Just came from a vodka distilling video, don't know why I watched it... slow Saturday morning I guess, I mean, we don't drink alcohol anymore... shared half a beer with my wife about 13 years ago while making some beer battered fish tacos, lol, straight to the dome, absolutely lit from a quarter bottle of beer... failing organs goes a long way to a good buzz, I guess, but I love transformations, of any sort, really, anything that goes from a base substance to a higher substance, and mostly for free even better, just tickles my fancy, don't know why, just a fundamentally human pleasure, I guess? BUT, wanted to say, that vodka distilling video that I just watched... didn't know half of what the guy was talking about, through every stage of his brewing/distillation.... he used a lot of jargon, technical or niche names for everything, I'd need a distillers dictionairy and more patience than I have to actually make non-deadly vodka his way. But your vid, what a pleasure. Even with a broken brain, I'm sure I could walk away and do this fermentation myself... granted, a much simpler fermentation, no distilling, etc. but still, I could follow your video, everything was explained, the video was paced perfectly, didn't want to skip ahead, or rewind 5 times to get a point. Y'all just did a perfect job with this vid, so my thanks to you. We've got a couple apple trees in the ground, and three sitting in the living room waiting for the frosty nights to pass before they go into the ground and give our bedroom some relief from the scorching summer sun, and a barrel full of free calories and delight... if life in the northern hemisphere lasts 4 or 5 years from this date, which is becoming exceedingly unlikely due to the third world war we seem to be pushing so hard for, to the point I'd say we're already in it, even absent some Pearl Harbor manufactured event to shock the zombies into mortal terror, and a reason as to why they must sacrifice their children's lives on the altar of total global control... so if human life persists four or five years into the future, and we have a bumper crop, maybe we'll brew some hard cider thanks to your vid! SO, thanks!
Your first few cider recipes were what got me into cider making. Now my basement is full of stainless steel and I make beer with it. Thank you so much for opening my eyes to a really fun hobby in a time that could have been spent being much less productive.
30 years ago when I was attending college I got deep into homebrewing. Come my Senior year, we tried fermenting anything. From several different juices to soda my roommates I were up to pushing the envelope with Charlie Papazian's Joy of Home Brewing as our guide. Fast forward 30 years and I want to try it again. Fortunately, I still have most of my equipment in my closet. I never took notes and each batch was a one of a kind creation. I did that purposely. The cider attempt was a failure and I would love to try it again so many years later. Thanks for posting this!
Im watching this as a college student and it seems like a pretty rewarding hobby haha. Im a big fan of wine too and there seems to be a lot of good wine sets too (both the kind you add sugar too but also the ones that are just grape extract)
Sunday my wife let it slip that she ordered me a brewing kit for Christmas. Today you showed up in my suggested videos out of nowhere. Our phones are spying on us!
I have a 31 day old cider batch made using S-04. When I racked it the sediment was compact, stable and not wispy at all. I got virtually no sediment when I racked it. It tasted surprisingly good for 11 days old too. I can't wait for it to finish aging. It maxed out a little over 11% ABV. S04 will probably be my go to cider yeast.
I use a decent champagne yeast, last batch was 11.8% and no unpleasant overtones at all, in fact it’s easy to mistake as a standard 8.6% cider which is pretty much the normal strength in the cider producing area that I live in here in the U.K.
Light, refreshing and uncomplicated. That's exactly what I would look for in a cider. (Preferably carbonated and chilled.) Great to relax with after work or a hot summers day.
Costco apple juice, Lalvin 71b, and about 2 weeks to run completely dry. Gotta be one of the best tasting and easy things I've ever made. Brewing has been an interesting journey, thanks for the ideas and chill approach to all of it keep it up you guys ❤
A #8-1/2 rubber stopper with an airlock will fit most of the gallon apple juice jugs and a #8 the 1/2 gallons. We'd remove 2 cups of juice and add 3 cups of sugar with a tsp yeast nutrient and a packet of Champagne yeast and put the stopper on. 3 days usually to hit 12% ABV. That was in the late 80's. Most of the fruit juice on the shelf in the store has enough sugar for 3% ABV total. Now I have an orchard with a nice variety growing in my yard and the apples I started from seeds in apples from the store. That means hybrid apples and who knows who the daddy is? That Honeycrisp may have had a crabapple pollinate it, or a Granny Smith. I got lucky and no signs of crabapple in the family trees but I may add a cider crabapple tree to the mix for fun. I took seedlings from 3 different types of apples and braided the trunks together for 1 tree and 4 or 5 for the other one. I do the same thing with my pot plants! That's actually 4 plants with the trunks fused into 1. Bedtime for this guy
I live in Amish country. They have a very large apple orchard a few miles from me. Every fall they open up a store they have where they sell everything apple related. From honey made from apple blossoms to dehydrated apples and cider. You can actually watch them carry the apples straight from the orchard and dump them into their big manual presses and make it right in front of you. It tastes amazing. Every year I go and buy 20 gallons and make hard cider and apple jack for Christmas gifts for my friends and family. I cant get enough of it.
