Question about hard cider...

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Caribou said:
Equal parts water and fruit?
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You can. we just filled a pot with the peelings and covered them in water and simmered them. I'm guessing the more peelings the better.
 
For what its worth, I made some rice beer/Saki in a gallon wine jug and used a dry condom (UNUSED DAMMIT!) to cap it off, may be the same for Cider, but when the wiener wrapper shrinks, its done! I'd use a bubbler next time though.
 

LALVIN EC-1118™​

Lalvin EC1118™ has been selected in a famous sparkling wine region for its excellent properties in producing sparkling base wine as well as “in-bottle” secondary fermentation.
It is very resistant to osmotic pressure. Lalvin EC1118™ is known for its robust and reliable fermentation kinetics. Its sensory contribution is considered neutral as it gives very little sensory contribution to the wine. It is used extensively in the world for the production of both white and red wines.
 
Wingnut said:
Well, most of that was Greek to me, lol... ;)
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All you need to remember is the "name" if you want some "kick ass" cider :). It dies at 14-18% alcohol. It wasn't the best reference, but google picked it first. If you cant find it, PM me your address, your first packet is on me :)
 
dademoss said:
All you need to remember is the "name" if you want some "kick ass" cider :). It dies at 14-18% alcohol. It wasn't the best reference, but google picked it first. If you cant find it, PM me your address, your first packet is on me :)
Click to expand...
()_() 14-18%!! that's some pretty high octane, even for wine!
 
So, I'm having an Angry Orchard 'Crisp Apple' Hard Cider after pulling weeds for three hours, and it tastes pretty darned good, but I'm still not quite convinced that making my own hard cider would be cost-effective. Buying the equipment isn't the problem, as that would pay for itself as I used it again & again over time... what gives me pause is the COST per gallon of sweet cider nowadays. I remember paying $3 or $4 per gallon in the past, no worries, but now, even for the cheap stuff with unwanted preservatives in it, a gallon costs almost $7, for cryin' out loud! :oops:

I'm thinking the good raw unfiltered sweet cider with no preservatives, the kind ya pick up at a roadside stand or country store, is gonna cost $10 or $12 per gallon, maybe more? So if I buy a 15-gallon fermenter as I planned earlier, it'll cost me $150 or more just to fill it with sweet cider! Then there would be the cost of bottles or jugs, though I could always reuse those (unless they got broken in a drunken brawl or incident, lol). Now, if I were pressing my own apples to make cider, things would be different, though those presses aren't cheap either. I could probably make a press... :confused:

Moot point, since I have no apple orchard, lol. Maybe I should just buy a few jugs of sweet cider, add brewer's yeast and some breathers or airlocks, then let 'em rip... I don't care if I "ghetto rig" the breathers or airlocks, if I have to I'll tape 'em up like the plates on a stolen vehicle in Compton, North Philly or the Lower Bronx, lol. Maybe I should try this simple method first before I invest a bunch of money in the correct apparatus for making hard cider. Sheeeeeeee-it, before this fraudulent Biden scumbucket is out of office, sweet cider may hit $40 per gallon, lol. Back to my Angry Orchard, it is delicious... :rolleyes:

IMG_0279.JPG
 
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Wingnut said:
So, I'm having an Angry Orchard 'Crisp Apple' Hard Cider after pulling weeds for three hours, and it tastes pretty darned good, but I'm still not quite convinced that making my own hard cider would be cost-effective. Buying the equipment isn't the problem, as that would pay for itself as I used it again & again over time... what gives me pause is the COST per gallon of sweet cider nowadays. I remember paying $3 or $4 per gallon in the past, no worries, but now, even for the cheap stuff with unwanted preservatives in it, a gallon costs almost $7, for cryin' out loud! :oops:

I'm thinking the good raw unfiltered sweet cider with no preservatives, the kind ya pick up at a roadside stand or country store, is gonna cost $10 or $12 per gallon, maybe more? So if I buy a 15-gallon fermenter as I planned earlier, it'll cost me $150 or more just to fill it with sweet cider! Then there would be the cost of bottles or jugs, though I could always reuse those (unless they got broken in a drunken brawl or incident, lol). Now, if I were pressing my own apples to make cider, things would be different, though those presses aren't cheap either. I could probably make a press... :confused:

