Thanks for the info TheBrewHow. I guess some people pasteurize and some add all sorts of things.
The old boy up the road from here puts a dead rat in each barrel. He's been making cider for 70yrs, he started when he was 8. Not sure this is a good thing but I have heard that others put meat in theirs.
Next year I'll make a barrel the way you do, to see how it turns out. I like the honey and raisins idea, much better than a rat :O)
Not sure why you use yeast. Apples have yeast in them naturally. We made 270 gallons this yr with no yeast and it will come out from 8 - 16 % depending on how much sugar we added. Please tell me why you add yeast I happy to learn new methods. Sorry if its been in a previous cilp.
@kinza999 alot of people pasturize their juices and/or add sulphites , this kills bacteria along with yeasts that were present . so another yeast must be added , also if you are brewing with ' wild yeast " and having success keep that yeast from your batch and re culture it . i have heard that the yeast can be different every year so if you have a good a batch of yeast you might wanna keep it just incase the yeast is different the next year
@kinza999 most brewers don't like to use the natural wild yeast because its harder to control and predict how efficiently the yeast will break down the sugars. they can produce different tastes and take different lengths to ferment. most ppl kill off the wild yeast by heating the cider, and then introduce an ale/lager/champagne yeast specifically designed for brewing. but hey, if youre method works with the all natural way, and you like your hard cider, then dont fix what isnt broke lol.
Hi, I'm curious as to when you can tell the primary fermentation is over? I've looked in books and online and all of them say to wait about a week till the air lock bubbles about a minute apart. And you left them in the carboys for 5 weeks. Do you just go off of a hydrometer reading for when it's done fermenting? A friend and I are getting ready to do this and we're a bit nervous on the whole operation. Thanks for the videos and advice they help a bunch!
@Equiptechforlife - Hey there! Sorry it took so long for me to reply.. I wait till the bubbles slow WAAAAYYY down, then check with a hydrometer. Anything below 1.005 is reasonable to consider primary as finished. Dont worry about leaving the cider alone for several or more weeks, that wont hurt anything.
It's ok to be nervous your first time around, but trust me on this, once you have a round or two under your belt, the process will be MUCH less scary.
I'm not necessarily looking for a sweet cider, I just don't want it to turn out tasting like wine. I've had this problem several times from making cider in the past. Maybe I'm just not aging it enough.
Have you ever used Lalvin D-47 yeast to ferment cider? I usually use it for mead but I've never used it for cider. What kind of yeast would you recommend if I am looking to make more of a sweet cider. I don't want it to turn out really dry like it has in the past.
@gorak142 - I typically use D-47 for both ciders and meads. As a home cider maker, you will find it difficult to make a sweet cider naturally. The sugars in the raw juice are simply too accessible to yeast. Once you start to go the pasteurization route to arrest the fermentation process, you are into an area that I dont really have any knowledge of, except superficially from some research I have done..
i crushed and put in my campden (1 per gallon just like the package said) and toped it with a air lock with water in it and 24 hours later added the yeast (after i mixed it in some water) now the yeast has been in the cider for 24 hours and i still dont have any bubbles? do you know why? is this ok?
@lyallpeder - 24 hours is long enough to wait. Make sure you do not completely seal the cider during that 24 hours, to allow the gas generated by the Campden tabs to work it's way out.
Does anyone have step by step instructions for a first time beginner with making hard cider? Ive barely stumbled on to all of this and its really interesting. (Im also wondering if you can mix and match ingredients to get different flavors or even perform the same brewing process but instead of apples, maybe lemons, limes, oranges etc?) I really love the idea of putting honey into this as well.
You want higher alcohol by volume than 10%? Freeze the finished hard cider and remove the ice from the top. That's how they did it back in the day (before distillation).
Freezing the cider and tossing out the ice is called fractional distillation. They did do this "back in the day" but, it is a really bad idea. Ignoring the legality, fractional distillation concentrates the methanols as well as the ethanols (the methanols are left behind in heat distillation). The methanols are NASTY.. dont mess with them.
Say no to fractional distillation, you could get hurt doing it
Yeast breaks down the sugars and metabolizes them into alcohol and C02 (beer is carbonated this way.
I just got my cider straight off the press, unpasteurized, and it fermented on its own without any additional yeast. there are 'wild yeasts' that give you a more natural, albeit less dependable flavor. i highly recommend trying it. its how they used to do it way back in the day.