I absolutely love this channel. I've been brewing beer for about 20 years--the last five years I've focused mostly on meads and ciders. I saw a video you did where you made cider with active dry bread yeast. I was inspired to mess around. I made a 1 gallon batch of...we'll call it cider...made with apple/white grape juice , demerara sugar, and active dry yeast. Oh...I also threw in a tablespoon of allspice berries and two cinnamon sticks. My friends...I was skeptical. I should not have been!!!! It actually cleared reasonably well, and it drinks smooth! Thank you for the inspiration.
Congratulations on a million views! This channel has ignited a super fun hobby for me. Thanks to the two of you, I’ve made about four delicious batches of mead or wine since October. I hope you all continue to grow and wish you all the best! ❤
I love all the non-technical answers. Brewing should be an accessible, practical hobby. Don't get hung up on technical details that you won't feel or taste in the end. A lot of hobbies get ruined by people overcomplicating things. Anyways, amazing video, can't wait for my first batch of cider
The recipe I came up with is technically an Apple "Cyser" which is delicious after only 8 days start to finish, coming out at a semi-sweet tasting yet killer 15-16% ABV. All you need is "one" glass! I warm the juice to 100°f (yeast normally dies at 105°f!), add clover honey (it dissolves easier in warm juice), then add a specific champagne yeast. 😉 After a week when the fermentation dies down I cold crash it in the fridge for at least 24 hours or up to a week if I want it clear before I rack it. I make a 4.5 gallon batch in the fall which performs a vanishing act on a week long camping trip with about 20 friends.
I like that you have started shining light through the must on camera to see what's happening (as far as I know.) I often shine a bright light through my brews to help me gauge their clarity and whether they need to sit for longer.
Wow I love that I got this right away. I'm working on my very first Mead for my son-in-law for his Christmas gift. This channel has ban my Mead Bible. Thank you so very much!!! Y'all are life savers for a new mother-in-law to a viking. ☺️
I just racked and tasted my first cider from juice. It still had some small activity, but has been stable last couple days. Fermented from 1.043 to 1.002 (5.3% or so). It was quite clear, and had a very nice even lees cake on the bottom. It tasted fine, a little thin, but added some extras for the next few days - vanilla bean (split), 3" cinnamon stick, 1 clove, 5 all spice, 1 cardamom. the spices smelled awesome. Will be watching and tasting as time goes this week, but plan on pulling the spices within the next 5 days. I am excited! Thank you all so much for your videos and very simple and educational and FUN presentation. Homebrew should be FUN first. Keep brewing, and so will we.
I got to stop and tell you I really enjoy listening to the two of you and I used to make my own wine I did it for 7 years I made 50 gallons of red in 50 gallons of white and it was all natural fermentation I didn't put any sugar or any yeast in it but besides that I just enjoyed listening to you guys and your enjoyable pleasurable to watch you guys and I just bought a bottle of Welch's concord grape and experimenting as we speak thank you
Actually grapes has yeast on the skin, if you keep the skin in it when fermenting it will do better, well it always has for me.. adding some sugar to it will help it from being dry, also I think it helps improve the taste...
I just watched this video as my first video from this channel, and I LOVE the info, the sense of humor, the chemistry between you two. I'll be watching a lot more of your content!
I started two gallons today using your exact recipe. Everything is sanitized as per your instruction. I used Musselman’s fresh pressed organic apple cider (the best I could find here) $6 per gallon. My starting SG is 1.050 with US-04 yeast and my fermentation jars are just like the video. I am very excited to see how this comes out as this is my very first home brew! Wish me luck and thanks for the inspiration!
Just don't do like me as a student. Buy the cheapest OJ from the store, ferment it with turbo yeast. That was utterly horrible. Even after distilling it - disgusting.