Moot point, since I have no apple orchard, lol. Maybe I should just buy a few jugs of sweet cider, add brewer's yeast and some breathers or airlocks, then let 'em rip... I don't care if I "ghetto rig" the breathers or airlocks, if I have to I'll tape 'em up like the plates on a stolen vehicle in Compton, North Philly or the Lower Bronx, lol. Maybe I should try this simple method first before I invest a bunch of money in the correct apparatus for making hard cider. Sheeeeeeee-it, before this fraudulent Biden scumbucket is out of office, sweet cider may hit $40 per gallon, lol. Back to my Angry Orchard, it is delicious... :rolleyes:

View attachment 96176
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You can make a not so bad "hard apple Juice" with apple juice frozen concentrate. You don't get the pulp, but you get the hard apple. Spice and sweeten as you wish. I am WAY to cheep to buy cider to do it, but frozen apple juice is CHEAP.

https://www.fermentingforfoodies.com/how-to-make-hard-apple-cider-from-juice/
PM your address, and I'll send you a packet of Lalvin EC-1118
 
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:Old Orchard" is a goto for me. If you find it, the Sangria makes a Most Excellent wine. Look at the high class marketer, "Walmart". Wear your Pajamas.
 
Dang, Dademoss, you funneh!!! I believe you missed your calling, you should've been a comedian, lol. Same here, but I ran away from home at a young age to pursue my AMERICAN DREAM of being a CIRCUS CLOWN, lol. With some work ACTUALLY published, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" 🤣

P.S. "I STILL LUV YA, MAN!!!" :cool:
 
Wingnut said:
Dang, Dademoss, you funneh!!! I believe you missed your calling, you should've been a comedian, lol. Same here, but I ran away from home at a young age to pursue my AMERICAN DREAM of being a CIRCUS CLOWN, lol. With some work ACTUALLY published, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" 🤣

P.S. "I STILL LUV YA, MAN!!!" :cool:
Click to expand...
I have actually been told that before, but Timing and Audience input play a huge role :)

When it works, ENJOY THE SHOW :D:D:D
 
Interesting. I didn't realize it was that easy, I may have to try it now.
 
I think I'll go the cheap route first... just buy a few jugs of sweet cider, add yeast, and install an airlock or breather of some sort on each jug. I'm gonna order some airlocks here pronto, as I'd like to try this and see if it'll provide a supply of hard cider. I read somewhere on the web that one actually CAN use cider with a little preservative in it, it will STILL turn eventually, I think it just takes a little longer... but I'm in no hurry, lol. This thread stemmed from a memory of my brother telling me about folks who stuck jugs of sweet cider on their back steps, and after awhile the cider turned hard... the way he said it, it sounded like the folks didn't KNOW the cider would turn. The word he used to describe the turning was "KA-WHANNNNG!!!" I'm not sure if that's what it will actually sound like, lol... but I'd like to try making some hard cider. If it works well enough, maybe I'll buy a fermenter and go all out next time. The only thing holding me back from buying a fermenter NOW is the price of sweet cider by the gallon, yeah? :confused:

Makes me wish I had an apple orchard, lol... hmmmm. 🤔
 
We just boiled up some apple peelings, added sugar and yeast to the juice and poured it in a 3 gallon crock. Yeast was like a dime back then. Let it ferment a week to 10 days, Then you set it in the freezer in a pressure cooker with a coat hanger sticking out of it and pull out the excess water, the goodies at the bottom has too much alcohol to freeze.

Works on berry wine too!
EDIT:
And homebrew corn beer! you can get it almost 10% alcohol before you drink it or make shine! gives you a use for all them corn cobs you skinned to make fried corn gravy or creamed corn.
 