Everything I have read on the subject has spoken out against bakers yeast. I guess there is a reaon why bakers yeast is bakers yeast, and ale/cider/etc yeasts are..well, you get the picture... The two yeasts that I used nowadays for my ciders and meads are Lalvin D-47, and Lalvin EC-1118. That said, any dry ale yeast will do the trick, and, again, according to what I have read, ANY ale/wine/champagne yeast will outperform ANY bakers yeast.
If you are just doing a 1 gallon batch.. heck.. try the bakers yeast.. In fact, I'll do that one better... This Fall, when cider time comes around again, I will do a one gallon batch with bakers yeast, and, using the SAME juice, another one gallon batch with Lalvin D-47, and report on my results... That should be fun!
It will be nasty. If you can't get brewing yeast, you can put some raisins in some sweet cider, leave them out at room temp. for a day or so and the the natural yeast going. It is a little risky, but that's how the pioneers used to do it!!
What was the purpose of the raisins?
iwatcher69 2 months ago
Thanks for the info TheBrewHow. I guess some people pasteurize and some add all sorts of things.
The old boy up the road from here puts a dead rat in each barrel. He's been making cider for 70yrs, he started when he was 8. Not sure this is a good thing but I have heard that others put meat in theirs.
Next year I'll make a barrel the way you do, to see how it turns out. I like the honey and raisins idea, much better than a rat :O)
kinza999 1 year ago
Those primaries are cool! where'd you get those?
Crypticx666 1 year ago
Not sure why you use yeast. Apples have yeast in them naturally. We made 270 gallons this yr with no yeast and it will come out from 8 - 16 % depending on how much sugar we added. Please tell me why you add yeast I happy to learn new methods. Sorry if its been in a previous cilp.
kinza999 1 year ago
@kinza999 - I use yeast simply because I am too chicken thus far to do a wild ferment :-)
32bituser 1 year ago 2
@kinza999 alot of people pasturize their juices and/or add sulphites , this kills bacteria along with yeasts that were present . so another yeast must be added , also if you are brewing with ' wild yeast " and having success keep that yeast from your batch and re culture it . i have heard that the yeast can be different every year so if you have a good a batch of yeast you might wanna keep it just incase the yeast is different the next year
TheBrewHowTo 1 year ago
@kinza999 most brewers don't like to use the natural wild yeast because its harder to control and predict how efficiently the yeast will break down the sugars. they can produce different tastes and take different lengths to ferment. most ppl kill off the wild yeast by heating the cider, and then introduce an ale/lager/champagne yeast specifically designed for brewing. but hey, if youre method works with the all natural way, and you like your hard cider, then dont fix what isnt broke lol.
cledro711 1 year ago
Hi, I'm curious as to when you can tell the primary fermentation is over? I've looked in books and online and all of them say to wait about a week till the air lock bubbles about a minute apart. And you left them in the carboys for 5 weeks. Do you just go off of a hydrometer reading for when it's done fermenting? A friend and I are getting ready to do this and we're a bit nervous on the whole operation. Thanks for the videos and advice they help a bunch!
Equiptechforlife 1 year ago
@Equiptechforlife - Hey there! Sorry it took so long for me to reply.. I wait till the bubbles slow WAAAAYYY down, then check with a hydrometer. Anything below 1.005 is reasonable to consider primary as finished. Dont worry about leaving the cider alone for several or more weeks, that wont hurt anything.
It's ok to be nervous your first time around, but trust me on this, once you have a round or two under your belt, the process will be MUCH less scary.
32bituser 1 year ago
I'm not necessarily looking for a sweet cider, I just don't want it to turn out tasting like wine. I've had this problem several times from making cider in the past. Maybe I'm just not aging it enough.
gorak142 1 year ago
Have you ever used Lalvin D-47 yeast to ferment cider? I usually use it for mead but I've never used it for cider. What kind of yeast would you recommend if I am looking to make more of a sweet cider. I don't want it to turn out really dry like it has in the past.
gorak142 1 year ago
@gorak142 - I typically use D-47 for both ciders and meads. As a home cider maker, you will find it difficult to make a sweet cider naturally. The sugars in the raw juice are simply too accessible to yeast. Once you start to go the pasteurization route to arrest the fermentation process, you are into an area that I dont really have any knowledge of, except superficially from some research I have done..
