Skip the gear hassle, get your Craft a Brew CIDER Starter Kit: www.amazon.com/Craft-Brew-BK-CID-Brewing-1-Gallon/dp/B019ZRVP7U?maas=maas_adg_96183D21280B78F4B758B9EB1E812218_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas (link supports the channel)
I have been debating creating a video like this for a while. Minimizing the initial investment into homebrewing is actually a really difficult thing to do. You talk to most brewers and they will tell you what they consider to be minimum equipment to brew. The required list often varies between brewers, but is typically around $50-$100+ in equipment. This is a really good primer and makes you appreciate how equipment you use simplifies the process and also helps reframe the process into what can be easily done by someone who has no equipment to make cider. Thank you for doing this series!
Thank you for the kind words! This series has been an extraordinary exercise in trying to put myself in the beginner’s shoes. You’re right, we’ve got so much gear to play with. It can be pretty disarming to pare everything back only to the essentials.
Personally, we like the look of hazy ciders. Im surprised they aren't more popular. That hose clamp was mind blowing, we have one and had no idea what it was or what it was for! Best, David and Rachel
Idk if I would recommend just fermenting without an airlock, but if I had to do it, I would use a milk jug because is basically has a visual indicator made into it that pressure is building inside of it. (I call It the belly button) it pushes out as pressure builds. But adds an extra step of sanitizing an empty milk jug.
Apple skins... Brilliant. Never thought of just using the skins. Also, redstar Cote's Des Blanc is significantly cheaper than so5 and amazing for cider. Might be a better option for a new brewer
I have an airlock and distillers yeast. Im just getting into brewing, so I’m using apple juice right now to make a simple hard cider. I went with distillers yeast because it’s fast fermenting and it has a higher alcohol tolerance so it can make more alcohol. You should only use .112 to .25 tablespoons of distillers yeast per gallon, but I wanted to make a faster and less sweet cider so I used around .7 tablespoons. It should be done in 2-4 days, I’ll try some then but I want to let it set for a little bit so the flavor profile is better.
The higher alcohol tolerance doesn't mean it makes more alcohol. The abv of cider is so low that you could probably brew it using bread yeast. Using more yeast doesn't necessarily mean that you will ferment quicker. Other factors are in play like temperature. It all comes with experience, I'd recommend watching the guys at city steading brews as they go into detail about different yeast, temperatures and all that fun stuff.
Love this! I’ve got some basic juice, honeycrisp juice, and a bunch of apples from local trees to make a more interesting cider. Pretty excited to get it going for the fall. ❤ Great work as usual!
Right on. I’ve found that honeycrisp definitely benefits from having other apple varietals blended in, even if it’s just the skins. Honeycrisp on its own has a weird flavor to me, almost like plastic?
@@DointheMost yeah, that sounds GROSS 🤮! It’s also more for a 1/2 gallon of HC than a gallon of the great value brand. Not that it’s top quality on its own, but it is a wonderful base! On a side note, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your research and teaching. The entertainment value is a huge bonus!
New to brewing. I have fermented my home kombucha, tried making ginger beer and now want to try making this cider. My only question is after you prime the bottles with, it looks like a teaspoon of sugar per 12 oz bottle, your instructions say to LET IT SIT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR UP TO 2 WEEKS? When I've carbonated kombucha and cider it generally takes a couple of days to carbonate. I use 16 OZ flip top bottles and check them after about 2 days and usually within 3 days they are fully carbonated if not over carbonated.
I use vinegar 3 quart plastic jugs for a easy apple juice brew I've used regular 100% apple juice from Walmarts brand apple juice and red star bread yeast heated up 2 teaspoons at 160 degrees stirring then took off heat took 32 oz out of the 3quart jug of apple juice for space in jug poured 2 cups of white granulated sugar then shook up till sugar devolves pour the yeast in after then shake till its mixed well but don't shake hard gently shake the yeast in the juice lay on basement floor were its cool but make sure the cap is just loose enough for it to release gasses or it will blow up from gas build
I've made cider before but never considered adding the apple peels. Do I just need to swirl it a couple times a day to keep them moist? Kinda hard to punch down in a carboy.
