Hard Cider

Alcoholic beverages which are not classified as spirits.

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S-Cackalacky
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by S-Cackalacky »

Go to the florist shop and buy a bud vase.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by swedishbrewer »

I don't have any specific resource in english to point you to, just years of experience. 6 grams per liter is what I have always used and it works well. I think anywhere between say 4-9g is fine depending on how much carbonaton you want but if you are afraid of exploding bottles etc then maybe it's better to sacrifice a small amount of carbination and go with less sugar instead of pushing the limit.

Well hopefully the cider is fine. Infections are fairly obvious anyways when they do occur, you can usually tell from the smell which can range from unpleasant to really really nasty.
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frodo
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

S-Cackalacky wrote:Go to the florist shop and buy a bud vase.
coke bottle, whiskey bottle, tea pitcher.
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Wooday
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by Wooday »

Sanitize your hydrometer and hands and drop it right in the bucket
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frodo
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

2 gallons hard cider, pasturized,

going to sit the in the back of the cupboard till next year

hey ya'll, if you do not have an insta hot. you gotta get one.

it makes sanitizing stuff a snap. 180 degree water right now.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by PTS_35 »

Beaker arrived. Two buckets: one for brandy and one for cider. 3 gal mussel man's cider tested right off at 1.050. I added 2/3 cup concentrate to the brandy ended with 1.052 and put the rest into the cider one for an OG of 1.060. I wanna stop the cider one a little early. Three gallons cider in each fermentor. One packet EC 1118 in each. See how it goes
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by WooTeck »

frodo wrote:
S-Cackalacky wrote:Go to the florist shop and buy a bud vase.
coke bottle, whiskey bottle, tea pitcher.
pint glass is always my go to. but normally its the hydrometer that's missing :esad:
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

S-Cackalacky wrote:Go to the florist shop and buy a bud vase.
thSQE2IAL9.jpg
thSQE2IAL9.jpg (12.5 KiB) Viewed 4328 times

as much trouble as I get into with the wife. I dont have to go to the florist shop.

i already been, just look in a cabinet, you will find proof of my begging to be forgiven
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S-Cackalacky
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by S-Cackalacky »

Yep, you're right. Most of us probably have a good supply of those little reminders laying around.
Every new member should read this before doing anything else:
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frodo
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

found a recipe for fig wine, I need to buy some nutrients and yeast.
but i think i will give it a shot
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Cherry Cider Grappa

Post by Jimbo »

Ive got 10 gallons of Cherry grappa to run sittin since May, made with Kirsch backset and sugar. 3 weeks ago I dumped in 5 gallons of apple pomace to throw it a little more flavor. Should be interesting.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

yum yum....sounds very interesting
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

frodo wrote:
started another one yesterday..for scientific reasons
this is whats in it
2 cans concentrate
4 cups sugar
100% juice
gonna see what that sugar does. this will be sugar sweet not drinkable
or, knock your dick in the dirt abv
or a back wash for something

I started the above recipe 10/31/15 with SG of 1.106

I just checked it, the ferment looks to be slowing

11/6/15 reading is 1.010

according o the site calc. 14%

i'll give it a final FS reading when it stops fermenting

I did this because of the talk back and forth on to add sugar or not
the next one I will ferment will be just juice, no sugar

I'll be able to tell after that
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by smokeskrene4207 »

I planned on doing that also I'm just waiting for the one with sugar to clear so I can run it and start over with just juice. I used motts apple juice with 2 lbs brown sugar for five gallons. The motts apple juice og without sugar was 1.080 and after the sugar 1.098. I should run in a few days. It stopped fermenting around Halloween.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by Jimbo »

Smoke, no offense, but your measurements are off. Commercial cider is 12 brix, virtually without fail. Thats about 1.048
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by smokeskrene4207 »

I used motts apple juice and apples from my trees that where windfalls after the frost we had in mid october.. Half the liquid was juice the rest was motts. Not cider. Couldn't find cider when I rushed through the store. Maybe the pulp from the juicer threw of my reading since I left it?
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by Jimbo »

yes pulp will hork up a hydrometer reading. get a refractometer, they work great with 1 drop.

apples are 12-14, commercial juice/cider is 12 brix so your average could be 1.050 maybe. Thats good tho, shouldnt have added sugar! Now you have a sugar head, not a brandy.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by smokeskrene4207 »

Technically if I distill it its a schnapps right? Not brandy? Since the sugar added? Even if it was only 2lbs of light brown sugar.

