Well OK, you all know me... you know I am brewing something. I have to, it is my relaxation in the storm that is my life. But I'm not brewing beer. I'm making cider. Something I haven't done for years. Sparkling cider is one of my favorite home brew fermentables. UPDATE: I just couldn't help myself. I am brewing a Centennial Blonde.
CIDER: Here is how I do it.
1 gallon of pasteurized apple cider. (no preservatives except ascorbic acid)
.5 tsp pectic enzyme
.5 lbs of corn sugar
.5 tsp wine tannin
2.5 g of Nottingham ale yeast.
As you can see from the photo above, I use a folded paper plate to put the ingredients into the carboy.
This will ferment fast. I made 2 gallons. I aerated the heck out of them by shaking them for 5 Minutes each. That is sufficient for Cider. Cider hasn't been boiled. So there is still a lot of o2. The sugars are simple the yeast will thrive. |
| Day 4 bubbling away nicely. |
That's it. It is that easy. Of course you have to sanitize everything. But if you are creative, you can just go get an airlock that will fit the apple cider container, that your cider came in.
UPDATE - Day 11 The cider is still bubbling away. But very very slowly now. I used Nottingham Ale yeast rather than cider yeast or a wine yeast. I think that is why it is taking longer than normal. On the plus side, it should also be sweeter than a cider made with a wine or champagne yeast.
