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just another noob......

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goatee

goatee

NewBee
Registered Member
Oct 16, 2012
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shelby twnp.
i have a gallon brewing next to me right now. i started it yesterday and it is bubbling pretty good too! i bought 3 bottles and 3 corks today.
is it necessary to sterilize the corks when i am ready to bottle?
after i rack it, and it stops fermenting,, is it ok to bottle then? or do i still need to wait?

recipe: 1.5 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 gallon (less 3 cups) spartan apple juice. (no sugar added) <---not by choice.
2 cloves
pinch nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
1 packette fleishmans yeast.


started 6pm 10/15

nice to meet you guys!! my name is mike, but all my friends call me goatee.
 
that is true! and im sure different brews foam at different amounts. this one i have now has about a half of an inch of foam, and several inches of space.
its a milk jug filled to the first bend.
 
fleishmans. i think its a bread yeast.
i only added the cup of white after i didnt see it bubbling. (impatient noob)
house smells pretty good. if it doesnt turn out as good as i hope it will, can i just add fresh cider (from the mill) to it?
i would have just used that from the start but its too expensive for my first experiment. plus the fresh stuff has to be refrigerated. ??? can you use fresh stuff, and just let it sit out? that would be cool. that stuff tastes sooo much better than apple juice.
 
Using fresh apple cider is fine, just make sure you get your choice of yeast into it before it gets going on its own.
 
hearing contradictions in time frames. so correct me if im wrong but i was planning on racking it sometime after fermenting is done. 10 days?? ish...
topping it off with some natural cider, maybe even more sugar..??
at this point i will still need an airlock i would think. dont want any explosions.
then when it is done bubbling, i bottle it?

i would like some carbonation, and some sweet.
is this the correct method?
 
Topping it off with anything contains sugar, can restart the ferment. DEFINITELY use an air lock.
The brew's done when she's done. Don't go by timeframes.
It aught to be drinkable by Christmas, but Christmas 2013 would be much better. You don't get much aroma from young cidres. They tend to taste sorta like strongbow.
 
oh, i see... so even with a cider, aging is still important.

i will top off with something. i would like it to be a real cider so it can add to the flavor. although the one in the fridge now,, i have been drinking from the jug. (bachelor) maybe not a good idea to use that one.
can you freeze fresh cider?

future scenario, i rack it, top it, lock it, and wait till its done fermenting. then bottle it. #1 it will still age after bottling? #2 how do i know its done? 2.b. how long do you have to stare at an airlock with no bubble?
#3 if i wait until it is completely done, i wont have carbonation will i?


just want to say THANK YOU for all the help!!!
im sure answering the same questions over and over can get old.
 
doing my homework a bit more here. (i was pretty sure my questions had already been asked before.)
hydrometer....;)
 
I have used storebought cider for topping off cysers, cider and even the odd wine.

No, don't use the one you've been drinking out of, bad bachelor!

Yes, you absolutely can freeze fresh cider, just remember that it'll expand when it freezes so you might want to pour out a little bit first (you know, taste test for quality control :) ) and either squeeze out some air or leave the cap loose to leave room for expansion.

You know it's done when the hydrometer readings stay the same over several weeks or months. Airlocks lie.

If you want carbonation, the safest way to do it is to ferment it dry but still under your yeast's tolerance, let it clear up a bit and rack it, and then just before you bottle, add a measured amount of sugar or honey so that there will be a small amount of controlled carbonation after you bottle. It only takes 1 cup honey per 5 gallons to get good carbonation, more than that (or starting out with an incomplete fermentation) and you risk exploding bottles.

 
For my two cents, when carbonating beer, which is different I know, it is 1 oz. Priming sugar (dextrose) per gallon. I have half a gallon of a Mango cider carbing and bottle aging now.
 
so i racked it for the second time and because it was topped off, i did spill a little. tasted like fermented apple flavor rubbing alcohol. i am really hoping for more flavor over the next 6 months or so.
 
goatee said:
i have a gallon brewing next to me right now. i started it yesterday and it is bubbling pretty good too! i bought 3 bottles and 3 corks today.
is it necessary to sterilize the corks when i am ready to bottle?
after i rack it, and it stops fermenting,, is it ok to bottle then? or do i still need to wait?

recipe: 1.5 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 gallon (less 3 cups) spartan apple juice. (no sugar added) <---not by choice.
2 cloves
pinch nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick
1 packette fleishmans yeast.


started 6pm 10/15

nice to meet you guys!! my name is mike, but all my friends call me goatee.
Click to expand...

welcome Mike, I always sterilize anything that comes in contact with my brews, be it beer or mead. when beer making I sterilized the caps and everything. better safe than sorry in my opinion.
 
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