So, I'm branching out.. Trying something new..
How about a hard cider?
Indeed.. A nice, clean hard cider might be good, as the spring heats up into summer.
So, I came across this recipe for
EdWorts Apfelwein It sounds good, it seemed simple, and cheap. Im willing to go for it.
Found the Applejuice at a local chain supermarket, spent less than $20 to get 5 gals. The Dextrose (corn) sugar was 99cents a Lb a the local homebrew supply, and the montrachet yeast was 60 cents a package.
I actually deviated from EdWorts recipe / process in a couple minor ways..
1) I stashed the bottles of juice up-side down in a bucket of Star-San before opening / dumping into the carboy.
2) I boiled 1/2 Gallon of applejuice with the dextrose for a few minutes, then chilled on an icebath before adding that.
3) I pitched 2X packets of Montrachet yeast, not 1.
With the added Dextrose, and the fermenting 'power' of the Montrachet wine yeast, I think this should settle on around an 8 - 8.5% ABV nosh.
For the geekish, I got an OG of 1.063, and will probably get a FG of 0.999 or so, if the Montrachet does its job.
Primary for 4 weeks, then bottle for 2+ (way plus) months, or keg and age a month.
Apparently, the longer you age this, the better it gets.
Not bad tho, Less than $25 to make 5 gals of 8+% beverage.
Read through the thread linked above.. I'll bet it'll make you want to try a batch too.. It sounds pretty awesome.
Edit: 48 Hrs into fermentation its super active, easily 2 bubbles / sec, and WHEW BOY does it smell off-putting. The yeast (As I understand) are metabolizing sulfur compounds in the applejuice, and gassing them off, so the airlock (indeed the room) smells pretty much like freshly peeled, hardboiled eggs.
I understand this is perfectly normal, and will pass in a few days, but man oh man, this is a new one for me, LOL..
