/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.112551]

Has anyone confirmed this?
What's it going to look like when it's done?
Should it be stored cold during fermentation?

I followed the instructions to the letter.

[That Info Guy !DEGUyWiNfo No.112559]

>>112551

I have done something like this before; but with orange juice.

It should work, all the basic brewing science is there BUT I would add an extra step. You will get some naaaaaaasty sediment on the bottom; so if you go to put it in coke bottles, you will want to have a coffee filter to run it through.

Also, personally I don't think it tastes all that great....but it was a great excuse to have some mates over and have a drink ;)

[Anonymous No.112565]

>>112559
So filter it once it's ready to go. Awesome. Should I taste this in a month to see if it's going correctly or just leave alone entirely?

[That Info Guy !DEGUyWiNfo No.112576]

>>112565
>>112565

Well I dunno. My first batch was with the apple juice, then I went to orange. What I did was use the actual bottle, and put a balloon over the top. But in the end, I had to filter it about 3 times..the yeast was a pain in the ass to get out.

And I dunno, I left mine for two weeks (which thinking about it now, is probably why it tasted pretty ordinary)

I would suggest tasting it after a month, yeah. That way you can get a taste and see if the process is going along nicely. 2 months should be ample to get the reaction done; but yeah, a taste might be good.

Also, personally, for 4 gallons of juice, I would use two packets of yeast. Otherwise you wont get much alcohol out of it.....but if you dont want to risk it, stick to the plan. haha

[Anonymous No.112595]

>>112576
What I had to do was cut the recipe in half. Unfortunately, I could not find a 5 gallon jug but I found a 2.5 gallon and did the cut. We'll see what happens with a half recipe, with half yeast. I might run a second batch and throw the whole yeast into the jug.

So color is normal. I expected as much. Should I keep my jug in the fridge or just leave it in the room? I have it away from light.

Might post results in 3 weeks.

[Anonymous No.112596]

Don't do it op, you'll just create some cool crystals which will cause the spoons in your home to explode and expel mustard gas. YOU CAN DIE!!!!

[Anonymous No.112601]

>>112596
riiiight

[Anonymous No.112606]

>>112601
coke+baking soda+sugar+apple juice= poison gas
Seriously...back this shit up.

[Sand No.112609]

>>112606
this of course doesn't pertain to what i've researched about this cider. so... yeah.

[Anonymous No.112622]

>>112576
>put a balloon over
>a balloon over
>a balloon
>a balloon
>a balloon
>a balloon
>a balloon
http://www.fermentationtrap.com/1401.html
Ninty Nine cents for a PRICEY ONE!!! FUCK YOUR BALLOONS!!! You know why it tasted like crap? Right off the bat you fucked your brew in the ass. Sure you chose some cheap ass materials, but hey, you started with some sort of juice, so I won't hate you. Then your cheap ass didn't even follow the directions, you put a nasty ass latex sack over the top to let all the funk flavor all up inside your brew. Notice in the directions it says napkins, well your stupid ass couldn't follow that one simple instruction. See at least the napkins wouldn't have added a flavor to the brew and brewers have been using silk and cloth caps longer then they have been using fermentation traps, by centuries. The other major flaw was you chose baking yeast. Next time get some wine yeast at the very least. Oh and in case you missed my point. FUCK YOUR STUPID RUBBER BALLOONS!!!!!

[Anonymous No.112628]

>>112595
NO NOT THE FRIDGE!! Are you high? Jesus, think of your yeast man, that's your own personal, private alcohol making army working hard so you don't have to... Keep that shit between 65°F (18°C) and 75°F(24°C).

[Sand No.112666]

>>112628
never did it before so i figured i'd ask

[Anonymous No.112682]

that's how we made prison gin, except smaller.

You'll puke.

[Anonymous No.112701]

OP I just got into homebrewing. this looks like it should work its gonna taste like shit though.

ways to make it better:
> use a proper yeast
> dont do it in plastic
> use a fermentation lock instead of two napkins to seal it

>if you add a small amount of sugar to each coke bottle as you bottle it and leave it for another couple days (like 7 maybe?) itll be carbonated. but be careful add to much and that shit'll blow up

[Anonymous No.112703]

>>112628
fridge shouldnt kill the yeast. itll just go dormant i think. (not OP)

[Sand No.112723]

>>112722
OP here
Yeah, i'm like this guy.