Very cool video! Love it! Growing up in New England, we always made a recipe we called "Apple Jack". No idea where the name came from, but it used 1 gallon of fresh cider (only made this stuff in the fall, and orchards were all around us), 1 pocket pack of raisins, 1/2 cup of sugar. Add them together, shake, place the gallon jug in the corner of the basement and keep an eye on it. 2 days later, pour it gently through some cheesecloth, and hard cider for the kids!!
I’ve been brewing for some years now but I love watching y’all basics videos! Keep up the amazing videos those of us out of the country love hearing about good ol Publix!!
Another great video. I started making hard apple ciders after watching one of your previous videos. It always turns out great with varying alcohol content (depending on which apple juice I use). Please keep these videos coming!
I've been making a really fizzy cider for a few years now, using store bought apple juice and a mix of bread yeast and champagne yeast. I haven't bought any new yeast in a while, I just keep using the same "strain" that I keep feeding, kind of like a sourdough starter. It ferments to the ABV I want (around 5%) after only a week, and it's ready to drink without aging, tasting quite sour but also still plenty sweet, no harsh or unpleasant flavors.
Yup that’s how I’m doing it, 3 days in and it smells awesome. Super cloudy though, I hope after I rack it and refrigerate for a few days it’ll be a lot more clear.
Much better than the last “beginner guide” I just saw from another channel that was like “so to get started we used several pieces of industrial processing equipment…”. You make them look like goobers, well done!
I made a basic cider like this recently but in secondary i added some frozen strawberries i had from picking in the spring and then some freshly squeezed lime juice when i finished. So a strawberry Lime Cider that was about 6 ABV, turned out great.
I've been doing this for 3 years, I entered a bottle from my first brew at my local small town fair as a joke and have won 1st prize 2 years in a row, here in NZ I have to add 2.2 pound of sugar to get it to 8% ABV. Mangrove Jacks SN9 is bullet proof and has never let me down
I made a hard cider from a jug of basic apple cider and it came out phenomenal. Super clear (after all the pulp and lees fell out) and very very easy to drink after about 4 weeks in the bottle. Solid 14.5% ABV, and probably one of my favorites. I did have to add some brown sugar to backsweeten it for my own tastes however.
I gonna try making cider in the close future. Will by the juice from a co-worker whose family have a small orchard and makes their own juice. Hopefully it will be good. I don't have any special yeast so I eill use bread yeast.
@@flamenmartialis6839 Do you have an update about your cider? Your approach is about the same as mine (except probably your juice is much clearer than mine). Though the last two times, I have used wine/champagne yeasts.
Congratulations on a million views! This channel has ignited a super fun hobby for me. Thanks to the two of you, I’ve made about four delicious batches of mead or wine since October. I hope you all continue to grow and wish you all the best!
Made the plunge today and bought 2 gallons of apple juice for my friend and I to take a shot at making our own cider. Pretty excited and will keep you in the loop on how it turns out. Thanks for this really well done video as well as the other videos you have posted.
@@hammerton9000 Sorry for the late reply. It turned out good. For a first cider I accomplished the goals I set out for in the brew. 1. It is dry. 2. It is drinkable. 3. The process went smoothly. I do have one thing I am curious of. So we brewed in a 2 gallon bucket and then racked to 2 individual 1 gallon jugs. After we let it sit in the jugs for a week and tasted them we noticed one had a much smoother flavor while the other had a significantly more tart close to wine taste (we used champagne yeast so that may be why). We were kind of curious as to why there was so much difference in a batch that fermented in the same bucket together. In racking we added a single cinnamon stick to both jugs at the same time and they both sat in the rack phase for the same time as well. My only conclusion is maybe when we were racking we pulled in a concentrated area of something that effected the taste overall of one.
i am a cook operator at an ethanol plant in the northeastern region. I do this for a living on a much larger scale. lol. I use 38 gallons of liquid yeast per batch. Each fermentor is 805,000 gallons. due to state regulations we can only produce so much alcohol per year so we usually produce around 300,000 gallons per day. most interesting job i ever had.
Every time you mention time as being on your side, I smile and agree; the process shouldn't be hurried, and only if you really overdo things will you get problems; like having your initial fermentation sitting for months without racking, for example. Once your drink is racked I find slowing myself down is the best way. I made a wonderful mead in 2015, and only in 2020 did the stuff start to really come into its own; I will have a bottle this Christmas but last year's bottle was fantastic. I used to brew beer, but found it a struggle and things never turned out as I planned/wished; ciders, meads and such things are easier and in my experience, likelier to turn out well. Thanks for this; I might go make me a batch of cider!