If you don't want to buy an airlock and stopper instead of risking blowing up a glass jug. I would look at using something laying around like a sandwich bag held on with a rubber band or baloon with a pin hole to release the gas. When i first started i had no idea what i was doing. Didn't know it would build pressure. Just jammed a cork in thinking that's what they do with wine. Blew all the way to the ceiling like a shook up soda. Made a huge mess. I looked into it and found out i needed to let it blow off. So i drilled out the cork jammed a peice of tube in. Other end going into a jar of water. Did that for like 2 years before i got serious about brewing.
The best easily accessible juice I've found is Treetop's 3 Apple Blend. It's already a blend of apples and it has 0 additives, and you can find it just about anywhere. Also I bottle prime by reducing 2 cups of juice down to 1 cup or less. This creates some non fermentable sugars which help give the cider an off dry final profile. It's a stable in my house.
I’ll have to see if I can find that juice. I’m always on hunt for the “perfect” but also easily accessible juice for quick turn-around ciders. Blends definitely amplify the complexity. Thanks for the tip!
If you wanted it to be clear before the bottle. Would you bulk age for that time to settle the haze, would it be without the sugar? Then bottle as normal and wait for sugar to ferment?
I am curious about this too, since I have only used SafCider and Champagne yeast. The boiled bread yeast is something I had never heard of prior to this video! Not sure how this would change things 🍎
For 20 secobds i thought i was watching Jeremy from The Quartering. Lol. Sorry bro, i had to. On another note, i used some lalvin 71B, its a monster if a yeast!!
Hi - recent subscriber here!! Why use bread yeast? I'm not a brewer and haven't experimented quite yet, but I have heard of something called champagne yeast (it's used for making wine I believe). Wouldn't something like champagne yeast be a better product to use for fermentation? I'm hoping to understand if there is perhaps a better yeast that would result in a much better end product for my first batch of liquor... I'm interested in making mead, wine & beer.
@@donman9154 I'm drunk tonight but anything u ask I would be happy to try to answer. Just understand im going to be nursing a hangover to morrow. Lol When I first started my main worry was sanitation and airlock, I realized later that it's a game a of variables. It's almost as if the universe/life/brew/reality wants to play gamrs. So you can do the same thing 10 mines and each time might have a different outcome. Also, water.... if your local water has chlorine or any other chemical it kills bacteria/yeast. So yeah. Idk, like I said I'm drunk af rig by now but tomorrow I'll try to answer anything I can. Cheers!
@@skepticfucker280: Thank you for your reply - it's interesting, but I'm looking to get my feet wet using conventional means that I can measure & reproduce until I understand the process much better (this is all new to me and all I want to do is produce a quality end product). It would be nice to gain some experience to the point where I felt confident to move-on to other more complex things.
I continue to hear through channels how “important” a hydrometer is. All it does is tell you what your ABV will amount to. Idk see how that is the first piece of necessary equipment. I feel like an airlock would be placed above that… easily.
it is good at letting you know when fermentation has ended for that secondary or tertiary fermentation can begin, or when to bottle so that you can avoid bottle bombs
Been brewing for almost 10 years and started making cider about 4-5 years ago. Cider is what got me over the fence to finally start kegging so I could back-sweeten with various sugars and still enjoy carbonation. Your suggestion of erythritol is something I will definitely try for bottling. I have been using wine tannin lately, but I really like the muti-apple peel idea. Cheerz.
🎶It feels like the fiiiiirrrsstt tiiiiiime. Feels like the very first tiiiiimme🎶 Great tutorial of how to start out, with a nice series of arrows pointing "if you want to know more, go in this direction"!
I am about to try my first attempt at making hard cider. My local grocery store sells 1 gallon glass jugs of cider. Silly question, if I buy this cider would I still need to sanitize the jug? I am assuming I would not, but want to be sure.
I have the same question. I suppose one could bring water to almost boiling, then drop the apples in and remove from heat, and let them sit for a couple of minutes. That should kill most of the gnarly stuff left on the skins. Though I don't know if that would affect the flavor of the resulting cider.
