ol><li>Don?t disturb the bucket in any way.
<li>Watch the air lock. You?ll notice the rate of bubbling increasing to about 1-2 per second, then decreasing to nothing.</ol><br>
=== Day 7 ===
<ol><li>Clean and sanitize the empty bucket, racking cane, and tubing.
<li>Attach the sanitized tubing to the sanitized racking cane.
<li>Carefully lift the bucket containing the cider to a stable surface about 4 ft. off the ground. A typical countertop works just fine.
<li>Place the empty bucket on the floor in front of the full bucket.
<li>Carefully remove the air lock/stopper from the full bucket and then remove the lid.
<li>Using the racking cane/tubing, siphon the cider from the full bucket into the empty bucket. Be careful to not splash too much in order to avoid introducing oxygen and microbes from the air into the cider. Leave the buff-colored sediment (dormant yeast) in the original bucket?this generally means sacrificing about a quart of cider, but this is necessary for a clear final product.
<li>Put the sanitized lid on the sanitized bucket.
<li>Refill the sanitized air lock with enough water to form a seal. Don?t overfill.
<li>Put the sanitized air lock in the hole in the sanitized stopper and put the sanitized stopper in the hole in the sanitized lid.
<li>Put the bucket in a place that will be undisturbed and between 70 and 80 degrees for another 7 days.</ol><br>
=== Day 8 ? 13 ===
<ol><li>Don?t disturb the bucket in any way.
<li>During this week you?ll see few if any bubbles in the airlock. In this ?secondary fermentation? the yeast in suspension finishes all of its work and settles to the bottom. If you are using a glass carboy, notice that on day 8 the cider is very cloudy, but clears to almost crystal by day 14. I use a laser pointer to monitor the progress.</ol><br>
=== Day 14 ===
<ol><li>Repeat day 7, but put the cider in whatever containers you want to use for storing and consuming. The original juice bottles work well. Be careful to leave behind the last bit of cloudy (yeasty) cider. You can drink it if you want, but be ready for some nasty flatulence.
<li>Enjoy!</ol>
== Final Notes ==
<ul><li>The final alcohol content of the cider depends on the sugar content of the juice you use. I find my ciders finishing between 7% and 9%.
<li>If you want sweeter cider, save 1 gallon of the juice and add it on day 14. This will reactivate any dormant yeast remaining in the cider, so be careful with temperature and containment. If you refrigerate, there won?t be any problem. At room temperature, you?ll get some additional fermentation and CO2.
<li>Try adding fruit flavorings (from the homebrew store) if you like fruity stuff.
<li>Share this recipe (and your cider) freely with your friends.
<li>Drink responsibly.</ul>
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Drink]]
[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
Making your own hard cider is surprisingly easy, and the result is surprisingly good and versatile. Follow the instructions exactly as given, paying particular attention to sanitation and rules for patience. Once your cider is ready to drink, be creative mixing the 7%-9% cider with other juices (still or sparkling) or mixers to create crowd-pleasing summer drinks.
== Equipment and Supplies ==
You need the following equipment and supplies to get started. Don?t worry if you don?t know what these items are. Just take the list to your local homebrew shop?they?ll be happy to help and pleased that you are embarking on a brewing adventure.
<ul><li>Two 6.5 gallon buckets (or glass carboys)
<li>One bucket lid drilled to accommodate a #7 stopper with hole (don?t need this if you use carboys)
<li>One #7 stopper with hole
<li>One air lock (3-piece is what I use, but S-shaped will also work)
<li>One racking cane (make sure you get one long enough for your fermenters)
<li>5 ft. tubing to fit the racking cane
<li>Sanitizer (I use Iodophor, but several others are available at the homebrew shop)
<li>DAP (Diammonium Phosphate?you?ll need about 2 Tbs per batch)
<li>Champagne Yeast (I typically use two 5g packets of Lalvin EC-1118?Red Star Pasteur also works well)
<li>Apple Cider/Juice (I buy mine at Costco. Just make sure that it is 100% juice with no preservatives?citric acid is not a problem and the clearer the juice is to begin with, the clearer your cider will be.)</ul>
<br>The total cost of equipment should be less than $30. The cost of sanitizer, DAP, and champagne yeast should be about $3.00 per batch. The cost of juice depends on where and when you buy it?typically about $20.00 per batch.
The brewing process takes 14 days if you can keep the temperature in your brewing space between 70 and 80 degrees. If it?s colder, it will take longer; if it?s much warmer, you might get some funny flavors.
A note about sanitation: poor sanitation is the most likely cause of any outcome that you don?t find delightful. The average kitchen is full of microbes that would love to feast on apple cider left in a bucket at room temperature for two weeks. Most of the critters will just make your cider taste bad; some molds can actually be harmful to you. Attend carefully to the instructions on whatever sanitation process you choose. KEEP IT CLEAN!