I use the CO2 for my clones and seedlings and let the fermentation off gas into my small garden for my starters & clones,I also use the alcohol for sterilizing all my utensils for cloning and my hands when taking cuttings. glad UA-cam recommended this video 👍 proof the algorithm works sometimes & you're left-handed that's a plus as well.thanks for the video.
Love all the wine vids you guys make. It gives me awesome ideas on what to make next. I just about have a batch of blueberry wine ready to bottle pretty soon. I made the batch from frozen blueberries and cooked them down a bit before starting the fermentation and so far it tastes amazing and refreshing. I always taste test throughout my entire process so I know what it may need or doesn’t need to have a great finish result.
Really interesting video! I like seeing the confidence that comes from experience and hearing phrases like "about this much". Proves that you know what you're doing when you feel confident approximating
Alcohol and I parted on friendly terms, I just quit it without there having been any problem, but i loved to watch your beautiful video, the cider i brewed as a teen, except without added sugar :) Thank you for the nostalgia that is very instructive for others.
Thank you bot, for your time and for the insperation! I have almost 4 gallons of homemeade apple juice (from a mix of apples) that I will now be turning into cider!
I have to say at 3 weeks, and being a 6 and 6.5 from you guys, kind of makes it a great cider to me. I'm going to make this. Thank you Brian and Derica!
After seeing this a while ago, I started making cider. I tried all sorts of different brands. Since I let everything go dry (have Type 1 Diabetes and stay away from drinkable sugar), the ones with ascorbic acid in them were too...... ascorbic acidy, which I probably wouldn't have noticed unfavorably with back sweetening. I found a brand with nothing but apple juice from concentrate and have been fermenting that with a few oak chips and raisins, then force-carbonating. I'm in love! And I've saved a ton of $$$ by drinking this instead of beer. Ice cold, fizzy, refreshing. Thanks for the idea! For adding air, I pour a tiny bit into a wide-mouth fermenter, put the top back on the plastic bottle of juice, and shake it madly. Less of a good workout than shaking a glass jar, but I'm lazy.
This was a very nice video. I’ve made cider from store bought juice many times. It so easy but I never considered letting it age longer. Thanks for the tip!
Just stumbled on this channel. Have been thinking about getting into making my own ciders and meads because I love them and they are extremely hard to get around where I live. You have become my teacher, I thank you.
Got my first ever batch done and drinking it! Already have moved on to doing some RED apples, pears, then off to mead and biking blood. (yes I said RED apple juice and I cannot wait!) Thanks for the quick tips and for drilling this process down to something simple. With less than $100 I was able to get myself well equipped with all the things from bungs to bottles. Keep on keepin' on with the super-simple how-to's. After a few batches of mead, it's off to the porter for me!
That's how Asturian people (northern Spain) like their cider: flat, super dry, acidic, 6% abv. But they have a special way to pour it: from high above in order to make it a bit fizzy everytime they have a sip. They call this pouring 'escanciar'. Hard dry cider is their absolute drink of choice and Asturias region is plenty of Cider Houses. I recommend you to check it out! BTW many thanks for this video!!!
I finally tried the boil concentration method for raising gravity. I have some apple trees, so I press my own juice (cider, I'm in the US). I boiled 2 gallons down to 1 gallon and used d47. It came out dry as expected to 1.000. However, it tasted much better than just juice or juice + sugar. I am very hopeful for a good dry apple wine, around 10%.
Just started my first batch! All I could find local was HEB select ingredients 100% apple juice. It shows Apple juice as the first ingredient and apple juice concentrate as the second ingredient. So I think its a mixture. No preservatives or anything like that tho. We'll see how it does. Initial gravity was 1.044, which is a bit lower than your 1.050 to 1.055 but it should produce plenty of alcohol at any rate. I went with a half packet of safcider ab1 for my yeast. Thanks again for producing this video! It was a real inspiration for me to get back into brewing.
Another great video. I started making hard apple ciders after watching one of your previous videos. It always turns out great with varying alcohol content (depending on which apple juice I use). Please keep these videos coming!
That’s the same juice I use for my cider it always comes out so good!. I let it ferment in the own jug that it comes in with an airlock cuz come on is 3 bucks! Lol
@11:46 - It IS alive. Yeast is a living organism, so I guess its more like seeing the white sludge move due to living things and it isn't living itself. This is a great video. I wish I had had all of this info 10 years ago when I first started various fermentation projects. Great!! Thank you!