Peeling 5 gallons worth of apples doesn't seem that bad. Fishing all those peels out of a glass carboy though sounds like a nightmare. Thinking about it gives me flashbacks of trying to get hop bags out of carboys after dry hopping beer😅
I made this recipe and it wasn't that bad to get them cleaned out. The fermentation process disintegrates the peels and they washed out easily with a strong jet of water. Also fun fact, when I went on the discord to ask about this recipe I caught a whole lot of shit from the users there because I didn't put the peels in a bag and I didn't use a bucket. As a beginner, I simply followed the recipe in this video and yet it wasn't good enough for them. So skip the discord because they are mostly unhelpful and opinionated and very rude.
This was awesome, would love to see more videos of taking mainly store bought items and brewing in small batches. I just can't get my head around 5 gallons of brew at this point in my brewing journey. Thank you.
Thanks, this is exactly what I needed. I have all the equipment boxed up from when I was regularly brewing and have been looking for a low stakes way to get back into it while our trees are bursting with apples and pears. You think I can get away with using partial packets of yeast? I have a packet of 04 and 05 in the cupboard and it'd be nice to get a few different batches going (pear/apple/pear+apple). Maybe I'll make a starter.
Depends on your batch size, a 5 gram pack of dry yeast can doe about 20 to 23 liters so 6 gallons, perhaps those limits could be stretched a little with yeast nutrients but yeast ain't that expensive to take that risk, i usually do 3 batches of 5 liters with a pack so i don't waste an entire pack on 1 small brew but i do stay within the recommended max volume limitation of the yeast pack.
@@peterkralt2478 I ended up pitching a packet of US-05 onto a 5 gallon batch of cider with sugar added to around 1.060. I boiled 50 grams of bread yest for nutrient. I got vigorous and then steady airlock activity but strong banana aroma that seems abnormal for US-05 at 68-72F so I'm hoping the yeast wasn't overly stressed. I was worried about the health of the packet and probably should have done a yeast starter.
I started home brewing beer and ale back in the 70s so over the course of the years I have accumulated quite a bit of gear. Living in New England, Maine specifically, there are a few cider mills that bottle fresh cider. However, a lot of those mills sterilize their cider with sodium erythorbate which will prevent yeast from growing. There is one mill up here that produces a nicely balanced cider under the name of Rudy's Cider without preservatives. They use pasteurization to kill off the wild yeasts. Their cider is usually available in the fall and that's when I start making apple wine. My technique uses Fermentis Safcider AB1 cider yeast which does a fabulous job of converting all the sugars to alcohol. Here's what I would recommend to a newbie who wants to try their hand at making hard cider. Do not invest in a kit at first. Why you may ask? Because for some beginners they are one or two and done. The kits are upward of $50 or more and it would be a shame for someone to invest that money only to lose interest and store it away. Your methods of keeping the air away from the cider is fine for a first attempt although I'm a little wary of using a tight cap and "burping" the jug especially when using AB1 yeast. It's a very vigorous yeast and the pressure in the jug will build rapidly. Too easy to forget and presto a disaster. As for the gallon jug, instead of buying a new glass jug just use an empty gallon bottle that had spring water in it. Just be sure to choose a brand that has a screw top. An added benefit to using a plastic spring water jug is it can be rinsed out and recycled instead of cleaning and sanitizing it. About the only things a beginner needs to buy would be the yeast of course and some food grade tubing for siphoning. If a sparkling cider is desired, the easiest way to get flip top bottles is to buy them filled with beer or ale. Since a lot of states mandate a bottle deposit leave the labels intact. That way they can always be returned for the deposit. Safcider AB1 yeast can be gotten from Amazon or a local home brew shop. There's a shop in North Hampton, NH that has it for $5.99. The packet will ferment 5 gallons of cider. A quarter tsp is all that's needed to ferment a gallon of cider. Once the packet is opened it will keep in the fridge for months. In closing, nice beginner's video. I'm glad to see someone take the time to demonstrate how easy the process of making a fermented beverage can be. Btw, I have both a hydrometer and a vinometer but can't remember the last time I used either of those tools. What can I say!