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Okay, I got sidetracked this afternoon, reading up on cider making, so I probably won't go to town today after all... haven't even grabbed that hot shower yet, lol. But I've decided to purchase a set of 6 airlocks with #6 stoppers and grommets (not yet sure how the grommets are used or why they're needed). The set only costs around $20 after tax. I can buy packets of brewer's yeast for $5 to $11 each, some yeast packets are dry and some are liquid, the higher end liquid packets make 'English Cider' or some such high-falutin' hooch. This way, I can try my hand at fermenting and see whether I can later "boost" the alcohol content with sugar, yeast nutrient, or whatever in 'secondary fermentation' prior to bottling or securely capping the cider. My goal here is to get strong cider that still has a fruity or "floral" taste. :rolleyes:

I would like to find better caps for the gallon glass juice or cider bottles, preferably some sort of "aftermarket" swing-caps suitable for glass gallon jugs, but I may just buy some nice 64-oz. glass growler bottles with swing-caps, they run about $50 (plus tax) for a case of six bottles. My earlier plan was to buy the equipment listed below, but I think I'll go the cheap route first and see if it's really worth the trouble to make cider in large batches. My main concern here is refrigeration after bottling or capping, I only have one refrigerator and I need the space in it for food & store-bought beer. With this airlock set, and perhaps additional airlock sets, I could start fermenting a gallon jug of juice or cider per week and see how that system works. I can't afford to buy another refrigerator just to store cider, that's for sure. :confused:

Here's what I originally intended to buy, and I may still buy it IF the whole cider-making operation is as easy as some folks claim in those videos & articles I read:

Speidel Plastic Fermenter---30L/7.9 gallon---$85.99 (Everything I need to get started, except yeast & jugs or bottles.)

Fermentis Dry Yeast 'Safcider' packets---$4.99 each (But each packet contains only 5 grams of yeast.)

White Labs English Cider Yeast packets---$10.99 each (Liquid, I think, so I'd have to pay extra for ice-packs to ship.)

Flip-Top Palla Growler---2L---$49.99 per half dozen (Nice glass growlers with swing-caps, but kinda steep.)

Anyway, after careful consideration, I believe I'll just start small and go from there. Using store-bought glass gallon jugs for fermentation means I won't have to buy an expensive fermenter (also spelled fermentor), and I won't have to worry about sanitization of equipment (unless I reuse the gallon jugs). One can buy sanitization tablets too for gallon jugs which would otherwise be difficult to clean. Today I also discovered that one can buy gallon-sized fermenters, basically a gallon jug fitted with an airlock, which is what I'll be doing after I buy the airlock set. This jug can be used to make Kombucha as well, which I found interesting... I'd like to make my own Kombucha, since the store-bought stuff is heller friggin' expensive! A gallon of Kombucha at a time for less than the cost of a single bottle in the store... sounds good to me! :D

I've read so much material on fermentation and home brewing of beer & cider, I'm starting to think I'm a prize-winning idiot for not trying this before, lol. So many folks claim that it is easy to do, and others take it to new scientific heights with all sorts of equipment & testing apparatus, but I don't wanna get into all of that... I'm not out to become the world's greatest home brewer or expert on beer & cider, I'm just here to drink the cr@p, lol. Hopefully, I can "boost" the alcohol content by adding sugar or yeast nutrient later in the process, maybe even more yeast, I gotta read more about that whole aspect of the operation. My primary goal is this: to make strong hard cider on the cheap, period. Not wine, not moonshine, not some other complicated process, just simple hard cider with a kick like a Missouri mule, lol. And no ugly hangovers, puh-leez!!! :oops:

I'D BETTER GO GET CLEANED UP, I'LL RUN ERRANDS IN TOWN MANANA AFTER I RIDE THE DITCH!!! :cool:

