Hard Apple Cider!

I'm attempting to make hard apple cider for the first time. If all the YouTube videos on it are any indication, it's a super easy alcohol to make, and it makes you wonder why brewers like Angry Orchard and Woodchuck charge so much. Sure, it's the time involved, but apple juice and yeast essentially ain't that difficult.

Anyway I mixed up a 1.5 quart batch to test using a recipe I found on Unemployed Redneck Hillbilly's YouTube channel. Although he's anything but those descriptors, he does seem like he knows what he's doing with so many things so I'm willing to trust him.

I saw a few other recipes, but instead of complicating things as I always seem to do, I'm going to follow his directions and see how it turns out.

No. 14 - Hard Apple Cider

1 1.6 qt. bottle Martinelli's Unprocessed Apple juice
1 pkg Red Star Premiere Blanc yeast
1/4 lb. light brown sugar
1/2 lb. white granulated sugar

I made the yeast starter according to the directions, heating up a bit of apple juice to between 95-100 degrees Fahrenheit and let stand for 15 minutes. I had wanted to use just half the pouch, but I ended up using the whole thing. I imagine it won't hurt things and may get it to ferment down quicker. I should also mention Unemployed Redneck Hillbilly (URH) used Premier Cuvee yeast in his, and though I thought I had some I didn't so I went with the Premier Blanc.

While that was percolating, I poured out about 3/4 of a cup of ice into a bowl and mixed in the two sugars. I stirred them until they were completely dissolved into the juice then poured the mix back into the bottle and shook vigorously.

URH was making 6 gallon batches and he used 2 lbs. light brown sugar and 4 lbs. of white granulated sugar in an attempt to achieve about 15% ABV. I simply reduced the calculations to approximately the amount of juice I had, and when I took my hydrometer reading the starting gravity was 1.062 or approximately 15% ABV, so it was perfect.

I poured off about 1/4 cup of juice to allow for some headroom and then added the yeast starter to the bottle. I gently mixed the yeast throughout, added a balloon as an airlock, and stored it in the basement.

I'll let it sit for 2 weeks then I'll rack it to a secondary to ferment for some 2-5 months.

Mead Updates

I've been stirring daily the two meads that I added the bentonite to and I can tell they're really clearing up. The blueberry melomel, even though it is very dark, when I hold it up to a light I can see through it. And when I stir it up again it becomes opaque.

I'm going to siphon the mead off the bentonite and attempt to backsweeten it with pure blueberry juice, then allow it to age for another month and a half before bottling. The melomel entry has to be submitted by Sept. 1 and Canadian Sasquatch has to receive like 20 bottles by October 1. I want them to be tasty by the time he gets it.

The cyser is very clear and smells delicious. I also see no hint of the pellicle forming again, although admittedly it is only a day I'm letting it stand. Still, I'm hopeful the campden tablets have killed off the wild strains.