@@DointheMost I get that there is no local brewshop near me so have mail order everything. Been having good results with it. One of these days I'll make something worth sharing.
Excellent video! I strongly believe cider is the most approachable homebrew out there. S-05 is a good choice, but in this summer crazy temperatures the house at 78-74 F could yield some undesirable flavors. You are a big fan of kveik for beginners because it doesn’t need temperature control, so I’d recommend Lutra Kveik, and leave more head space. Voss would be interesting for some citrus notes. Cheers!
While I understand why you are teaching how to not use an airlock, I cannot recommend that. It's too risky for a beginner I think. Airlocks are dirt cheap, and as a barrier for entry, are soon easy to get and use.
what is wrong with a beginner doing it. nothing really, claiming they should not only discourages them. i actually recommend people stop buying that junk and look at some old recipes that did not use it. because its a luxury for us but it deffinately is not needed and if something happens it is ok its a learning process and they will get smarter about it. and they still wont need to buy that shit. not even the carboy.
@DointheMost Safety shouldn't be a choice when you have individuals learning from your channel in every age group and mentality.. I could see and understand, mentioning that it's possible without an airlock, but not safe to do so. Thus, we will be using an airlock... You are creating a potential explosion, and it can cause serious injuries to the brewer, and I'd say you should be held on that if they use your guidance from such an unsafe act...
Is there an update to this? $50 for that kit is insane and I don't want to use bread yeast and I want to use an airlock. How to measure cider yeast when making 1 gallon and using a packet for 5 gallons? Cheaper to piece together kit? Shelf life of yeast?
Skip the gear hassle, get your Craft a Brew CIDER Starter Kit:
www.amazon.com/Craft-Brew-BK-CID-Brewing-1-Gallon/dp/B019ZRVP7U?maas=maas_adg_96183D21280B78F4B758B9EB1E812218_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas
(link supports the channel)
I have been debating creating a video like this for a while. Minimizing the initial investment into homebrewing is actually a really difficult thing to do. You talk to most brewers and they will tell you what they consider to be minimum equipment to brew. The required list often varies between brewers, but is typically around $50-$100+ in equipment.
This is a really good primer and makes you appreciate how equipment you use simplifies the process and also helps reframe the process into what can be easily done by someone who has no equipment to make cider. Thank you for doing this series!
Thank you for the kind words! This series has been an extraordinary exercise in trying to put myself in the beginner’s shoes. You’re right, we’ve got so much gear to play with. It can be pretty disarming to pare everything back only to the essentials.
Personally, we like the look of hazy ciders. Im surprised they aren't more popular. That hose clamp was mind blowing, we have one and had no idea what it was or what it was for! Best, David and Rachel
When I see a hazy cider, I know it is going to taste good 😋
Idk if I would recommend just fermenting without an airlock, but if I had to do it, I would use a milk jug because is basically has a visual indicator made into it that pressure is building inside of it. (I call It the belly button) it pushes out as pressure builds. But adds an extra step of sanitizing an empty milk jug.
Apple skins... Brilliant. Never thought of just using the skins. Also, redstar Cote's Des Blanc is significantly cheaper than so5 and amazing for cider. Might be a better option for a new brewer
Cotes de Blanc would definitely be a good choice as well. 🍎
Lavin 71b works pretty good as well and is also cheap.
71B performs a maloethanolic fermentation that can remove up to 20% of the apple character, so I don't use it for ciders.@@timothywilliams2021
I have an airlock and distillers yeast. Im just getting into brewing, so I’m using apple juice right now to make a simple hard cider. I went with distillers yeast because it’s fast fermenting and it has a higher alcohol tolerance so it can make more alcohol. You should only use .112 to .25 tablespoons of distillers yeast per gallon, but I wanted to make a faster and less sweet cider so I used around .7 tablespoons. It should be done in 2-4 days, I’ll try some then but I want to let it set for a little bit so the flavor profile is better.