P.S. I was gonna buy an even larger fermenter, something like 15 gallons, but the same considerations arose: where to store the finished product once I was done with each batch, and dealing with all the bottling equipment necessary to accommodate such a large batch (large by my standards, I mean). As I understand the process so far, the finished hard cider has to be refrigerated? Or is that incorrect? Does anybody here know if hard cider can be stored long-term without refrigeration? I can't seem to find any written advice in that respect, or I just haven't stumbled upon it yet, as I'm a complete rookie when it comes to fermentation, bottling, storage, etc. I can empty the goldurned bottles fast enough, but filling 'em & capping 'em & storing 'em, well, that's all new to me. Meh, it can't be THAT hard or I reckon folks wouldn't even bother with it. 😒
 
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Wingnut said:
Okay, I got sidetracked this afternoon, reading up on cider making, so I probably won't go to town today after all... haven't even grabbed that hot shower yet, lol. But I've decided to purchase a set of 6 airlocks with #6 stoppers and grommets (not yet sure how the grommets are used or why they're needed). The set only costs around $20 after tax. I can buy packets of brewer's yeast for $5 to $11 each, some yeast packets are dry and some are liquid, the higher end liquid packets make 'English Cider' or some such high-falutin' hooch. This way, I can try my hand at fermenting and see whether I can later "boost" the alcohol content with sugar, yeast nutrient, or whatever in 'secondary fermentation' prior to bottling or securely capping the cider. My goal here is to get strong cider that still has a fruity or "floral" taste. :rolleyes:

I would like to find better caps for the gallon glass juice or cider bottles, preferably some sort of "aftermarket" swing-caps suitable for glass gallon jugs, but I may just buy some nice 64-oz. glass growler bottles with swing-caps, they run about $50 (plus tax) for a case of six bottles. My earlier plan was to buy the equipment listed below, but I think I'll go the cheap route first and see if it's really worth the trouble to make cider in large batches. My main concern here is refrigeration after bottling or capping, I only have one refrigerator and I need the space in it for food & store-bought beer. With this airlock set, and perhaps additional airlock sets, I could start fermenting a gallon jug of juice or cider per week and see how that system works. I can't afford to buy another refrigerator just to store cider, that's for sure. :confused:

Here's what I originally intended to buy, and I may still buy it IF the whole cider-making operation is as easy as some folks claim in those videos & articles I read:

Speidel Plastic Fermenter---30L/7.9 gallon---$85.99 (Everything I need to get started, except yeast & jugs or bottles.)

Fermentis Dry Yeast 'Safcider' packets---$4.99 each (But each packet contains only 5 grams of yeast.)

White Labs English Cider Yeast packets---$10.99 each (Liquid, I think, so I'd have to pay extra for ice-packs to ship.)

Flip-Top Palla Growler---2L---$49.99 per half dozen (Nice glass growlers with swing-caps, but kinda steep.)

Anyway, after careful consideration, I believe I'll just start small and go from there. Using store-bought glass gallon jugs for fermentation means I won't have to buy an expensive fermenter (also spelled fermentor), and I won't have to worry about sanitization of equipment (unless I reuse the gallon jugs). One can buy sanitization tablets too for gallon jugs which would otherwise be difficult to clean. Today I also discovered that one can buy gallon-sized fermenters, basically a gallon jug fitted with an airlock, which is what I'll be doing after I buy the airlock set. This jug can be used to make Kombucha as well, which I found interesting... I'd like to make my own Kombucha, since the store-bought stuff is heller friggin' expensive! A gallon of Kombucha at a time for less than the cost of a single bottle in the store... sounds good to me! :D

I've read so much material on fermentation and home brewing of beer & cider, I'm starting to think I'm a prize-winning idiot for not trying this before, lol. So many folks claim that it is easy to do, and others take it to new scientific heights with all sorts of equipment & testing apparatus, but I don't wanna get into all of that... I'm not out to become the world's greatest home brewer or expert on beer & cider, I'm just here to drink the cr@p, lol. Hopefully, I can "boost" the alcohol content by adding sugar or yeast nutrient later in the process, maybe even more yeast, I gotta read more about that whole aspect of the operation. My primary goal is this: to make strong hard cider on the cheap, period. Not wine, not moonshine, not some other complicated process, just simple hard cider with a kick like a Missouri mule, lol. And no ugly hangovers, puh-leez!!! :oops:

