FYI the few drops of alcohol left in the test tube can change the gravity reading, I have to test chemicals like caustic and sulfuric acid. When I do a test I fill the tube up along with the thermometer and gravity tester, dump it back in the tank and then refill the tube with my test sample. Thanks for the video!
@Ballkrazy 3 one packet should be more than enough, but if you're serious about it try to get your hands on some brewers yeast, it'll yield a higher ABV.
I did this once but don't remember my measurements, but I did basically the same as you,. It was great/ but it made me so tired! I was doing yardwork and ended up drinking the whole jug🙃, It gave me the happiest drunk feeling ever!
The hardest part is waiting 2-4 weeks.A bit of pie spice makes it dank too.More sugar=more %.You need an air lock or it ruins the whole process they are a bought 75 cents rubber cork a bought the same.Wine yeast is also better for the beverage clarity taste and %.
Pour two cups of juice out, add 1 1/2 cup of sugar and a half teaspoon of yeast. That'll get you 15-20 ABV, 6% is beer in Texas. The measurements are key in to such a small fast ferment. Put cap back on loosely but squeeze bottle to make sure gas can escape. Feed yeast too much or put too much yeast or sugar and they'll eat and poop different ABVs.
I added a cup of sugar per gallon I made 6 gallons of cider so 2 cups brown sugar 4 cups white sugar was tasty I did a back sweeten and bottled for family xmas gifts to make it sparkle.But I did mine with cider yeast and a 6 gallon fermenter with an air lock Plus the bottle caps and caper and bottles but to each his own I guess.
Alcohol is ok for sanitizing, but it doesn't sterilize. Just saying... Also table sugar works, but dextrose from a brew supply store is much smoother. Also you can get a sweeter cider by using different yeasts. I recommend playing around with them... Some people also pick up farm fresh pressed cider and just let it ferment with added dextrose because the un pasturized cider has natural yeasts. Just some info you might want to play with! Great video overall. Lots of things people don't think about like the bubbles and the hydrometer reading!
So far my favorite yeast for this is Nottingham Ale Yeast. It keeps the alcohol level around 7% before the yeast stops working. This retains a lot of the apple flavor. I still back sweeten with a bottle of apple juice boiled down to a syrup, or frozen concentrate. I also use Potassium Sorbate to stop the yeast from multiplying, then cold crash to clear it up, and finally I force carbonate in 2 liter bottles or my keg.
Don't add water just sugar and yeast and just shake it so you don't have to go through unnecessary steps. Activate yeast with a little non chlorinated water and sugar if you like but this yeast is usually ok.
Yeah, and if your dogs get a hold of a drink, or even more, it can kill them. That's why you keep sugar-free gum off of your tables. You never know when Fido wants a sweet treat.
I just made my new batch, i am so poop scared it does not turn out right. Please tell me if i have messes this up: i started with halfing my2 litre 100% organic apple juice then poured about 3 cups of white sugar, while shaking to get the sugar content dissolved, i kept on placing my bottles in warm warmer (while tightly sealed). Then i added about 10g of bakers yeast on each 2 litre bottle, shook it and pourd the rest of the apple juice. And placed my experiment in a warm area, while using sterile tubes to connect from the bottle caps to a jar of water ( mind you, i have not airlock so i improvised) the batch seems to be fereminy now, its been well over 4 hours. My biggest question, how long do i let it sit before it become really strong alcohol?
Hardly anything can go wrong. You DON'T need an airlock. All you have to do is leave the cap on loose enough for gas to escape from the container your juice comes in. 3 cups of sugar? 3 measuring cups or 3 cups? Nonetheless, for a 2 liter jug, that is plenty of sugar since apples naturally come with sugar. I can't give you a percentage, but it'll burn. Give it 3 weeks tops and take a sip to taste it. If you went overboard with the sugar, give the yeast more time to eat it up. Or just drink it as is (I'd rack it for a week to clear it up a bit, and then I'd drink it.) It might be too sugary... Sugary and very much alcoholic. The hotter the temperature, the faster yeasts work. If you want alcohol + good taste within 2 weeks, you might have to settle for a lower abv. I think 2 weeks in a warm environment would suffice... For 64 ounces. I've had wine drinkable within 2 weeks. Usually just a 64 oz jug. Not very sugary. It was during summertime, so it was very hot outside and hot inside as well! The more sugar, the more alcohol. Keep in mind that even dedicated strong yeast strains die around %17 abv and up so more sugar isn't always better. But yeah, don't worry about getting it perfect the first time. There's a lot to be said. Sorry, if this seems to be all over the place. I learned from experience. It's very easy to make wine. I use Red Star premier wine yeast from Amazon. They've never disappointed.
Thanks! The hard cider is still racking, I'll finish it soon. This summer, I want to get into beer brewing. I think I'll start with extract kits, then work my way up to all grain.
Yeah. Where there's sugar and water, there's possibility. The PH and preservatives of the soft drinks, might affect fermentation. Give it a shot, man! I fermented the cheapest strawberry flavored soda I could find, a few years ago, because a chatroom full of brewers told me it couldn't be done. It tasted like watered down, strawberry ass with a hint of alcohol... But it worked!