32bituser 1 year ago
thanks for the help its going strong now with a bubble out of the air lock every 5 to 8 sec.
lyallpeder 1 year ago
sorry but i think i need help
i crushed and put in my campden (1 per gallon just like the package said) and toped it with a air lock with water in it and 24 hours later added the yeast (after i mixed it in some water) now the yeast has been in the cider for 24 hours and i still dont have any bubbles? do you know why? is this ok?
lyallpeder 1 year ago
How long after adding the campden do you put the yeast in?
lyallpeder 1 year ago
@lyallpeder - 24 hours is long enough to wait. Make sure you do not completely seal the cider during that 24 hours, to allow the gas generated by the Campden tabs to work it's way out.
32bituser 1 year ago
Thank you vary much for your help. How long after adding the campden do you add the yeast?
lyallpeder 1 year ago
Does anyone have step by step instructions for a first time beginner with making hard cider? Ive barely stumbled on to all of this and its really interesting. (Im also wondering if you can mix and match ingredients to get different flavors or even perform the same brewing process but instead of apples, maybe lemons, limes, oranges etc?) I really love the idea of putting honey into this as well.
13098519 1 year ago
the ones with the cider yeast, did you add any sugar or honey before now? is it just the fresh cider, tablets and yeast up till this point?
lyallpeder 1 year ago
@lyallpeder - Correct. Up till the point this video was filmed, those carboys had nothing added to them other than Campden tabs and yeast.
32bituser 1 year ago
What happens if you add the honey before primary fermentation is finished?
captin56 2 years ago
You want higher alcohol by volume than 10%? Freeze the finished hard cider and remove the ice from the top. That's how they did it back in the day (before distillation).
bririv 2 years ago
Freezing the cider and tossing out the ice is called fractional distillation. They did do this "back in the day" but, it is a really bad idea. Ignoring the legality, fractional distillation concentrates the methanols as well as the ethanols (the methanols are left behind in heat distillation). The methanols are NASTY.. dont mess with them.
Say no to fractional distillation, you could get hurt doing it
32bituser 2 years ago
Dont use bakers yeast
crytapusta 2 years ago
@crytapusta any yeast is good - try making a batch with bakers yeast and another one with wine yeast and tell me the difference? You won't even tell
07Bolla 1 year ago
Instead of the sugar or the honey, why not try molasses??
Toddo31 2 years ago
Newman's Own is unsulfited.
Toddo31 2 years ago
i was wondering the more surgar u put in the more alchol it will have ?? and what kind of yeast did you use ?
Marks20 2 years ago
most you can get is around 10% alcohol unlies you use a different type of yeast, some can get as high as 20 %
altoids18ROX 2 years ago
Yeast breaks down the sugars and metabolizes them into alcohol and C02 (beer is carbonated this way.
I just got my cider straight off the press, unpasteurized, and it fermented on its own without any additional yeast. there are 'wild yeasts' that give you a more natural, albeit less dependable flavor. i highly recommend trying it. its how they used to do it way back in the day.
dbqvimo 2 years ago
can I use baker's yeast?
azzboy876 2 years ago
Everything I have read on the subject has spoken out against bakers yeast. I guess there is a reaon why bakers yeast is bakers yeast, and ale/cider/etc yeasts are..well, you get the picture... The two yeasts that I used nowadays for my ciders and meads are Lalvin D-47, and Lalvin EC-1118. That said, any dry ale yeast will do the trick, and, again, according to what I have read, ANY ale/wine/champagne yeast will outperform ANY bakers yeast.
32bituser 2 years ago
Also, as an afterthought..
If you are just doing a 1 gallon batch.. heck.. try the bakers yeast.. In fact, I'll do that one better... This Fall, when cider time comes around again, I will do a one gallon batch with bakers yeast, and, using the SAME juice, another one gallon batch with Lalvin D-47, and report on my results... That should be fun!
32bituser 2 years ago
@32bituser have you did it yet?
07Bolla 1 year ago
No!!
It will be nasty. If you can't get brewing yeast, you can put some raisins in some sweet cider, leave them out at room temp. for a day or so and the the natural yeast going. It is a little risky, but that's how the pioneers used to do it!!
Toddo31 2 years ago
Just buy Organic raisins they will not have sulfites
bonzaibb12 2 years ago
Great video. J., you DO know what I just finished doing seeing as I am actually looking at these videos, right?
sweetbabyjesse 3 years ago
Thanks for posting!
entragianguitar 4 years ago