I've got myself 4 brews going. 1 rose petal wine, 2 meads (1 wildflower traditional, 1 heath honey traditional) and 1 gallon of blaand. I find my self staring at the bubbling airlocks. For some reason It has a hypnotizing effect one me. Sometimes I snap out of it after a couple of minutes, but lookling at the bubbles calms me. Do more home brewers like to stare at their bubbling airlocks, or am I just mad?
You're not mad. I've been known to watch them myself. During primary I actually keep them were I can hear them and check the airlock every time I walk by. The other night I could tell from the sound that my pineapple was going to blow the airlock. That was ok, because, due to past experience, I had planned for that.
@@scallywag325 My first traditional mead came out great! The meads I have going on right now are both in primary, so far so good! The recipe of CS brews is great!
I liked that view of the bottom. I've never noticed that before, but were I brew the lighting isn't that good. Pineapple juice update: It went from 1.100 to 0.996 in just five days. It will need sweetening to be really palatable though.
I made my first hard cider a good while back, but didn't degas it. It wasn't the best flavor, but it was good enough. Letting it mature in the bottle though, what a big difference it made in my opinion. I have one 750 ml bottle, and one 500 ml bottle left from that batch, and it has now matured for 3 years and 3 months... I'm not even sure if it's drinkable now, but I'm looking forward to try it out! The next time I brew a hard cider I will make sure to degas it properly, and let it clear more... I have not done that properly with any of my brews. I add a little bit of sugar when bottling to make a bottle carbonation (calculated on the safe side so it won't explode of course). But next up is a mead, 100% inspired by you guys! :)
Drop a few slivers of toasted white oak in the bottle before storage. Or one can buy chips and cubes. A few juniper berries is nice too and a tiny piece of Hibiscus flower for color.
Would there be any advantages or disadvantages to putting the yeast in your vessel 1st instead of last? My thinking is that it may help mix it in when adding 1st.
Hell yeah. I'm glad I found this. I hate to admit but due to mistakes of my youth (don't worry changed it around 180) was taught how to make hooch this is bascislly the same. But I'm glad a professional is showing how to do it. Wanted to make some recipes for Thanksgiving and Xmas. Very excited for more of your videos!
Just made my first basic hard cider it was good. My second Cider was made with Honey Crisp Apple juice. I back sweetened and carb'd it. Ended up at about 6.5% abv. WOW!!! that was the best Cider I have had.....
Thank you for the easy to follow instructions. I always thought making good cider was more difficult than it actually is. It is apple season here in NY and I will be making my first batch of cider soon. Thanks again.
I want to thank yinz so much! I have wanted to try fermentation for so long and your clips came across my feed and answered SOOO many questions. Even when I tried looking things up online they all contradicted each other but you help clear it up and made me feel excited to try it out!
Just wanted to say thank you for the information, just made my own cider at 1.000 6.56% ABV and now have racked to degass and clear up a little more. tastes like a young champagne that I think will go well with a little sweetness and carbonation.
I enjoy your videos and thank you so much for the knowledge. I have two gallons of hard cider fermenting now, two different flavors. I appreciate all you teach.
Love the channel. Used this recipe for my first fermentation. So far so good. Thanks for all the great information. I see a lot of Alton Brown influence in your style. He is my all-time favorite TV personality. I noticed his book behind you on your shelf. Keep the videos coming. You have a fan.
Hey CSB, I followed this tutorial and my cider came out great, the finishing ABV was 6.5%. It’s also has a quite refreshing taste. Ty guys for a great video 🫶🏻
I've used this technique for years, but I do add sugar and use wine yeast. One option to get some variety is add some other juices, about 1 part of another juice to 5 parts apple. Cranberry, prune or mango work very well.
Unrelated, but I saw you mention that bread yeast can take you up to 11% in your tests. Obviously, it's known that this can vary depending on environment, yeast, sugars, etc. Wanted to share that I just did 6lbs of honey in 2 one-gallon carboys and both batches reached 15% ABV with regular bread yeast! 1.125 to 1.010 in 4 weeks. I just racked and will let it sit for at least another month or two before bottling. They already taste great for a young mead.