Just looking. good. but I want to put in my 2 cents. I do it an easy way. I take a 64 ounce bottle and divide it 3 ways. 3 bottles. I put a third of the juice in each bottle and 11 oz or sugar by weight. And a strong cup of tea and a a few ounces of lemon juice. Fill the bottle nearly to the top and add yeast. Start the yeast in 105F water with a tablespoon of sugar. this recipe taste good and kicks ass.
Potential alcohol is useless. When it's completely fermented there will be plenty of solids left. PA is only good if you'll be left with only water and ethanol. SG is the way to go. When you took the first reading I figured you'd end up with about 5% ABV. After the sugar addition all bets were off. But then I saw that you were going for a sweet cider and that was interesting. You stop the fermentation to get a sweet, alcoholic cider. I'm going to check out the next one to see how you stop the fermentation. Good stuff.
can i just get a bottle of distilled water, pour a cup of sugar in, then put yeast in and wait 10 days, will this form methanol ? or does methanol only form during distilling
+ethan sellus Sugar makes ethanol, not methanol. Methanol comes from destructive distillation of wood or catalytic industrial process directly from carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It's toxic and undrinkable.
Well you can step it up a notch and make mead, approx 4 parts water and one part honey, put in some winemaking yeast and put it in a bottle with an airlock, done
I've never heard of that brand of yeast before, but if it's used to make bread, beer, or wine, it'll work. Hell, if you wanted to, you could pick a fresh apple off of a tree, (without washing the apple) chop it up and add it to the brew. The wild yeast on the skin of the apple should work, too.
+cmdrchris971 Yes, to a point. Different types of yeasts can withstand different concentrations of alcohol before dying. The bread yeast I use (I've read) can reach up to 14%. Some yeast strains can get up to 20%. Turbo yeast or distillers yeast... Something like that.
+mick george Actually we call apple juice, "Apple juice". To Americans, when there is still debris from the apple in the juice (which looks cloudy), it is called "apple cider". Apple juice is the clear stuff. "Hard Cider" is a term used for alcoholic apple juice product (whether clear or with debris), which is often produced with more apple content than water which is why some people prefer to throw in a can of apple juice concentrate into regular apple juice rather than use granulated sugar like what Blazfros did in the video.
chris g cider is just unpasturized. shorter shelf life because the natural yeast is active in it still. apple juice at the store is pasturized and has no active yeast. Go learn something.
+chris g Errrm Chris, you sound confused - sorry. Listen up from a Brit, where 90%, yes 90% of the entire European Cider consumption is drunk. Thats a lot. 1 million tonnes. The USA is nowhere in Cider consumption. Cider is made from 100% pure apple juice cold crushed from apples and fermented with a cider or champagne yeast. It can be still, sparkling, cloudy or clear, usually 6 - 9%. Apple wine is made from apple juice but the wine market is unregulated and could be from pastuerised juice etc etc
Got it and that's my point. He us not using cold pressed cider. He is using apple juice. Huuuuge difference. There is nothing cider about what he is making. I live in michigan. Grew up here. Apple producing state. This guy is clueless.
+chris g No difference at all. You can buy bottles of apple juice and apple cider at any supermarket. When you pour it you can't tell the difference, either in taste or appearance. Both are transparent amber. The bottle might be cast in brown plastic for the cider and clear plastic for the juice.
+Hank Cornell I highly doubt it. They don't remove methanol from store bought wine. Generally, wine made with berries will contain more methanol than other wines. Some vodka companies don't remove methanol, either.
+Blazfros IN DISTILLATION PROCESS THİS SİTUATİON CHANGES ?? FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU MAKE DİSTİLLATİON TO THİS HARD CİDER CAN TOXİC DOSAGES OF METHANOL BE PRODUCED FROM CİDER DİSTİLLATİON ?
I doubt it. Suffering brain damage from Methanol was caused during prohibition because the ATF (not yet the ATF at the time) put lethal doses of methanol into booze to track the movement of illegal alcohol and to scare people. yro.slashdot.org/story/10/02/27/2040251/us-government-poisoned-alcohol-during-prohibition Many vodka producers leave methanol in their products for the flavor it adds. If you're really worried about it, there are multiple sources online, that will help you decide how much of the heads should be discarded.
All this just to make apple cider. By the time you buy all the items to make this cider you probably have spent over $10.00 or more. Cheaper to buy it!
+John Bogdon I would guess, it costs about $5 or $6. But I get what you're saying. To be honest, I don't make this for my consumption. I make it, because I like making it. The only time I drink it, is to test it. If the test yields no adverse effects, I'll give the rest away.
+John Bogdon i just finished shopping a couple days ago after watching this video. i went to walmart and assume i've spent approx $4.25 a gallon (128 oz). a six pack of redd's cider is like $9 (72 oz).
Did you ever try Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider..it's great tasting and what a pick-me-up! I purchased four 25 oz bottles at Walmart for $264 ea..However, the shipping costs are quite high so it's best to buy from your neighborhood supermarket if possible! lol