The following process is for a 6-gallon batch?adjust quantities if you plan to make more/less.
== Instructions for a 6-gallon batch ==
=== Day 1 ===
<ol><li>Take the yeast out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature (70 ? 75 degrees F.).
<li>Clean and sanitize one of the 6.5 gallon buckets, the lid (or carboy), the stopper, and the air lock.
<li>Completely dissolve 2 Tbs DAP in about � cup warm water. This will take some stirring and 2-3 minutes. If you sniff the solution once the DAP is dissolved, you?ll notice a pronounced ammonia smell. Don?t let this bother you?yeast actually thrives on the stuff.
<li>Pour the DAP solution into the sanitized bucket (or carboy).
<li>Carefully pour 6 gallons of cider/juice into the sanitized bucket. Try not to splash too much in order to avoid mixing oxygen and microbes from the air into the juice.
<li>Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the juice?don?t mix the yeast into the juice and ignore anything you read or were told about rehydrating the yeast.
<li>Put the sanitized lid on the sanitized bucket. Do this carefully to avoid ?drowning? the yeast.
<li>Fill the sanitized air lock with enough water to form a seal. Don?t overfill.
<li>Put the sanitized air lock in the hole in the sanitized stopper and put the sanitized stopper in the hole in the sanitized lid.
<li>Put the bucket in a place that will be undisturbed and between 70 and 80 degrees for 7 days.</ol><br>
=== Day 2 ===
<ol><li>Look at the air lock. You?ll notice that CO2 is escaping. Sniff it if you like. It should smell like CO2 and the juice.
<li>Don?t disturb the bucket in any way.</ol><br>
=== Day 3 ? 6 ===
<ol><li>Don?t disturb the bucket in any way.
<li>Watch the air lock. You?ll notice the rate of bubbling increasing to about 1-2 per second, then decreasing to nothing.</ol><br>
=== Day 7 ===
<ol><li>Clean and sanitize the empty bucket, racking cane, and tubing.
<li>Attach the sanitized tubing to the sanitized racking cane.
<li>Carefully lift the bucket containing the cider to a stable surface about 4 ft. off the ground. A typical countertop works just fine.
<li>Place the empty bucket on the floor in front of the full bucket.
<li>Carefully remove the air lock/stopper from the full bucket and then remove the lid.
<li>Using the racking cane/tubing, siphon the cider from the full bucket into the empty bucket. Be careful to not splash too much in order to avoid introducing oxygen and microbes from the air into the cider. Leave the buff-colored sediment (dormant yeast) in the original bucket?this generally means sacrificing about a quart of cider, but this is necessary for a clear final product.
<li>Put the sanitized lid on the sanitized bucket.
<li>Refill the sanitized air lock with enough water to form a seal. Don?t overfill.
<li>Put the sanitized air lock in the hole in the sanitized stopper and put the sanitized stopper in the hole in the sanitized lid.
<li>Put the bucket in a place that will be undisturbed and between 70 and 80 degrees for another 7 days.</ol><br>
=== Day 8 ? 13 ===
<ol><li>Don?t disturb the bucket in any way.
<li>During this week you?ll see few if any bubbles in the airlock. In this ?secondary fermentation? the yeast in suspension finishes all of its work and settles to the bottom. If you are using a glass carboy, notice that on day 8 the cider is very cloudy, but clears to almost crystal by day 14. I use a laser pointer to monitor the progress.</ol><br>
=== Day 14 ===
<ol><li>Repeat day 7, but put the cider in whatever containers you want to use for storing and consuming. The original juice bottles work well. Be careful to leave behind the last bit of cloudy (yeasty) cider. You can drink it if you want, but be ready for some nasty flatulence.
<li>Enjoy!</ol>
== Final Notes ==
<ul><li>The final alcohol content of the cider depends on the sugar content of the juice you use. I find my ciders finishing between 7% and 9%.
<li>If you want sweeter cider, save 1 gallon of the juice and add it on day 14. This will reactivate any dormant yeast remaining in the cider, so be careful with temperature and containment. If you refrigerate, there won?t be any problem. At room temperature, you?ll get some additional fermentation and CO2.
<li>Try adding fruit flavorings (from the homebrew store) if you like fruity stuff.
<li>Share this recipe (and your cider) freely with your friends.
<li>Drink responsibly.</ul>
[[Category:Food]]
[[Category:Drink]]
[[Category:Entertainment]]
[[Category:Food and Drink]]
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/0wqTNssidVw/Brew_Hard_Cider
No comments:
Post a Comment