Cider Again

I made another batch of not-from-concentrate cider. It's alright, the Chinese cider tasted better before fermentation and perhaps after fermentation as well. The pricier half gallon of spiced cider I picked up is really good, so good I don't want to ferment it.

I'll throw some spices or cinnamon in to compensate for lower quality juice.

Cider

There's a new brew in the fridge. It's the first day of October and that means Cider time!

I was looking for a simple hard cider made from cider rather than apple juice. I went with a simplified version of this recipe. Some fellow home brewers recommended an fining agent or else "it will never clear". Personally, I've never had a clear cider (besides mass market hard apple beverages), cider isn't supposed to be clear. Also, I cut out the spices etc. from the recipe. I'm trying to recreate the sharp, fizzy unpasteurized cider I remember. Albeit with more alcohol, because I'm sure there was some alcohol in those gallon jugs!

1 gallon jug of cider from Target (from Chinese concentrate, I'll try and get some US cider next)
1 cup sugar boiled in
1 cup water
1/5 a package of Safale US-05

Into the fermenter it goes. I had it in there for a week and pumped it back into the original jug. I say pumped instead of racked because it was still so fizzy a siphon wouldn't start. The jug is now in the fridge with a loosely attached lid so the fermentation will cool down.

I tried some on the third day of fermentation, it was a little sweet tasting, improved with a little cinnamon.

We'll see how it turns out after it settles over the weekend

Update

Yup, still haven't brewed anything. It's been a few months. Thinking about doing another IPA.

Botteling and Brewing

How long to lager? How about ten weeks. Sounds good to me. Maybe too long, we'll see. I added a packet of Bohemian Wyeast since the original Bohemian is almost certainly inactive and settled out.

Hopefully the extra yeast doesn't go nuts and break 24 of my best 22oz bottles.

In other news I tried out my new auto siphon for the first time. Wow is that nice. A lot better than filling a racking cane and hose up with water, draining into a bucket, getting beer all over and repeating because a good siphon didn't take.

I brewed an American IPA today, should be delicious.

Brew and Grow

I stopped in the local brew supply store yesterday. It's called Brew and Grow. Not too far out of the way. They're more of an "alternative growing" store, but plenty of home brew supplies. Picked up a couple Wyeats and some more siphon hose. Too bad I missed the last Chicago Beer Society meeting due to extreme illness. I'm feeling better now, thank you very much.

A year of Brewing

I'm enjoying a year old IPA, my first brew, to celebrate my first brewing on January 24, 2008.

It tastes as it did ten months ago. A little pickled. I added too much priming sugar so it's slightly over-alcoholed.

A delicious retrospective. Best hobby ever.

I was really hoping for a Stewart's ginger beer but I couldn't find any at any of the three local stores. Doctor Who really goes well with ginger beer.

Double Brew

Another double brew. Winter Warmer yesterday, Dortmunder Export today. Straight into the carboy.

I ordered this kit several months ago, and the malt extract froze as you can see on my brew calendar (bottom of page). I'm not sure how long the extract stays fresh, but my guess is that it started fermenting a little. The picture on the top is the before. It was foamy, generating some gas and was bowing the lid of the container. I scraped off the foam and added it to the boil as usual. We'll see how it turns out.


Also, I used Wyeast strain 2124, Bohemian Lager yeast. The smack pack swelled all the way out after warming up to room temperature. There was a slight pouring problem and I lost some yeast down the side of the carboy. Hopefully there is enough in there for a full fermentation.

I'm going to leave the carboy out of the fridge until it shows signs of fermentation. Then drop the temprature gradually.
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Lagering

Just so I don't forget, I brewed and lagered the Vienna Lager all in the carboy. No racking to different fermenters for that brew. There was no noticeable difference between that beer and the Pilsner or Oktoberfest that were fermented in a bucket then racked to the carboy for lagering.

In other news, I had a Goose Island Winter Ale (I can't find it online, might have been the Christmas Ale) and it smelled exactly like the Listermann's Winter Warmer kit I brewed yesterday. I'm positive there is some roasted barley in there. Hopefully mine turns out as delicious.