Cider

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Revision as of 20:55, 10 April 2006 by Franks (talk | contribs)
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Any fruit juice will ferment over time if left to the elements. This thought process, as well as an email thread on the Members of Barleyment mailing list, led to my attempt to make my own cider.

Apple Juice: You need to use real apple juice. Ideally, the juice should contain nothing other than apples.

Yeast: Adding yeast instigates the fermentation process. The yeasts I've used thus far with varied success:

  • EC1118 (Intended for Cider and Champagne)
  • K1-V1116 (Wine)
  • Coopers (Beer)
  • Nottingham (Beer)


Cost:

~$2cdn for 1.14L juice x 5

~$1.50cdn for yeast (good for all 5 bottles of juice)

~$11.50cdn total for 5.7L of homemade cider.


Process:

  1. Open the bottle of Apple Juice
  2. Open the yeast packets, and pour in an appropriate amount as per the package (usually ~1/5 when you measure it)
  3. Place the lid back on the juice, but do NOT seal it -- it needs to breathe. Alternatively, you could place tinfoil loosely over the opening. Ideally, you will have a bunghole airlock that fits the opening.
  4. Check it daily until you see the "activity" settle. Somewhere between 4 and 12 days is the average for most yeasts.
  5. Enjoy


Results:

The EC1118 was very sweet, typical to a hard cider you would purchase. The Coopers was average, with a slightly rounded taste. The K1-V1116 was hollow with a sharp finish. The Nottinngham contained a slight complexity and depth, and was my personal favourite from the batch used in this example. I have since purchased more apple juice and will master this craft :)


I have a hydrometer for making beer, so I verified original gravity (OG) with the apple juice before adding the yeast, so I can predict the alcohol by volume.


External References:

Bodensatz cider page