I've been brewing for a few months now and I've been getting more and more confident and comfortable with it, I was listening to Vincent Price talking about Port wine and I was wondering if the same process to make port would work with cider. Have a wonderful week and stay safe happy and healthy 🙏😊
Started my first today. Put in fermenter at 11:30 am, and as of 6:00 pm, I had nice bubbles coming up and activity on the top. Can't wait. Used same yeast, and my original gravity is 1.043. Now, to learn patience.
Glad I found this little gem. Last good cider I had was 2 yr old goodness. Sadly the guy passed and took his secrets with him. Will sub to keep you guys in mind for fall applefest!
Now this is what a tutorial should look like. Nice, slow, step by step explaining every single part of the process and why its important. Great work.
Thank you, glad you like it.
Ikr jeez
Just came from a vodka distilling video, don't know why I watched it... slow Saturday morning I guess, I mean, we don't drink alcohol anymore... shared half a beer with my wife about 13 years ago while making some beer battered fish tacos, lol, straight to the dome, absolutely lit from a quarter bottle of beer... failing organs goes a long way to a good buzz, I guess, but I love transformations, of any sort, really, anything that goes from a base substance to a higher substance, and mostly for free even better, just tickles my fancy, don't know why, just a fundamentally human pleasure, I guess?
BUT, wanted to say, that vodka distilling video that I just watched... didn't know half of what the guy was talking about, through every stage of his brewing/distillation.... he used a lot of jargon, technical or niche names for everything, I'd need a distillers dictionairy and more patience than I have to actually make non-deadly vodka his way.
But your vid, what a pleasure. Even with a broken brain, I'm sure I could walk away and do this fermentation myself... granted, a much simpler fermentation, no distilling, etc. but still, I could follow your video, everything was explained, the video was paced perfectly, didn't want to skip ahead, or rewind 5 times to get a point. Y'all just did a perfect job with this vid, so my thanks to you.
We've got a couple apple trees in the ground, and three sitting in the living room waiting for the frosty nights to pass before they go into the ground and give our bedroom some relief from the scorching summer sun, and a barrel full of free calories and delight... if life in the northern hemisphere lasts 4 or 5 years from this date, which is becoming exceedingly unlikely due to the third world war we seem to be pushing so hard for, to the point I'd say we're already in it, even absent some Pearl Harbor manufactured event to shock the zombies into mortal terror, and a reason as to why they must sacrifice their children's lives on the altar of total global control... so if human life persists four or five years into the future, and we have a bumper crop, maybe we'll brew some hard cider thanks to your vid!
SO, thanks!
This channel has made fermenting my own alcohol feel more manageable. Very informative but not over complicated!
That's the goal! Happy to have helped you :)
Indeed
Just wondering how your brewing is going 6 months later I’m about to start
Its great! I've made a few batches in the last few years. If you keep it simple like these guys teach, its so easy!
Yup, very cool channel for sure!
Your first few cider recipes were what got me into cider making. Now my basement is full of stainless steel and I make beer with it. Thank you so much for opening my eyes to a really fun hobby in a time that could have been spent being much less productive.
Now this is what a tutorial should look like. Nice, slow, step by step explaining every single part of the process and why its important. Great work.
Thank you 👍
30 years ago when I was attending college I got deep into homebrewing. Come my Senior year, we tried fermenting anything. From several different juices to soda my roommates I were up to pushing the envelope with Charlie Papazian's Joy of Home Brewing as our guide. Fast forward 30 years and I want to try it again. Fortunately, I still have most of my equipment in my closet. I never took notes and each batch was a one of a kind creation. I did that purposely. The cider attempt was a failure and I would love to try it again so many years later. Thanks for posting this!
Im watching this as a college student and it seems like a pretty rewarding hobby haha. Im a big fan of wine too and there seems to be a lot of good wine sets too (both the kind you add sugar too but also the ones that are just grape extract)
Sunday my wife let it slip that she ordered me a brewing kit for Christmas. Today you showed up in my suggested videos out of nowhere. Our phones are spying on us!
I have a 31 day old cider batch made using S-04. When I racked it the sediment was compact, stable and not wispy at all. I got virtually no sediment when I racked it. It tasted surprisingly good for 11 days old too. I can't wait for it to finish aging. It maxed out a little over 11% ABV. S04 will probably be my go to cider yeast.
I use a decent champagne yeast, last batch was 11.8% and no unpleasant overtones at all, in fact it’s easy to mistake as a standard 8.6% cider which is pretty much the normal strength in the cider producing area that I live in here in the U.K.
