Apple cider anyone?

[DFB]

The bottles can be sealed tight if you ferment down to a low sugar content and the fermenting has mostly stopped. I bottled over a 100 bottles with sealed tops and didn't have any problems. Also, you need to store the cider in the refrigerator. The cold will keep it from going into malolactic fermentation.

Interesting process I have never attempted making a hard cider myself.


And getting back to work today I remembered to look at a UV treated label...

not much on it

 

[buckeyefarmer]

my dad used to make cider. I think the press was his Dad's press.
I buy cider without preservatives in it, which means not from a grocery store, don't like the way it changes the taste.

 

[MossRoad]

We used to get cider from an old guy with an old orchard. The last few years we went, he said he was required by the health department that he had to inform us that it was not pasteurized. OK, filler er' up! :laughing:

Sad, though, as two years ago we went there and the orchard was gone, replaced by corn. Probably 10 acres of tress all gone. Apparently his wife had health issues and he could no longer take care of the orchard, had it bulldozed and rented it out for corn. Real shame. He was quite the character. Had peacocks and turkeys running around. Old dogs and cats. Lots of neat old tools on the wall, jokes, newspaper headlines, etc...
This is the orchard from the air...
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5174014,-86.4153451,315m/data=!3m1!1e3

and from google street views...
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.517...4!1sW_zlsNSNUAnxRA1eyS0fyQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This was all apple trees, now its all soybeans.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.516...4!1sCS0Ap5jewpoDJfI0911M2Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Bummer. Hope he's still alive.

A friend of mine said one of his high school buddies lived next to the old guy. One day the high school kid was out in his yard training his dog. He was giving commands. SIT! STAY! ROLL OVER! He looks up and sees the old guy next door laying on his back rolling over with his hands and feet in the air! :laughing: Quite a character. :thumbsup:

 

[WoodChuckDad]

MossRoad, that almost makes me sick. Hard to tell what those old apples were. I'm carving out an orchard from wooded land so that we an open a cidery. We are putting in heirloom cider specific apples. Sad to see a productive old orchard lost like that.

I have about 20 gallons of hard cider in various stages of fermentation right now. The malolactic fermentation is desired for some of them.

 

[Jstpssng]

MossRoad, that almost makes me sick. Hard to tell what those old apples were. I'm caring out an orchard from wooded land so that we an open a cidery. We are putting in heirloom cider specific apples. Sad to see a productive old orchard lost like that.


I have about 20 gallons of hard cider in various stages of fermentation right now. The malolactic fermentation is desired for some of them.

:thumbsup:

 

[mark02tj]

MossRoad, that almost makes me sick. Hard to tell what those old apples were. I'm caring out an orchard from wooded land so that we an open a cidery. We are putting in heirloom cider specific apples. Sad to see a productive old orchard lost like that.

I have about 20 gallons of hard cider in various stages of fermentation right now. The malolactic fermentation is desired for some of them.

How tough is it to make hard cider? I've bought the bottled stuff that is popular now, but wouldn't mind making my own. I have a big orchard up the road from me. They will sell unpasteurized cider if you want it, but "flash pasteurize" it otherwise. I stopped in there yesterday and they're going to still be pressing cider for another couple of weeks.

 

[DFB]

Today is cider pressing day!

tomorrow too :confused2:

 

[WoodChuckDad]

The basics of making hard cider are easy. Take your unpasteurized cider and add yeast. Don't use bread yeast. Use white wine yeast or champagne yeast. You can find those at a brewing or wine making store or on Amazon for about a buck. You will need a stopper and a water lock. You need something to put it in. I have seen lots of people make test batches with the plastic milk jug it came in. Glass gallon jugs are a little nicer since you can see what is going on. If you want larger batches you can spend the money on a glad Carboy or do your fermentation in a food grade 5 gallon bucket with lid. You will need a water lock or blow off tube.

Take your cider. Add yeast. Put the water lock on it and watch the show. It will start fermenting in a day or two. You can tell because it will be bubbling thru the airlock. After a week or two( usually 2 sometimes more) the bubbles will stop. You can test the achohol level with a hydrometer but you don't have to. Siphon the cider off the yeast deposit into another sterilized jug. Put a clean sterilized water lock on it. Let it sit for 2 weeks while it clears. At that point you can drink. It won't be fizzy but there are ways to fix that.

 

[CobyRupert]

What is malolactic fermentation?

 

[mark02tj]

The basics of making hard cider are easy. Take your unpasteurized cider and add yeast. Don't use bread yeast. Use white wine yeast or champagne yeast. You can find those at a brewing or wine making store or on Amazon for about a buck.....

.....It won't be fizzy but there are ways to fix that.

THANKS for the quick lesson! Three more questions (for now )...

1) how much yeast per gallon of cider
1A) do you have a particular brand of yeast that you like

2) How can you make it fizzy?

3) what's the best way to bottle it? Or, what should I keep it in while waiting to drink it?

OK, so maybe that's five questions...