P.s. This was made to be a wine.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by still_stirrin »

smokeskrene4207 wrote:Technically if I distill it its a schnapps right? Not brandy? Since the sugar added?...
Read this: http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... 3#p7124166
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by smokeskrene4207 »

OK. I was going by fruit/using fruit section on the parent site where jack says 4.5 lbs fruit and 2lbs of sugar per gallon to make schnapps instead of brandy.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

Ok...wth, I got a friggen buzz going on that is pretty frigggggggn nice

my 'experiment" stopped bubblng, so I ,,,forgot what i did....

oh, strained it 3 times. then checked the SF 1.010

then for shits an grins a droped the trails and alchol content hydro meter in the beaker

it registered LESS THAN ZERO...as in I owe the damn thing!!!

so,,i was about to pour the shit out..when i grabbed the beaker and drankit


ZERO my MFarse.....I drank some more..

then put it in the fridge to crash it.....

lie'n damn meter
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by Monkeyman88 »

frodo wrote:Ok...wth, I got a friggen buzz going on that is pretty frigggggggn nice

my 'experiment" stopped bubblng, so I ,,,forgot what i did....

oh, strained it 3 times. then checked the SF 1.010

then for shits an grins a droped the trails and alchol content hydro meter in the beaker

it registered LESS THAN ZERO...as in I owe the damn thing!!!

so,,i was about to pour the shit out..when i grabbed the beaker and drankit


ZERO my MFarse.....I drank some more..

then put it in the fridge to crash it.....

lie'n damn meter
You can't use a proof/trailes hydrometer to measure anything but ethanol and water.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by WooTeck »

+1 on what he said^

i kegged up my raspberry and mango kit cider last night. dont taste that good but its drink-able also its for the soh any way.

og 1.056
fg 1.008

might need to start on a dry cider for myself.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by PTS_35 »

Got some drilled stoppers for a 1 gal glass jug. Sunday got a gal of musselmans cider and 1 can apple juice concentrate. No preservatives other than citric acid. Combined OG was 1.068. Threw in 3 grams 1118 and happy to see there's good activity. Bought a 6gal carboy bubbler with stopper and airlock. I can use my buckets but actually being able to see the activity is a lot better
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

got 3 gallons of fig wine bubbling away in the kitchen, did not get a sg on it
for the simple fact the figs are in a mesh bag, and the reading would not be true anyway.

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Re: Hard Cider

Post by frodo »

goofy cider

have a 1 gallon ferment just stopped after 3 days.

i checked the sg 1.000 damn, that was quick

used ec-1118 yeast
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by Justafarmer »

I bottled forty 12 oz bottles of a variation of Edwort's Apple Wine Saturday. I started with five gallons of various store brand Apple juices. Added dextrose to 1.065. Added one pack of Red Star Pastueryeast, a couple of crushed B complex vitamins, and a couple of packs of Flieshman's that I boiled. It took about 10 days to finish. I left it in the primary for about five months and it was 0.995 when I bottled it, so about 9%. The Pastuer yeast leaves an almost solid cake in the bottom of the fermenter, so I was able to siphon almost all of the liquid out with no disturbance of the yeast bed. I also bottled 4 quarts still for immediate use. I primed the smaller bottles with 1/2 teaspoon each of dextrose. The still stuff isn't good. At all. Barely drinkable. I plan to leave the carbonated bottles at least until next spring. I hope it turns into a decent drink with time. age will certainly help. I have some 1 year old cyser that was terrible at six months that is beginning to taste like buttery flowers. Hopefully this apple wine will improve too.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by Justafarmer »

I bottled forty 12 oz bottles of a variation of Edwort's Apple Wine Saturday. I started with five gallons of various store brand Apple juices. Added dextrose to 1.065. Added one pack of Red Star Pastueryeast, a couple of crushed B complex vitamins, and a couple of packs of Flieshman's that I boiled. It took about 10 days to finish. I left it in the primary for about five months and it was 0.995 when I bottled it, so about 9%. The Pastuer yeast leaves an almost solid cake in the bottom of the fermenter, so I was able to siphon almost all of the liquid out with no disturbance of the yeast bed. I also bottled 4 quarts still for immediate use. I primed the smaller bottles with 1/2 teaspoon each of dextrose. The still stuff isn't good. At all. Barely drinkable. I plan to leave the carbonated bottles at least until next spring. I hope it turns into a decent drink with time. age will certainly help. I have some 1 year old cyser that was terrible at six months that is beginning to taste like buttery flowers. Hopefully this apple wine will improve too.
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by PTS_35 »

Got a newer 2nd gallon I started a while back. I'm using 1118. Had an OG of 1.068. Transferred to a 2nd fermentor at SG 1.002 maybe. Was careful to syphon and leave abt .5-1" on the Lees. Notice a bit ago that it's got signs of suds and once in a while blurbs the airlock. Surprised as my first attempt of cider, once in 2nd fermentor didn't make any noise. Anyway the real reason for this post was to ask if anyone has tried this WP English cider yeast and what your results were. It's saying it really keeps the apple flavors. Also, how abt Nottingham ale yeast? These are two I wanna try in the future
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Re: Hard Cider

Post by IanD »

Has anyone here ever had any success with a keeved cider?
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