[Anonymous No.112722]

>>112701
Not OP, but what would you suggest to some guys living in a dorm with limited resources? We'd have the stuff to pull off the recipe in the pic. But you say that plastic jug is no good?

Are you sure that the lock is necesarry?

[Anonymous No.112728]

>>112722


the recipe with work the way it is. its just going to taste really bad. you dont have to do any of the stuff i suggested. a plastic jug is just going to make it taste worse.

however the locks are pretty cheap like $5
glass carboys are pretty expensive $40

[Sand No.112729]

>>112728
let me ask, have you tasted this brand before? i'm curious.

[Anonymous No.112731]

>>112722
also get a proper yeast. itll help.

well actually given that you are using a napkin you will get other yeasts in there anyway.

TL;DR you get drunk, bad taste

[Anonymous No.112733]

>>112729
what do you mean brand...?

i know its goign to taste terrible because there is no sterilization. only a certain type of yeast will make this taste good.
so you sterelize and air lock it to keep other yeasts out.
but they are using the wrong yeast to start and not preventing other yeasts from getting in.

TL;DR no i haven't tried this 'brand'

[Anonymous No.112735]

>>112731

Yeah. Baker's yeast is probably going to taste terrible in cider.

[Anonymous No.112740]

It will work for a little bit but don't drink a LOT of it. The yeast reacts with the sugar to make methanol and ethanol. Ethanol is that good shit that gets you fucked up. Methanol will make you go blind. For maximum taste and safety you need to set up a still to filter out the water and the methanol.

Also, it's going to be shit because while the napkins do keep it covered and let the carbon dioxide out, oxygen still gets in which fucks with the fermentation. For maximum yield and potency you need an air lock. One guy suggested balloons or condoms. However, those really aren't foolproof and you need to burp them every few hours or so or the condom will just shoot off or explode. You'd be better off making something like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w17QISJt-kg

It's easy as fuck. Just drill a hole in the cap, run some tubing through it, put it in a loop like in the video and tie it off with some tape or a zip tie. This allows the CO2 to pass through the water and out of the top (to prevent your fermentation container from expanding) and also prevents oxygen from getting in to allow the yeast to reach it's maximum potential. You will get some high quality shit using this method.

Now if you don't want to go blind you will have to use a still of some sort. A pot still is recommended for first time shiners. Just google it and you'll get all the information you need

[Anonymous No.112745]

i added extra yeast and sugar into a 2 gallon container,
and left it through temps between 25 - 75 degrees (F)
is it still safe?

[Anonymous No.112748]

>>112745
if it is sealed the extra sugar might make it explode
if it isnt sealed i wont do this

extra sugar will increase the alchol content.

more yeast isnt going to do much maybe speed up the brocess

[Anonymous No.112751]

>>112748
i used a never used 2 gallon gasoline container.
once all of it was in there i just put a rag and a tight ass
rubber band to cover it. but still, is it safe? it has already stopped bubbling ..

[Anonymous No.112753]

>>112751
Not the same guy you were talking to but the first time I tried I used just cheesecloth and it seemed like my yeast died because the bubbles stopped. I let it sit a few more weeks and it started bubbling again and I smelled it through the cloth and it was pretty strong. I threw it out and started over with an air lock, but if you give it time it will start to bubble and you'll get some alcohol.

[Anonymous No.112754]

>>112751
yeah bud its safe. just not going to taste great.

to be honest i dont know anything about going blind from this sort of thing. i think it only happens at higher alchol levels, you should be good.

[Anonymous No.112756]

>>112753
oh it was bubbling like a fucking nigger.
it been a few weeks, and it also smells really strong.
i guess drinking it is the only way to see if its safe or not.
might as well do it for the lulz as well ..
also, good luck with yours. im about to be out, night everyone.