The higher alcohol tolerance doesn't mean it makes more alcohol. The abv of cider is so low that you could probably brew it using bread yeast. Using more yeast doesn't necessarily mean that you will ferment quicker. Other factors are in play like temperature. It all comes with experience, I'd recommend watching the guys at city steading brews as they go into detail about different yeast, temperatures and all that fun stuff.
Love this! I’ve got some basic juice, honeycrisp juice, and a bunch of apples from local trees to make a more interesting cider. Pretty excited to get it going for the fall. ❤
Great work as usual!
Right on. I’ve found that honeycrisp definitely benefits from having other apple varietals blended in, even if it’s just the skins. Honeycrisp on its own has a weird flavor to me, almost like plastic?
@@DointheMost yeah, that sounds GROSS 🤮! It’s also more for a 1/2 gallon of HC than a gallon of the great value brand. Not that it’s top quality on its own, but it is a wonderful base!
On a side note, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your research and teaching. The entertainment value is a huge bonus!
I'm not going to complain if you make more cider videos 🤘
🍎 🍏 🍺
New to brewing. I have fermented my home kombucha, tried making ginger beer and now want to try making this cider. My only question is after you prime the bottles with, it looks like a teaspoon of sugar per 12 oz bottle, your instructions say to LET IT SIT AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR UP TO 2 WEEKS?
When I've carbonated kombucha and cider it generally takes a couple of days to carbonate. I use 16 OZ flip top bottles and check them after about 2 days and usually within 3 days they are fully carbonated if not over carbonated.
Cider = Fall...This is the Way. Thanks.
Truth
I use vinegar 3 quart plastic jugs for a easy apple juice brew I've used regular 100% apple juice from Walmarts brand apple juice and red star bread yeast heated up 2 teaspoons at 160 degrees stirring then took off heat took 32 oz out of the 3quart jug of apple juice for space in jug poured 2 cups of white granulated sugar then shook up till sugar devolves pour the yeast in after then shake till its mixed well but don't shake hard gently shake the yeast in the juice lay on basement floor were its cool but make sure the cap is just loose enough for it to release gasses or it will blow up from gas build
I've made cider before but never considered adding the apple peels. Do I just need to swirl it a couple times a day to keep them moist? Kinda hard to punch down in a carboy.
If you don't want to buy an airlock and stopper instead of risking blowing up a glass jug. I would look at using something laying around like a sandwich bag held on with a rubber band or baloon with a pin hole to release the gas.
When i first started i had no idea what i was doing. Didn't know it would build pressure. Just jammed a cork in thinking that's what they do with wine. Blew all the way to the ceiling like a shook up soda. Made a huge mess.
I looked into it and found out i needed to let it blow off. So i drilled out the cork jammed a peice of tube in. Other end going into a jar of water. Did that for like 2 years before i got serious about brewing.
He does specifically mention a balloon with holes punched into it.
How much yeast is needed for this recipe?
The best easily accessible juice I've found is Treetop's 3 Apple Blend. It's already a blend of apples and it has 0 additives, and you can find it just about anywhere.
Also I bottle prime by reducing 2 cups of juice down to 1 cup or less. This creates some non fermentable sugars which help give the cider an off dry final profile. It's a stable in my house.
I’ll have to see if I can find that juice. I’m always on hunt for the “perfect” but also easily accessible juice for quick turn-around ciders. Blends definitely amplify the complexity. Thanks for the tip!
If you wanted it to be clear before the bottle. Would you bulk age for that time to settle the haze, would it be without the sugar? Then bottle as normal and wait for sugar to ferment?
The more you wait the harder it will be to bottle carbonate. It's a tough balance.
What brand did you use for the boiled bread yeast? Is instant yeast okay?
I am curious about this too, since I have only used SafCider and Champagne yeast. The boiled bread yeast is something I had never heard of prior to this video! Not sure how this would change things 🍎
@@CaraRama I used the instant yeast … tasted pretty awful. But it worked.
lovely!!
IMO if you spent the money on the juice, yeast and eveything else, just get a $2 airlock and be safe.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
👍👍👍
fuc craftabrerw i miss you.xoxo...
