with the holidays looming and an AP-imposed kibosh on brewing until the new year, I had to find a way to satisfy my fermentation cravings.

• adding staggered nutrient additions to my mead (now around 12-14 brix or so) wasn’t cutting it, so I decided to throw together a quick and easy cider.
• how quick and easy?  this sucker took about five minutes start to finish:
  • 1. purchase preservative-free apple juice (I went with trader joe’s flash pasteurized refrigerated juice and let it warm up to about 70F)
  • 2. crack open the juice and pour yourself a small glass (this creates some head space for fermentation)
    
  • 3. add 1/4-1 packet of champagne yeast to the juice container, depending on volume (I added half a packet to 1/2 gallon of juice, which was actually a bit overboard)
  • 4. re-cap juice container and shake to aerate
  • 5. remove cap and secure sanitized foil to top of container with a rubber band (can optionally use an airlock if it fits).
• I usually give the fermentation a few weeks before priming and bottling.  the champagne yeast ferments out completely (resulting in a dry cider), so if you would like any residual sweetness you could add in potassium sorbate or other inhibitors (or just drink the juice earlier).
• this cider, although dead simple to make, is always a hit and is a great way for someone to get into home fermentation.  also, if you can score fresh unpasteurized juice, I recommend splitting the batch, adding yeast to only half, and letting the other half ferment out spontaneously (I have wanted to do this for a while).
• HAPPY HOLIDAYS – be sure to treat yourself and pull something out from deep in the cellar this week!

Tags: champagne yeast, cider, trader joe's

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 at 12:46 pm and is filed under brewing, ideas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.