[Anonymous No.112758]

>>112756
tell us how it goes brah

[Anonymous No.112759]

okay, let's ask this then. I used this jug but I don't know where to find a stopper to fit it

[Anonymous No.112764]

>>112759
standard bung should fit. go to any wine making place and ask for a fermentation lock.
it should come with a bung and be about $5

and will look like Pic related.

[Anonymous No.112765]

>>112764
once i get some cash, i'll switch to a glass jug. doubt anything would take 2.5 gallons huh?

[Anonymous No.112772]

>>112765
you can get little carboys. im not sure how much they hold. im not really sure wha tyou are asking in general to be honest.

[Anonymous No.112781]

i literally just did this last night, with a balloon instead of napkins

are you me OP?

[Anonymous No.112801]

lol at you guies
I'm going to post moar tomorrow, but this shit is lol...

[Anonymous No.112805]

Don't be overly concerned by the purists. The plastic jug will be fine. If you have the option of a carboy take it, if not, stick to the plastic and make sure all of the surfaces are clean, if you can, use the lock, if not, do not use a balloon, just use a few napkins, or preferable silkscreen of 160 micron or finer and rubber bands to secure. But the majority of the fucked up taste will come from the choice of bakers yeast and using a balloon. Easiest way to bend your beautiful brew over and fuck it in the ass with a broom handle is to cap it with a god damn balloon while it's fermenting.

[Gezicht No.112809]

I just want to say, right off the bat, Fuck you all. Now that's out of me, in 2 months from now when my primary fermentation bucket is clear I'm going to make a batch of this shit, properly, with good yeast and proper conditions. God help you all.

[Gezicht No.112816]

>stolen from homebrewtalk
Yeast – the best ones so far (for the juices I used)

Nottingham – This has been my favorite yeast for several years. It works well for sweet ciders and cysers with pasteurized juice, although not so well for unpasteurized cyser. It cold crashes well with any juice. With just juice, no sugar, and cold crash around 1.004, it is outstanding. If you use sugar and bump sg up to at least 1.060, then you can stop fermentation with pasteurized juice by racking. You have to do either rack or cold crash to keep it from drying out all the way, as it tends to strip out the flavor if it goes all the way dry.

Safale S-04 – This is becoming my new favorite. It has a little fruitier taste than the Nottingham. It cold crashes well with any juice. If you use sugar and bump sg up to at least 1.060, then you can stop fermentation with pasteurized juice by racking. With unpasteurized juice, if you don’t cold crash and just let it ferment out to dryness, it leaves more of the apple taste than the Nottingham. It also works better for unpasteurized cysers. I haven’t tried a pasteurized cyser with it yet.

Saflager S-23 – This lager yeast has a similar flavor profile to Nottingham. It doesn’t do as well with unsweetened juice, but is good if you add sugar to bump the sg up to about 1.060. This is one that definitely improves with age. It was one of the best that we tasted last month. It cold crashes well.

Safale US-05 – This yeast imparts an interesting taste to the cider which reminds me a little bit of a pale ale. It works better with pasteurized juice – with unpasteurized it tends to knock out some of the body.

[Gezicht No.112818]

>>112816 Cont.
Yeasts I’ll probably try again

Wyeast 3068 – So far I’ve just used this with pasteurized juice, with and without extra sugar, cold crashing both batches. It has a nice smooth taste and lots of body, but not much tartness. However, mixed with juice that is fermented with WLP300 (which fermented out a little too tart) it was outstanding. I’m planning to try it with unpasteurized juice this year to see if that imparts a bit more of a bite.

Wyeast 4184 Sweet Mead Yeast – I tried this one with pasteurized and unpasteurized juice, with and without extra sugar, all of them cold crashed. All were good, although the best was unpasteurized with sugar.

Wild yeast – I did several experiments with wild yeasts. Generally, they tasted pretty good until the sg dropped below 1.020 and then they started picking up nasty flavors. Cold crashing keeps them stable for a little while, but not for long. But they do pick up some interesting tastes.

[Gezicht No.112820]

>>112818 Cont.

