It has been just over thirty days since starting this batch of hard cider. This evening I decided to take a sample and do a hydrometer test. The final gravity was plus or minus 1.000 so it has basically fermented to dryness. I will be bottling very soon, hopefully tomorrow evening. I have a mix of bottles so it will be going into 341ml crown bottles, 375ml champagne bottles & 750ml champagne bottles.
Here is my sample. The cider started out as cloudy brown cider and did clear quite well without the use of clearing agents. Taste wise it is excellent. It has a very clean, dry taste and best of all no off tastes. It does have a good amount of alcohol kick but it is not off putting. With some time aging in the bottles this stuff should be stellar.Look for my bottling post coming soon....
Wow, it looks excellent ! Congrats. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's great. I just did a honey mead that required clearing. That sounds like a great brew!
ReplyDeleteMiss M - Thanks! It turned out really well. The first batch in the bucket did not though, cider with preservatives will not work. Go figure... :-)
ReplyDeleteRed - I just bottled it a few hours ago and of course took another sample, so good. When I do the third batch late winter I will be adding lots of honey, I think its called a cyser or somethin.
I have done several cysers. Feel free to throw any fruits like apricots, raisins, grapes and apples in there to make it tasty and boozy. There is debate as to what makes a cyser, but go crazy. Any sucrose, dextrose, or fructose will keep you happy, holmes.
ReplyDeleteThe captcha for this post is "excesses" LOL.
Congrats! No off flavors is the goal to achieve.
ReplyDeleteMy larger 15 gallon batches are still going a bit. We did have quite a cold spell here for a while so it is not surprising. Should be racking my ciders this weekend too.
Keep it up!