👍👍👍blow off line👍👍👍
Really one of the best options for folks who are just starting out.
now you gave me the brew bug again
No time like the present 🍺
For 20 secobds i thought i was watching Jeremy from The Quartering. Lol. Sorry bro, i had to. On another note, i used some lalvin 71B, its a monster if a yeast!!
🍻
Pawpaws wine was my first.....bottle of grape juice, cup of sugar and bread yeast.
Lol
Hi - recent subscriber here!!
Why use bread yeast?
I'm not a brewer and haven't experimented quite yet, but I have heard of something called champagne yeast (it's used for making wine I believe).
Wouldn't something like champagne yeast be a better product to use for fermentation?
I'm hoping to understand if there is perhaps a better yeast that would result in a much better end product for my first batch of liquor...
I'm interested in making mead, wine & beer.
@@donman9154 all yeast is the same but some strains produce different flavors. You can even capture live yeast from the air in your area.
:)
@@donman9154 I'm drunk tonight but anything u ask I would be happy to try to answer. Just understand im going to be nursing a hangover to morrow. Lol
When I first started my main worry was sanitation and airlock, I realized later that it's a game a of variables.
It's almost as if the universe/life/brew/reality wants to play gamrs.
So you can do the same thing 10 mines and each time might have a different outcome.
Also, water.... if your local water has chlorine or any other chemical it kills bacteria/yeast. So yeah.
Idk, like I said I'm drunk af rig by now but tomorrow I'll try to answer anything I can.
Cheers!
@@skepticfucker280: Thank you for your reply - it's interesting, but I'm looking to get my feet wet using conventional means that I can measure & reproduce until I understand the process much better (this is all new to me and all I want to do is produce a quality end product).
It would be nice to gain some experience to the point where I felt confident to move-on to other more complex things.
@@skepticfucker280: I greatly appreciate the gesture - please enjoy your evening (this mead isn't going to be put into action just yet)!!
Why are u teaching new brewers exceptionally bad habits
it might be easier for noobs to use the plastic bottle their apple cider came in.
I mentioned that briefly in the video, but it’s an important point. Definitely should brew in whatever the juice comes in!
What a luxary to be able to buy juice in a demijohn
I continue to hear through channels how “important” a hydrometer is. All it does is tell you what your ABV will amount to. Idk see how that is the first piece of necessary equipment. I feel like an airlock would be placed above that… easily.
it is good at letting you know when fermentation has ended for that secondary or tertiary fermentation can begin, or when to bottle so that you can avoid bottle bombs
Please please do more ciders. Pineapple, BlackBerry, ECT. And some bottle carbonating also.
I LOVE everything youre doing with this series. And i love your apple skins trick!! I seriously cant wait to try this. 👏👏
I put all the bottles in to chill so I can enjoy a bunch tonight! Love this dry cider.
Been brewing for almost 10 years and started making cider about 4-5 years ago. Cider is what got me over the fence to finally start kegging so I could back-sweeten with various sugars and still enjoy carbonation. Your suggestion of erythritol is something I will definitely try for bottling. I have been using wine tannin lately, but I really like the muti-apple peel idea. Cheerz.
🎶It feels like the fiiiiirrrsstt tiiiiiime. Feels like the very first tiiiiimme🎶 Great tutorial of how to start out, with a nice series of arrows pointing "if you want to know more, go in this direction"!
Thank you!
I am about to try my first attempt at making hard cider. My local grocery store sells 1 gallon glass jugs of cider. Silly question, if I buy this cider would I still need to sanitize the jug? I am assuming I would not, but want to be sure.
I've been brewing need for a while I'm trying to figure out how to give me de silky mouth feel. Any advice? I typically do a very traditional style.
Really Enjoyed Your Video , Thanks , MY FRIEND ! Cheers 🥂 . 🐯🤠
Cheers Tiger Pat!
I want to know about that red keg in the background looks ideal for taking my brew to my friends house for tasting.
That’s not the way you make hard cider. It’s also dangerous to use a cap for an airlock.
Was there no cleaning or sanitizing or pasteurizing of the peels? Just put them in raw?