Yeasts I probably wont use again, but still were OK

WLP002 – I’ve just used this with pasteurized juice, with and without extra sugar. It tasted nearly the same as using Nottingham, which is very good, but they were similar enough that I would say its not worth the extra hassle and cost of a liquid yeast

WLP300 – I’ve just used this with pasteurized juice, with and without extra sugar. It was very slow to start fermenting. It had a nice body and flavor but a really sour finish, even though I cold crashed it. Mixed with the Wyeast 3068, it was really good though.

Windsor – So far, I’ve just used this with pasteurized juice. It finishes out really sour, but has a fruity taste. I kinda liked it but none of my friends did. Adding sugar before fermentation makes it taste worse.

Coopers – So far, I’ve just used this with pasteurized juice with no sugar added. It ferments out more tart than Nottingham and has a woody taste which I wasn’t crazy about, but some might like. If you like Blackthorn dry commercial cider, you’ll probably like working with Coopers.

Lalvin 1118 – I used to use this yeast all the time back in the day until a friend turned me on to using Ale yeast. It ferments very fast and very dry. With unpasteurized juice, the only way I could ever get decent results was to let it dry out and then back sweeten with the original juice. I’ve been able to get OK results with pasteurized juice by cold crashing, but you really have to keep an eye on it because it drys out fast.

[Gezicht No.112822]

>>112820 Cont.
Yeasts I don’t particularly recommend

Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast - Tested with pasteurized and unpasteurized juice, sweetened and unsweetened. Of these, only the sweetened unpasteurized juice was drinkable, and just barely

WLP720 Sweet Mead - Tested with pasteurized and unpasteurized juice, sweetened and unsweetened. Of these, only the sweetened pasteurized juice was drinkable, and just barely

Safbrew WB-06 - I’ve just used this with pasteurized juice, with and without extra sugar. They were both really bitter.

Lalvin-1116 – I just tried this with pasteurized, unsweetened juice. It left a real bland, butter taste.

Red Star - Cotes de Blanc – I just tried this with pasteurized, unsweetened juice. It left a real bland, buttery taste.

DV10 - Tested with pasteurized and unpasturized juice, no extra sugar. Both were drinkable but somewhat bland.

Safbrew S-33 – Tested with pasteurized and unpasturized juice, sweetened and unsweetened. All tasted pretty crappy. Basically sucked all the flavor out of the juice.

[Anonymous No.112971]

At the moment I've got some cider fermenting in a one gallon glass carboy with a bung and airlock. I just used 100% apple juice, and some apple juice I made with apples and my juicer. I sterilized everything, and used brown sugar, as the recipe I was following suggested to. I used a champagne yeast rather than a wine yeast, as I had had it recommended to me.
Today I was given two 2.5 gallon plastic jugs (originally used for spring water), and I have some spare airlocks, so I was thinking of putting down some more cider in them, will the plastic drastically effect the taste? I'm intending to use a wine yeast called Montrachet, as the original "Ed Wort's Apfelwein" recipe calls for it.

[Anonymous No.112983]

>>112822
kinda curious now where i can find yeast like that near me.

going to google...

[Anonymous No.113020]

>>112576
>for 4 gallons of juice, I would use two packets of yeast.
It doesn't matter, yeast fuck and make babies.

[Anonymous No.113021]

>>112628
>Keep that shit between 65°F (18°C) and 75°F(24°C).
Go to a thread where you know what the fuck you're talking about.

Fermentation should take place at 40-50F, unless you're brewing lager.

[Anonymous No.113022]

>>112722
>Are you sure that the lock is necesarry?

Yes. Any oxygen that gets to the brew will turn your cider to vinegar. A little O2 will make it taste like shit, a lot of O2 will make it unfit for getting a buzz, but great on fish.

[Anonymous No.113087]

>>112596
I fucking love you

[Anonymous No.113105]

This is bad, bad, bad hooch. Especially if you use bread yeast. Do your self a favor, cut the sugar down by half, aim for 7% ABV so your drink is tasty. Use a balloon with a pin hole for the airlock (or buy an airlock online for 99 cents).
Don't put it into the coke bottles until you are sure fermentation has ended (or risk bottle bombs).

