Hard Apple cider....ever tasted it or made it at home??????????????

[greathorse]

No advice from me that is for sure. Made hard cider once, College dorm room, wrong container, BOOM!!!!. Bad Bad deal.

Oh yes some advice make sure the container has room for expansion, but then almost everyone except for a dumb college kid knows that.

Edited to add: Christian College no drinking ever, made the situation even worse.

 

[willkatdawson]

Quote:
Thanks jeni51!! I can't wait to check out the site. Being from England you might know what started all this for me. Have you ever seen any of the River Cottage series from Hugh Fearnly-Whitingstsll? They showed in England and were a real hit. They are all about small holding farms and sustainablity (sp?). Anyway, the first time I saw Hugh was on Gordon Ramsey's show "The F Word". I googled Hugh and found the series on factualtv.com. During his time in Dorset he visited the Chidick Cider Circle and the folks looked like they were having such a great time it has inspired me to try some of my own.

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

I've done a good bit of beer and wine making
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good

The reason for not allowing natural yeast into the brew is that it can turn it to vinegar.
You should take a trip to your local home brewing store and also pick up a book on the subject.

You're in for a real treat.

 

[cerridwenn]

i LOVE LOVE LOVE cider. but have never had time to try to brew any myself.

i think you should try it - if you end up with vinegar, apple cider vinegar is great for cooking, giving to pets and people as a tonic, etc. if you end up with cider, even better because you can enjoy it! i grew up in eastern pa and lots of people made their own cider, root beer, birch beer. it was all fabulous and way better than nasty bitter beers that most people seem to like. also ciders from other fruits are good. just wish i had some advice for making it for you. but even so, i still think you have nothing to lose by trying.

was talking to a homebrew guy yesterday at our blues festival and told him i didn't have a press for one thing, part of why i hadn't tried making it. he said just run them through a food processor or blender and you don't need a press, but you do have to strain it eventually to get out the pulp. he seemed to think it would be no problem to do it that way. something good to know.

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

a juicer also works wonders

cheese cloth is what I used to strain my grapes through when I made wine from real grapes
this was done after the first fermentation and then went into another carbon to be finished off
that was for red wine where you allow the peels in the brew to color the wine.

Wine and beer making is as fascinating a hobby as raising chickens is ;O)
Another one of those things you get something really good in return for your investment of time
Some of my brews were better than others but none ever disappointed me.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Here's some reading on the subject from my supplier:

hard cider

 

[greeneggsnham]

Could you make hard cider in a Mr. Beer? This sounds really good and I want to try it but I'm a little short on funds. This is what a Mr. Beer looks like.... http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Beer-Deluxe-Microbrewery-System/dp/B00005O68L . It comes with a fermentation lock and the barrel will hold 2 1/2 gallon.