16 Nov
2001
16 Nov
'01
11:52 a.m.
Michael Valentiner
The cider is very good this year. A little more sulphur than I
remember, but it does blow off quick. My fermentation technique is
to simply replace the cap with an air lock. This way I can freeze
the extra gallons and ferment them when I need. It has plenty of
wild yeast, Russ, you just need more faith ;->. I drink mine after
4-5 days and try to finish it up before it gets too dry (2 weeks).
Jason, you can sweeten it and when you get the gravity where you want
it, you can knock down the yeast with campden tablets or potassium
metabisulphate available at local hb stores.
As in winemaking, you can also let it ferment until all activity stops.
This will give you a reading below zero on the Balling scale. If you then
bring the reading up to zero, you should have about 2 percent sugar, which
seems to please most folks. .10 lb sugar per gallon will increase the
Balling about 1 degree.
If you plan on bottling this, watch out. I use a fermentation inhibitor
known as potassium sorbate or "Sorbistat". The campden tablets Mike
mentions can give some folks "stuffy" noses, so I don't use them much.
They
can be useful for initially killing wild yeasts if you don't heat your
fruit/juice before fermenting.
Mike Moranz, President
Minnesota Home Brewers Association