Just a good wash in the sink, as with any grocery store produce. The beer yeast will quickly outcompete any wild yeast that the apples carry in.
Shouldnt you boil the juice with apple peels prior to pitching the yeast? Everything else is sanitized except the peels.
I have the same question. I suppose one could bring water to almost boiling, then drop the apples in and remove from heat, and let them sit for a couple of minutes. That should kill most of the gnarly stuff left on the skins. Though I don't know if that would affect the flavor of the resulting cider.
Peeling 5 gallons worth of apples doesn't seem that bad. Fishing all those peels out of a glass carboy though sounds like a nightmare. Thinking about it gives me flashbacks of trying to get hop bags out of carboys after dry hopping beer😅
I made this recipe and it wasn't that bad to get them cleaned out. The fermentation process disintegrates the peels and they washed out easily with a strong jet of water. Also fun fact, when I went on the discord to ask about this recipe I caught a whole lot of shit from the users there because I didn't put the peels in a bag and I didn't use a bucket. As a beginner, I simply followed the recipe in this video and yet it wasn't good enough for them. So skip the discord because they are mostly unhelpful and opinionated and very rude.
Thanx for the great vid BC 👍
Cheers friend! 🥂
Is apple juice the same as apple cider?
This was awesome, would love to see more videos of taking mainly store bought items and brewing in small batches. I just can't get my head around 5 gallons of brew at this point in my brewing journey. Thank you.
Right on! I’m trying to make sure I do several one gallon videos year-to-year to be as brewer inclusive as possible. Thanks for watching!
Please make more cider videos!
Thanks, this is exactly what I needed. I have all the equipment boxed up from when I was regularly brewing and have been looking for a low stakes way to get back into it while our trees are bursting with apples and pears. You think I can get away with using partial packets of yeast? I have a packet of 04 and 05 in the cupboard and it'd be nice to get a few different batches going (pear/apple/pear+apple). Maybe I'll make a starter.
Depends on your batch size, a 5 gram pack of dry yeast can doe about 20 to 23 liters so 6 gallons, perhaps those limits could be stretched a little with yeast nutrients but yeast ain't that expensive to take that risk, i usually do 3 batches of 5 liters with a pack so i don't waste an entire pack on 1 small brew but i do stay within the recommended max volume limitation of the yeast pack.
@@peterkralt2478 I ended up pitching a packet of US-05 onto a 5 gallon batch of cider with sugar added to around 1.060. I boiled 50 grams of bread yest for nutrient. I got vigorous and then steady airlock activity but strong banana aroma that seems abnormal for US-05 at 68-72F so I'm hoping the yeast wasn't overly stressed. I was worried about the health of the packet and probably should have done a yeast starter.
I started home brewing beer and ale back in the 70s so over the course of the years I have accumulated quite a bit of gear. Living in New England, Maine specifically, there are a few cider mills that bottle fresh cider. However, a lot of those mills sterilize their cider with sodium erythorbate which will prevent yeast from growing. There is one mill up here that produces a nicely balanced cider under the name of Rudy's Cider without preservatives. They use pasteurization to kill off the wild yeasts. Their cider is usually available in the fall and that's when I start making apple wine. My technique uses Fermentis Safcider AB1 cider yeast which does a fabulous job of converting all the sugars to alcohol.
Here's what I would recommend to a newbie who wants to try their hand at making hard cider. Do not invest in a kit at first. Why you may ask? Because for some beginners they are one or two and done. The kits are upward of $50 or more and it would be a shame for someone to invest that money only to lose interest and store it away. Your methods of keeping the air away from the cider is fine for a first attempt although I'm a little wary of using a tight cap and "burping" the jug especially when using AB1 yeast. It's a very vigorous yeast and the pressure in the jug will build rapidly. Too easy to forget and presto a disaster. As for the gallon jug, instead of buying a new glass jug just use an empty gallon bottle that had spring water in it. Just be sure to choose a brand that has a screw top. An added benefit to using a plastic spring water jug is it can be rinsed out and recycled instead of cleaning and sanitizing it. About the only things a beginner needs to buy would be the yeast of course and some food grade tubing for siphoning. If a sparkling cider is desired, the easiest way to get flip top bottles is to buy them filled with beer or ale. Since a lot of states mandate a bottle deposit leave the labels intact. That way they can always be returned for the deposit. Safcider AB1 yeast can be gotten from Amazon or a local home brew shop. There's a shop in North Hampton, NH that has it for $5.99. The packet will ferment 5 gallons of cider. A quarter tsp is all that's needed to ferment a gallon of cider. Once the packet is opened it will keep in the fridge for months.
