Glad to hear that you aren't being too 'purist' about it, cos here in the UK's West Country cider making ain't considered the genu-ine article unless a couple of rats have fallen into the vat during fermentation.... Ooh-arr, it all adds to that full-bodied flavour! :lol:
Good luck with your alcoholic enterprise.
chris
· 1 year ago
as a hard cider lover i wish you luck in your first batch. i've done beer before, never cider. perhaps i'll have to try one of these days. look forward to more posts on the subject.
cheers!
Karen
· 1 year ago
I have always wondered what the differences were in regular cider and hard cider. This was so interesting.
Tel
· 10 months ago
Hello and thanks for the information.
I've tried my hand at cider briefly this last fall. My family isn't all to hot on the idea, as they believe that letting something organic sit around in a bottle for two months is a good way to get food poisoning or some kind of crazy stomach virus.
Is there any chance you've come across legitimate health concerns relating to this otherwise simple process?
ahynes1
· 2 months ago
Tel, Sorry about not getting back to this. Yes. There are very legitimate health concerns. First, be sure to use a vapor lock when you make your cider to keep any bacteria from betting into your hard cider while it is fermenting. Second, be sure to sterilize everything before you start to make your cider. Any sort of food can go bad if you don't prepare it properly and hard cider is no different.
That said, if you sterilize, use a vapor lock and generally keep the whole process clean and sterile there is very little to worry about.
As to letting something organic sit around in a bottle for two months: First, two months is a long time to brew the cider. However, more importantly, I hope they don't drink wine. That is something organic that has sat around in bottles usually for much longer than two months, unless you are drinking really cheap wine which is even more likely to make you sick.
noel3
· 2 months ago
I just started my first batch ever of cider today, is it normal for the yeast to float on the top five hours after putting it in the 5 Gallon?? HELP!!!!!
ahynes1
· 2 months ago
Noel, It was great to talk with you on Facebook last night. I hope your cider comes out well. I also look forward to experimenting with hard pear cider.
As a note to others, the gist of our discussion is that it would probably be good for Noel to stir or shake the cider vigorously to try and get the sugar and yeast to mix in more and that he shouldn't worry about briefly removing the vapor lock to do so.
Also, a note to other would be hard cider makers. If you use a dry yeast or a cake yeast, be sure to mix it with a small amount of cider first to make it a good solution that can work a little before you pour it into your five gallon carboy. It is easier to mix that way.
All Comments
Good luck with your alcoholic enterprise.
cheers!
I've tried my hand at cider briefly this last fall. My family isn't all to hot on the idea, as they believe that letting something organic sit around in a bottle for two months is a good way to get food poisoning or some kind of crazy stomach virus.
Is there any chance you've come across legitimate health concerns relating to this otherwise simple process?
That said, if you sterilize, use a vapor lock and generally keep the whole process clean and sterile there is very little to worry about.
As to letting something organic sit around in a bottle for two months: First, two months is a long time to brew the cider. However, more importantly, I hope they don't drink wine. That is something organic that has sat around in bottles usually for much longer than two months, unless you are drinking really cheap wine which is even more likely to make you sick.
HELP!!!!!
It was great to talk with you on Facebook last night. I hope your cider comes out well. I also look forward to experimenting with hard pear cider.
As a note to others, the gist of our discussion is that it would probably be good for Noel to stir or shake the cider vigorously to try and get the sugar and yeast to mix in more and that he shouldn't worry about briefly removing the vapor lock to do so.
Also, a note to other would be hard cider makers. If you use a dry yeast or a cake yeast, be sure to mix it with a small amount of cider first to make it a good solution that can work a little before you pour it into your five gallon carboy. It is easier to mix that way.