Author Topic: Homebrew cider?  (Read 6088 times)

cautiouslyunconventional

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Homebrew cider?
« on: May 12, 2015, 05:27:08 PM »
I avoid most alcohol because of the lack of ingredient labels  (I have allergies) but cider is so good it seems worth home brewing.

Is it possible to do this cheaply? From the small amount of reading I've done so far, it looks like you need to have a crusher and cider press, or else buy unpasteurized cider (which sounds like it'd be expensive). Can you reduce the need for some of the specialized equipment by chopping the apples first?

I've never home brewed before, but this sounds like it might be a little more difficult than beer...

nanu

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2015, 05:29:16 PM »

Case

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2015, 07:12:30 PM »
I avoid most alcohol because of the lack of ingredient labels  (I have allergies) but cider is so good it seems worth home brewing.

Is it possible to do this cheaply? From the small amount of reading I've done so far, it looks like you need to have a crusher and cider press, or else buy unpasteurized cider (which sounds like it'd be expensive). Can you reduce the need for some of the specialized equipment by chopping the apples first?

I've never home brewed before, but this sounds like it might be a little more difficult than beer...

I would say it is easier than beer... far easier than all-grain beer.  My friend does cider, I do beer.  If you do extract beer brewing, the time commitment is not too far different.  But if the beer-brewing does all-grain then cider wins by far.
Beer has soooo many process variables, and they all make a difference.  Cider is more about learning to balance acidity and sweetness, and what mix of apples to use (to get the acidity and sweetness balance).  Some apples will add other nuances as well, but I would say there is much less breadth than in beer.  Google search will find you all you need to know.

You have to chop the apples up, even with the crusher (typically).  First you chop up the apples (into several pieces per apple).  Then you food-processor the stuff into a mulchy-mush; or there are hand-crank operated devices to chop 'em up further, but these will cost $$.
Then you crush.  You will probably need to build the crusher yourself; it's basically a bunch of wood 2 by 4s, held together by long nails.  It is used to hold the hydraulic press in place.  Again, google search.

Cider is reasonably inexpensive to make; like most home-brewing, the most cost-effective forms of it save you a lot of money and cost you a lot of time. 

If you want it MMM style (time efficient, but lacking in any of the hobby aspect and probably never developing much quality) just buy the juice and chuck in champagne yeast.

Spondulix

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2015, 07:36:47 PM »
There was a discussion about this last year. DocHolliday gave me the advice to just buy cider and use the bottle it came in (because it's already sterile). If you get into bottles, I guess it's a lot more work/time involved (plus there is always the risk of a bottle exploding)

Sounds like it's really easy, though (I still haven't tried doing it)

stripey

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2015, 11:17:26 PM »
I used to make cider with dad before I left home. We had the advantage of having a friend with a commercial cold press juicer, fortunately.
It's rather simple to make, probably less fiddly than beer too. For us it certainly worked out cheaper than purchase (note: we are Australian). We used to add some crab-apples that give it a nicer finish... so if you can find some that'd be great.

Otherwise you can play around with something like this: http://www.oztops.com.au/

stripey

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2015, 11:19:43 PM »
P.S. Apple cider vinegar is criminally easy to make, by the way. Better than anything you'll every purchase in the shops. Just Google it.

mspym

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2015, 03:44:17 AM »
It's seriously easy. I get apple juice, siphon off 1oz to safeguard against explosions, add half a teaspoon of Belgian Ale yeast, and put an airlock on. Wait two weeks, add some sugar and cap.

I was surprised that the results depended so much on the yeast- Belgian Ale>Champagne>Cider which seems a bit counterintuitive. You'd expect the cider yeast to be best but it really isn't. Good luck!

mschaus

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2015, 08:03:26 AM »
Yes, this is easy and good; I've done it. Let MMM guide you!

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2014/04/22/brew-your-own-cider/

drachma

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2015, 10:55:18 AM »
i actually did this after reading the MMM article. its simpler to do cider than beer.

i paid $11 for a 1-gallon glass jug of unpasteurized cider. $3 for a plastic airlock & stopper. $1 for a packet of yeast.

you can re-use the glass jug so the second batches i just found cider from local farms and didn't pay $11. i brew in 1-gallon batches as thats the size of my jug.

if you use champagne yeast it comes out very dry and quite alcoholic. i experimented with adding sugar and at one point had a 16% cider (tasted like crap though, obviously). there are better cider yeasts.

if you consider 1 gallon is about 10 bottles of beer/cider. ignoring initial expense ($14) which goes to zero when amortized over a lifetime, the juice costs $4-5 and about 50 cents for yeast (2 uses out of a packet) so you are getting home cider for ~50 cents a serving. not bad.

Jeremy E.

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2015, 11:07:49 AM »
I just use plastic jugs that cheap apple juice comes in, add yeast, brown sugar, put on stopper, let sit for 2 weeks, then I siphon out the cider into another jug to leave the weird stuff at the bottom. Lastly I add some cinnamon sticks and Stevia and enjoy. Very cheap for tastey Cider. Good luck!

Axecleaver

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2015, 11:52:28 AM »
I have done this with cider/pear juice blends, and cider/black raspberry. Super good. We have a commercial cider place that does ginger blends. If you have any apple orchards around, see if they'll sell you "drop apples" (very cheap) or "seconds" (fairly cheap).

Pressing them yourself is a hassle without a cider press, but it can be done.

I use champagne yeast, have not tried belgian ale yeast. I understand the ale yeast is not as aggressive so the end product will retain some of the residual apple sugar, which sounds like a good idea. Champagne yeast eats everything and will poop out max alcohol, but leaves the end product very dry.

stripey

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Re: Homebrew cider?
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2015, 10:22:22 AM »
Particularly the Australians should look at this website: http://www.oztops.com.au/
Turns out pretty reasonably with supermarket shelf pasteurised apple juice.