Adventures in Homebrewland (image heavy - you have been warned!)

MrDT

Well, a couple of weeks have passed, the cider has settled nicely, nowhere near as cloudy as it was. There's no more bubbling... and I reckon the cider is ready for tasting and bottling. GOOD TIMES! :beer:

First you need to sterilise your container (in my case a 2nd demi-john) and tubing, and set everything up somewhere that's ok to get a little wet





Now you can start syphoning. You'll get a taste of some very warm cider, don't let it put you off! :rotfl: Oh, and keep your syphon tube away from the bottom of your first demi-john, the whole point is to get rid of all the muck at the bottom of it



Syphon syphon baby



Stop before you p[ick up all the scum from the bottom of the demijohn. I gave the dregs a good shake to illustrate the difference between the good stuff and what you'll be throwing away. The cider's looking good, the sludge, not so much



Next I sterlised my bottles and added some sugar to each one (45g per 2l bottle)



Finally, syphon the cider into the sugared bottles. Don't forget to keep a little to pour into a glass



The cider will now continue to ferment in the bottles, producing co2 - which will result in a little bit of bubbly goodness. As soon as there's a decent amount of pressure in the bottles I'll stick them in the fridge to stop the reaction, this should leave some unfermented sugar in the mix to sweeten it a bit

The little taster glass I added half a teaspoon of sugar to it, gave it a stir, and plonked in the fridge to chill. I've tasted it, and the result - GOOOOOOOOD :beer: :cool:

Tiny little glass but it has certainly gone right to my head. The fact that it's 5pm and I've not yet eaten today may be a contributing factor, but seriously, a couple of pints of this will make an excellent primer to a night out Doesn't taste half bad either

So, how's eveyone else getting on?

ravylesley

Hi been reading your thread with interest and have a quick question.Why havent you used wine finings to clear the cider before you bottled it.I used to make a lot of wine years ago and I always used to clear it before bottling.I've never made cider but I would have thought it would be the same with cider

Lesleyxx

MrDT

ravylesley wrote: »

Hi been reading your thread with interest and have a quick question.Why havent you used wine finings to clear the cider before you bottled it.I used to make a lot of wine years ago and I always used to clear it before bottling.I've never made cider but I would have thought it would be the same with cider

Lesleyxx

Hi Lesley, the simple answer is I've never done this before and don't really know what I'm doing, just trying to give the impression that I do

Can't say I've heard wine finings mentioned in the cider making process before, and I've been researching a fair bit online. Can't see why you can't add some though.

I'm not fussy, so drinking cloudy cider won't hurt, but I'll look into finings when I get the chance - ready for my next batch Thanks

2cats1kid

It's looking pretty good, MrDT.

My strawberry (kit) wine is still plopping, but a lot less frequently, so I guess it is getting to the end of its fermentation. And today I started off my apple juice wine in the 5l water bottle. It's starting to froth a little at the top but no airlock action as yet.

Frugaldom

Jumble-Bee wrote: »

Wow, i'm impressed at all the effort you are going to to lure me along on a frugal date

You had better invite me on date no.1 and nyk on date no.2 through, as she will probably down the lot......

Whatcha mean I would down the lot??? :eek:
Well... if you put it like that...:rotfl:

Almost time to start the easy rhubarb wine but I will be trying the scrumpy/cider as soon as the apples are ready on the tree. Rest assured, I am a-watering that tree every single day for some fat, juicy apples!

loulou88

well,
ive been following your post and I have joined in along the way.
Although i have no idea how to put my pictures on here.
I have just bottled up my "cider" and have been inspired by you.
I have just started some ginger beer.
Im all ready to start some wine for christmas now ive heard rice and rasin is wicked has anyone tried this before?

DdraigGoch

That does it! I'm going to have to have a go now. Unfortunately I've only got a 5 gallon bucket, or two .... have to keep a very large eye open for reduced price apple juice at this rate!

Can anyone get hold of those water fountain bottles? They look as if they might make really good fermenting jars, plus if anyone you know has a wine box or a keg of beer in a box SAVE THE BOX AND BAG. You can sterilise them and refill ... v MSE, v handy - saves on bottles and reuses stuff.

Off to the kitchen with beady eyes searching for pre-alcohol ingredients....

*thinks to self, "didn't someone mention tea bags ...?"*

Frugaldom

DdraigGoch, I've made loads of rhubarb wine in the past and just used buckets with teatowels over the top then straight to glass bottles.
You need a couple of kilos of clean, chopped rhubarb, pour over about a gallon of boiling water and leave it to soak for 3 or 4 days. Give it a stir each morning and night. Strain the liquid off into a second bucket and add sugar - I used one bag last time and sprinkle on some dried yeast if you want to speed up the process, (I have never used the yeast before). Leave that for a few days before straining into whatever you are using to ferment your wine and then store this away for about 3 months in a cool, dark shed or similar. Probably a demijohn with one of those bungs and airlocks would be safest, but I liked MrDT's balloons idea with the hole in it. :rotfl: Mine used to just go straight into the bottles with screw caps slack enough to release the pressure, but I'm all for trying ballons - I have animal shaped ones for DGD's party, that could look interesting!
This easy winemaking technique came from a friend in Orkney who also makes red clover wine. Perhaps you have red clover growing nearby and could have a day picking that? From what she says, I gather this works with most fruits & vegetables, so I'll just wait and see what comes along in the right quantities but I'm planning on trying the apples this way. Someone suggested chopping them then blitzing them with a hand blender first, so I may try that too. I need new muslin for straining, though, as old tea towels are really messy!

MrDT

loulou88 wrote: »

well,
ive been following your post and I have joined in along the way.
Although i have no idea how to put my pictures on here.
I have just bottled up my "cider" and have been inspired by you.
I have just started some ginger beer.
Im all ready to start some wine for christmas now ive heard rice and rasin is wicked has anyone tried this before?

I see you figured out how to update your avatar image, looks brilliant :T

2cats1kid

OK, really daft question coming up (look away if easily offended).

Your cider = apple juice + sugar + yeast

My wine = apple juice + sugar + yeast

So how does yours know to be cider and mine know to be wine? LOL!