Hello!
This blog is to follow my journey in Home Brewing. I'll be uploading pictures, sharing the projects i'm working on, talking about equipment and the process of brewing, and hopefully above else be sharing my success stories of the brews I make. And for those of you in the area, you may even be enjoying the fruits of my labor :)
I'm currently in the process of brewing a 3 Gallon batch of Hard Cider. I started this batch on the evening of November 9th, around 8 PM.
I picked up a 5 Gallon (actual volume is 6.5) True Brew Fermenting Bucket from my LHBS (Local Home Brew Store) Old West HomeBrew Supply . I decided to buy a bucket with a Spigot, to make transferring the liquid easier. Also this bucket has a lid, with a pre-drilled hole with a grommet for an Air-Lock. I purchased a 3-Piece airlock, and a package of yeast. As I quickly found out, yeast is 100% a personal preference when it comes to home brewing. Certain recipes call for certain yeasts if you are trying to make a specific beer (or clone as they're called), but otherwise it's totally up to you, the brewer. I of course had no idea what I was doing so I asked for a recommendation and was pointed towards Red Star brand, Pasteur Champagne; a Dry Champagne Yeast used primarily in white wine and champagne making. I also purchased a sanitizer, B-Brite to sanitize EVERYTHING that came in contact with any part of the brewing process.
The next day I went to Whole Foods and picked up 5 Gallons of Organic Apple Juice. The MOST IMPORTANT thing when making cider is that you use juice WITHOUT any preservatives. A lot of commercial brand juices have preservatives in them to keep them from spoiling, or fermenting. Which is the exact opposite of what you want the juice to do when you're making cider. So you have to find juice that is 100% juice, no preservatives. I also picked up Organic Brown and Organic Cane Sugar for adding to the cider. The sugar is primarily for boosting the alcohol content and giving the yeast something to eat. It does have some affect on the taste but very minimal, because the yeast will be eating 95% or more of it.
Essentially that's all that you NEED to get brewing hard cider, though I learned there are a lot of useful tools and equipment that will add more certainty to what you're doing. I'll make a list of those later on.
Here's a list of what I used to start:
Hard Cider
-5 Gallon True Brew Fermenting Bucket with Spigot, with lid pre-drilled and grommeted for air lock
-3 Gallons of Organic Apple Juice/Cider
-1 package of Red Star, Pasteur Champagne Wine Yeast
-3 lbs of Sugar (I blended brown sugar and cane sugar)
-Metal Spoon
-Pot to dissolve sugar in juice
-B-Brite Sanitizer
Step-By-Step Instructions of what I did:
First, it's imperative that everything that you're going to use for the brewing process is thoroughly sanitized, and remains sanitized throughout the process. In order to do this, I used a sanitized plate and a bowl as 'sanitized surfaces' to place sanitized equipment on while I brewed. Thoroughly sanitize based on the instructions listed on your sanitizer. The B-Brite sanitizer is a Chlorine-Free & Bleach-Free powder that you simply add water to. Disassemble all parts of your equipment; in my setup I sanitized the lid, the bucket, the spigot (unscrews into a nut, rubber washer, and the spigot), the airlock, the spoon for stirring, the pot I dissolved the sugar in. The sanitation is critical because if anything is contaminated, it can kill the yeast and ruin your entire batch, and if a contamination doesn't kill your brew, it can leave weird flavors that will be fermenting along with your juice.
Next I heated 1 Gallon of juice in a pot over Medium Heat being careful to NOT boil the juice. Add the Sugar that you'll be using. My ratio was 1 Gallon of Juice to 1 lb of Sugar (I picked a random recipe off the internet, you can use however much sugar that you want, or omit it altogether though you'll have a very low Alcoholic Beverage at the end). You'll dissolve ALL of the sugar in this one Gallon. Continue stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved into the juice. Lower the heat and let it sit while you prepare the next part.
Re-Assemble spigot (I actually sanitized the spigot first and reassembled it then I sanitized the bucket and ran the sanitizer through the spigot), put together airlock, and fill with water to the fill line. Put airlock in Lid.
In your sanitized fermenting bucket, add the other gallons of room temperature juice to the empty bucket.
You will then add the hot juice with the dissolved sugar in it, into the fermenter. Stir to blend the sugary mix with the non-sweetened juice until they are well blended.
Here's where I faked my way through it, SEE BELOW FOR WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE. I didn't have a thermometer at the time, so i waited until I thought the juice was about 80-90 degrees, I tasted a sample (by spooning out a sample into a mug...with a sanitized spoon i might add) to see what I thought the temp was (I guess those years of drinking beverages of exacting temperatures at Starbucks came in handy). Each yeast has it's own temperature, so be sure to follow the manufacturer's directions, and for goodness sake, buy a thermometer. I bought an awesome floating one for $8.
Now you'll Pitch (add) the yeast into the perfect warm growing environment that you just created. After adding the yeast, give it a good stir to mix the yeast so it's not sitting on the surface.
To finish, you'll add your lid with the airlock in place. Be sure that the lid is securely on, as air leaks can cause you to spend days staring at the airlock wondering why there's no activity... Now take your fermenting bucket to a safe and warm place. I placed a towel underneath just in case there is any leak from the spigot, and wrapped it with a towel to help maintain and regulate it's temperature.
The fermentation process is complete and you've just begun the waiting game!
Now here are a few things that I didn't do that I SHOULD HAVE.
First off, I should have had a thermometer to verify the temperature of the juice before adding the yeast. This simple step could have caused me to ruin the entire batch; I lucked out and have happy yeast right now.
Secondly, I didn't buy a Hydrometer. This is not an essential tool, but makes it a lot more fun and allows you to duplicate things that you like in the future. Without it, all recipes you do are a total guessing game. The hydrometer measures the gravity (think Density) of liquid. Besides giving you a scientific calculation to measure by, it allows you to estimate the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) that you'll have in the end, and it gives you a 'control' so you know when fermentation is almost complete. Because I purchased mine ($7) AFTER the fermentation process began, I'm going to eye-ball when the fermentation is done and hope for the best.
When taking a Hydrometer Reading, it should be done after all the liquid is mixed, the non-sweetened and the sweetened mix, but BEFORE you pitch the yeast. I'll be doing this next time.
*Notes about the Airlock*
The airlock is very important. It allows you to have your fermenting bucket sealed, yet still let all the gas that is being produced (carbon dioxide) out without letting any oxygen in. There are a handful of types of airlocks available yet they all function primarily the same way. The 3-Piece one I'm using is half-filled with water. The Carbon Dioxide goes up a tube, gets redirected by the dome sitting on top of the tube and bubbles through the water. The water prevents oxygen from seeping into the fermenter.
*Terminology*
The Fermenter is also called the Primary, because it's the first step. The next container is the appropriately labeled the Secondary.
So that's where I'm currently at. I also washed the 1 Gallon jugs and plan using those for the secondary containers, but there will be a post about that. So now sit back, open a commercially brewed beer or hard cider and be patient. Time is the most important tool to have with brewing. You should see some activity in your airlock within 24 hours, but it can vary greatly depending on yeast, fermenting temperature, and how happy your yeast is.
Happy Brewing. Comments and Questions Welcome!
Cheyenne Cañon Brewing
(I thought it would be fun to make a brewing name now, so when I put a label on the beer it's more official!)
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