In closing, nice beginner's video. I'm glad to see someone take the time to demonstrate how easy the process of making a fermented beverage can be. Btw, I have both a hydrometer and a vinometer but can't remember the last time I used either of those tools. What can I say!
First?
🥇
💥🤯🥳🎉🎊⚡✨🌟⭐💫. 🐯🤠
14:48 Me looking at that 5.5 gallon batch of cider I have going now.. wondering if apple peels would improve it.. Challenge accepted!
😂😂😂 They do add a nice complexity and tannin. Though powdered tannin can achieve a sort of similar effect!
@@DointheMost Well too late. Bought three bags of apples. Red delicious, granny smith and honey crisp. Peeling them tomorrow.
@@thatjonguy103 Baller move. Let me know how it goes!
@@DointheMost Will do! Might make a comment in discord about it in a few weeks.
You an built a diy air lock out of a sampler bottle an some new aquarium air line a 1 gallon juice jug
Have you tried mangrove jacks cider yeast?
I have not, but I’ve heard it is a hit. My local brew shop doesn’t carry their yeasts.
@@DointheMost I get that there is no local brewshop near me so have mail order everything. Been having good results with it. One of these days I'll make something worth sharing.
Cider house select is another. I've had good results with both.
Excellent video! I strongly believe cider is the most approachable homebrew out there.
S-05 is a good choice, but in this summer crazy temperatures the house at 78-74 F could yield some undesirable flavors. You are a big fan of kveik for beginners because it doesn’t need temperature control, so I’d recommend Lutra Kveik, and leave more head space. Voss would be interesting for some citrus notes.
Cheers!
I LOVE Voss in a cider. Great advice!
Nice, curious what bing size would fit a bottle of juice like that? If you wanted to purchase an airlock at the least?
A #6 drilled stopper should fit most 1 gallon carboys.
@@DointheMost Thanks for the reply. Will have to hit my local brew shop. And look for that. Thanks again.
Do you know what the difference between fermaids o and k is? I think that'd be an interesting video. That and other nutrients and stuff.
We did a pretty deep dive on nutrients. Hopefully this helps cover it!
ruclips.net/video/AGh1wIlue4o/видео.htmlsi=Y6OyKYdjlwGTuOEz
While I understand why you are teaching how to not use an airlock, I cannot recommend that. It's too risky for a beginner I think. Airlocks are dirt cheap, and as a barrier for entry, are soon easy to get and use.
what is wrong with a beginner doing it. nothing really, claiming they should not only discourages them. i actually recommend people stop buying that junk and look at some old recipes that did not use it. because its a luxury for us but it deffinately is not needed and if something happens it is ok its a learning process and they will get smarter about it. and they still wont need to buy that shit. not even the carboy.
They help stop injuries as well.. Airlocks are mandatory..!
I think I provide plenty of context around that point for people to make their own decisions.
@DointheMost
Safety shouldn't be a choice when you have individuals learning from your channel in every age group and mentality..
I could see and understand, mentioning that it's possible without an airlock, but not safe to do so. Thus, we will be using an airlock...
You are creating a potential explosion, and it can cause serious injuries to the brewer, and I'd say you should be held on that if they use your guidance from such an unsafe act...
@@NoBonesPressed "you should be held on that"? breathe in breathe out.
Is there an update to this? $50 for that kit is insane and I don't want to use bread yeast and I want to use an airlock. How to measure cider yeast when making 1 gallon and using a packet for 5 gallons? Cheaper to piece together kit? Shelf life of yeast?