I find the apple taste doesn't really come through for about a month after bottling.

If you really want to get into the hobby, buy some decent yeast.
northernbrewer.com

Here is a nice starter resource
http://www.howtomakehardcider.com/index.html

[Anonymous No.113225]

Aside from the particulars, like using pretty much ANY yeast besides baker's yeast (bad taste, lots of of unwanted cogeners) the most important thing to do in this whole process is CLEAN then SANITIZE. Bleach is not a good way to go... spend about 10 bucks at your local brewmaker's shop and improve your batch exponentially... enjoy the results instead of just tolerate it. I put up about 50 US gallons each summer in various fruit ciders, and have done a lot of experimenting with temperature ranges and yeast varieties. I can honestly say the only time I have not enjoyed the result were when I slipped up and didn't pay enough attention to sanitation. The yeast will do its job if you ferment at about 70 degrees, and give it adequate nutrients including sugar....will follow up with a tried and true and dirt cheap recipe that could be distilled if not illegal where you are, but certainly tastes good as is...

[Anonymous No.113226]

Birdwatchers sugar wash recipe
(from homedistiller.org)
{birdwatchers}My recipe for an 80 liter wash. Ingredients as follows:
3 cups tomato paste
Juice 3 lemons
Approx. 18 kg sugar
225 grams fresh regular bakers yeast. Buy in bulk at any good health food store.
water(I use spring well water)
Procedure:
Keep careful notes from start to finish for future reference.
Carefully mix paste, juice, say 14 kg sugar with 60 liters water at 30C. Measure SG.
(you are aiming for 1.09)
Carefully add water and sugar to bring mixture to 80 liter, WITH A SG 1.09.
Temperature of finished mixture should be 30C-35C to start.
You should now have 80 liters of mixed ingredients.
Carefully sprinkle 225 grams of yeast over surface, stirring in.
Place cover loosely, to let CO2 escape, keeping flying nasties out.
There is so much CO2 coming off; there is no need to worry about oxygen coming in contact.
Place bottomless styrofoam box over fermenter. Dangle lit lightbulb through small
hole in lid. Bulb must be strong enough to keep the mixture at a steady range of
30C-35C for entire fermentation. Size of bulb depends on room temperature. Stick
your digital thermometer through side of box to track inside temperature.
{A good idea would be to set up with water a day before you begin wash to determine
the size of light bulb to maintain water/wash in the 30-35C range.}
Check SG and temperature daily
Stir daily
On day three, syphon contents evenly into four 23 liter airlocked carboys.
(This step may not be nessesary and I may at some future date simply take the wash from start
to finish in the unairlocked storage container)
Check SG and temperature daily
Shake carboys gently daily.
After a total of 7-8 days SG should be .995. If not, wait until completion.

[Gezicht No.113233]

Oh no no no, I don't plan on altering the recipe one bit, I'll be using it as is, just proper conditions, no plastic, sterile conditions, temperature controlled brewing closet, air locks, monthly rotation so I can keep the closet sterile etc. It's still going to be crap, but at least it will be properly photographed crap so people can see why we as a race avoid producing and drinking this, this.... whatever it is, and instead make mead.

[Anonymous No.113407]

>>113225
okay, well, i am going to order some true brew yeast and test it that way too. I'll see if I can find a stopper and airlock

everything was sterilized so no problem there. the jug was spring water.

Now, you >>113233
we were having a nice discussion until you got your pubes in a twist. we don't mind having a "pro" show but actually be useful and not be rude.

[Anonymous No.113502]

Just remember the juice should be 100% apple, no preservatives or flavours.

[Sand No.113556]

>>113502
100% all natural.

[Anonymous No.113590]

Jesus this thread again. You can make real wine just as cheap. I can make over 5 gallons of quality wine for under 4 dollars. Fruit, Sugar, Yeast, Campden tablets, tannins. The fruit is bought on food stamps. the rest is cheap.

[Andrew No.113590,1]

See this new site with guides, recipes and more! diyhardcider.com