Light, refreshing and uncomplicated. That's exactly what I would look for in a cider. (Preferably carbonated and chilled.)
Great to relax with after work or a hot summers day.
Glad you liked it!
Costco apple juice, Lalvin 71b, and about 2 weeks to run completely dry. Gotta be one of the best tasting and easy things I've ever made. Brewing has been an interesting journey, thanks for the ideas and chill approach to all of it keep it up you guys ❤
Low abv brews can work without nutrients but we add them quite often anyway.
A #8-1/2 rubber stopper with an airlock will fit most of the gallon apple juice jugs and a #8 the 1/2 gallons. We'd remove 2 cups of juice and add 3 cups of sugar with a tsp yeast nutrient and a packet of Champagne yeast and put the stopper on. 3 days usually to hit 12% ABV. That was in the late 80's. Most of the fruit juice on the shelf in the store has enough sugar for 3% ABV total. Now I have an orchard with a nice variety growing in my yard and the apples I started from seeds in apples from the store. That means hybrid apples and who knows who the daddy is? That Honeycrisp may have had a crabapple pollinate it, or a Granny Smith. I got lucky and no signs of crabapple in the family trees but I may add a cider crabapple tree to the mix for fun. I took seedlings from 3 different types of apples and braided the trunks together for 1 tree and 4 or 5 for the other one. I do the same thing with my pot plants! That's actually 4 plants with the trunks fused into 1. Bedtime for this guy
I live in Amish country. They have a very large apple orchard a few miles from me. Every fall they open up a store they have where they sell everything apple related. From honey made from apple blossoms to dehydrated apples and cider. You can actually watch them carry the apples straight from the orchard and dump them into their big manual presses and make it right in front of you. It tastes amazing. Every year I go and buy 20 gallons and make hard cider and apple jack for Christmas gifts for my friends and family. I cant get enough of it.
Noce!
I absolutely love this channel. I've been brewing beer for about 20 years--the last five years I've focused mostly on meads and ciders. I saw a video you did where you made cider with active dry bread yeast. I was inspired to mess around. I made a 1 gallon batch of...we'll call it cider...made with apple/white grape juice , demerara sugar, and active dry yeast. Oh...I also threw in a tablespoon of allspice berries and two cinnamon sticks. My friends...I was skeptical. I should not have been!!!! It actually cleared reasonably well, and it drinks smooth! Thank you for the inspiration.
Congratulations on a million views! This channel has ignited a super fun hobby for me. Thanks to the two of you, I’ve made about four delicious batches of mead or wine since October. I hope you all continue to grow and wish you all the best! ❤
That is awesome! Thank you!
I love all the non-technical answers.
Brewing should be an accessible, practical hobby. Don't get hung up on technical details that you won't feel or taste in the end.
A lot of hobbies get ruined by people overcomplicating things.
Anyways, amazing video, can't wait for my first batch of cider
The recipe I came up with is technically an Apple "Cyser" which is delicious after only 8 days start to finish, coming out at a semi-sweet tasting yet killer 15-16% ABV. All you need is "one" glass! I warm the juice to 100°f (yeast normally dies at 105°f!), add clover honey (it dissolves easier in warm juice), then add a specific champagne yeast. 😉 After a week when the fermentation dies down I cold crash it in the fridge for at least 24 hours or up to a week if I want it clear before I rack it. I make a 4.5 gallon batch in the fall which performs a vanishing act on a week long camping trip with about 20 friends.
What's this recipe
@@ÕkamiMeansWolf tree top secret.
@@macgyver5108waste
@@ÕkamiMeansWolf 4 gallons Tree Top apple juice (Costco) 5lbs clover honey (also Costco) 1 packet Red Star Cuveé yeast.
@@macgyver5108can you sub clover honey for other honey? Or is the clover really present in the taste?
I like that you have started shining light through the must on camera to see what's happening (as far as I know.) I often shine a bright light through my brews to help me gauge their clarity and whether they need to sit for longer.
Wow I love that I got this right away. I'm working on my very first Mead for my son-in-law for his Christmas gift. This channel has ban my Mead Bible. Thank you so very much!!! Y'all are life savers for a new mother-in-law to a viking. ☺️
Happy holidays!