I'D BETTER GO GET CLEANED UP, I'LL RUN ERRANDS IN TOWN MANANA AFTER I RIDE THE DITCH!!! :cool:

P.S. I was gonna buy an even larger fermenter, something like 15 gallons, but the same considerations arose: where to store the finished product once I was done with each batch, and dealing with all the bottling equipment necessary to accommodate such a large batch (large by my standards, I mean). As I understand the process so far, the finished hard cider has to be refrigerated? Or is that incorrect? Does anybody here know if hard cider can be stored long-term without refrigeration? I can't seem to find any written advice in that respect, or I just haven't stumbled upon it yet, as I'm a complete rookie when it comes to fermentation, bottling, storage, etc. I can empty the goldurned bottles fast enough, but filling 'em & capping 'em & storing 'em, well, that's all new to me. Meh, it can't be THAT hard or I reckon folks wouldn't even bother with it. 😒
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Grommets are used to seal around where the air lock goes through the lid of a plastic bucket.

While sugar is needed to feed the yeast the type of yeast will dictate how atong it is. Bread yeast will die if the alcohol fets too high. They sell yeast for wine which will be stronger than yeast for beer. I believe there is yeast for fermenting potatoes that is latter distilled to make vodka.

I paid 99 cents for each packet of yeast for wine last week. Dry yeast by the way.

Be aware that adding sugar with yeast that is still viable will start fermentation and CO2. You don't want to cap off any that is fermentation.

I believe alcohol is a preservative. I can't think if any alcohol product that isn't sold at room temp.


Ben
 
Yeah, I reckon so, after reading up on the whole process. Makes sense to start small and go from there... I could buy the big fermenter next week, and I have all kinds of room to store jugs of hard cider, provided they do NOT need refrigeration, but I have to look at the Big Picture: I'm essentially a "beer man" so I'm not really interested in brewing huge quantities of hard cider, but a smaller-scale operation which produced a gallon of hard cider every week or two, well, THAT would be ideal. And I could always store jugs of cider, provided they CAN be stored safely without refrigeration... I have TONS of storage space in those two sheds of mine! 😒

BTW, thanks for posting those helpful links, you & Neb both, they have REALLY helped me figure out how I wanna go about doing this. Later, I may buy a large fermenter and go that route, perhaps even brew beer with it, but I don't wanna get caught up in dealing with a truckload of small bottles... I'd rather bottle a gallon at a time, I can easily pound a gallon of beer when it's PAR-TAY TIME, unless it's some kinda hardcore STOUT ALE, lol. That whole bottling scene is one hassle I wanna keep to a minimum, 10-4? That's why I like those 64-oz. growlers, those looked perfect for my wants or needs, lol. I'm gonna go ahead and try this on a small scale at first, and if it's successful I'll ramp things up later! 😀

I must say, I've been looking at the wrong website if Neb is buying yeast packets for $.99, compared to the whorehouse prices at MoreBeer.Com, guess I still need to do more research, lol. However, I'm buying half a dozen gallon jugs of cider and a set of six airlocks to go with 'em, and I think I will "stagger" the fermentation of each bottle (pun intended) so I'm never faced with bottling a huge batch of cider... that way I can drink cider as I go (once the first batch is ready in however many weeks or months) and still drink beer on a regular basis. Gotta have my beer, dude, I don't give a $h!t what anybody thinks... life is easier with cold beer, lol. Cheaper than knocking back fifths of hard liquor too, lol. 😳

ANYWAY, THANKS FOR YOUR HELP, DADEMOSS & NEB & WHOEVER ELSE!!! TO EACH I SAY: "YOU DA MAN!" 😎
 
Found some unfiltered apple cider with no preservatives, it's pasteurized but that's okay... in fact, I read that one can use sweet cider with preservatives, but ya gotta add more yeast to override the slowdown effect of the preservatives. 😒

IMG_0896.JPG

IMG_0897.JPG
 
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