I just racked and tasted my first cider from juice. It still had some small activity, but has been stable last couple days. Fermented from 1.043 to 1.002 (5.3% or so). It was quite clear, and had a very nice even lees cake on the bottom. It tasted fine, a little thin, but added some extras for the next few days - vanilla bean (split), 3" cinnamon stick, 1 clove, 5 all spice, 1 cardamom. the spices smelled awesome. Will be watching and tasting as time goes this week, but plan on pulling the spices within the next 5 days. I am excited! Thank you all so much for your videos and very simple and educational and FUN presentation. Homebrew should be FUN first. Keep brewing, and so will we.
I got to stop and tell you I really enjoy listening to the two of you and I used to make my own wine I did it for 7 years I made 50 gallons of red in 50 gallons of white and it was all natural fermentation I didn't put any sugar or any yeast in it but besides that I just enjoyed listening to you guys and your enjoyable pleasurable to watch you guys and I just bought a bottle of Welch's concord grape and experimenting as we speak thank you
Actually grapes has yeast on the skin, if you keep the skin in it when fermenting it will do better, well it always has for me.. adding some sugar to it will help it from being dry, also I think it helps improve the taste...
I just watched this video as my first video from this channel, and I LOVE the info, the sense of humor, the chemistry between you two. I'll be watching a lot more of your content!
Thanks for watching! :D
I started two gallons today using your exact recipe. Everything is sanitized as per your instruction. I used Musselman’s fresh pressed organic apple cider (the best I could find here) $6 per gallon. My starting SG is 1.050 with US-04 yeast and my fermentation jars are just like the video. I am very excited to see how this comes out as this is my very first home brew! Wish me luck and thanks for the inspiration!
Starting SG is known as OG:)
and how was it ?
Started mine 2 days ago and I’m obsessed with watching it bubble lol
My favorite kind of cider is Dicken cider. Nice and refreshing.
This is a awesome video!
Have been thinking about doing a supermarket apple juice brandy. This is a huge help cheers!
Glad it was helpful!
Just don't do like me as a student. Buy the cheapest OJ from the store, ferment it with turbo yeast. That was utterly horrible. Even after distilling it - disgusting.
I was just watching a Still It video before this one. All I could think about was distilling the beautiful hard cider. Nice to see a still it comment.
@@copperbones7336 I may have 8 or so bottles of apple juice sitting in the shed right now . . . .
@@StillIt Elation!
Very cool video! Love it! Growing up in New England, we always made a recipe we called "Apple Jack". No idea where the name came from, but it used 1 gallon of fresh cider (only made this stuff in the fall, and orchards were all around us), 1 pocket pack of raisins, 1/2 cup of sugar. Add them together, shake, place the gallon jug in the corner of the basement and keep an eye on it. 2 days later, pour it gently through some cheesecloth, and hard cider for the kids!!
Yes, Apple Jack in the Autumn, and Buttered Rum in the winter. Hillbilly wine for spring and summer.
Must be a NE, thing!
I’ve been brewing for some years now but I love watching y’all basics videos! Keep up the amazing videos those of us out of the country love hearing about good ol Publix!!
I love this! You look so much younger today, because you are healthier. This is still wonderful information and guidance.
Thanks Barry!
Another great video. I started making hard apple ciders after watching one of your previous videos. It always turns out great with varying alcohol content (depending on which apple juice I use). Please keep these videos coming!
I've been making a really fizzy cider for a few years now, using store bought apple juice and a mix of bread yeast and champagne yeast. I haven't bought any new yeast in a while, I just keep using the same "strain" that I keep feeding, kind of like a sourdough starter. It ferments to the ABV I want (around 5%) after only a week, and it's ready to drink without aging, tasting quite sour but also still plenty sweet, no harsh or unpleasant flavors.
I once made carbonated mead with champagne yeast 🤣
Yup that’s how I’m doing it, 3 days in and it smells awesome. Super cloudy though, I hope after I rack it and refrigerate for a few days it’ll be a lot more clear.
Much better than the last “beginner guide” I just saw from another channel that was like “so to get started we used several pieces of industrial processing equipment…”. You make them look like goobers, well done!
I made a basic cider like this recently but in secondary i added some frozen strawberries i had from picking in the spring and then some freshly squeezed lime juice when i finished. So a strawberry Lime Cider that was about 6 ABV, turned out great.
❤
Love your presentation; no wasted over explanation with narration.
I've been doing this for 3 years, I entered a bottle from my first brew at my local small town fair as a joke and have won 1st prize 2 years in a row, here in NZ I have to add 2.2 pound of sugar to get it to 8% ABV. Mangrove Jacks SN9 is bullet proof and has never let me down
Again I just got to say I really enjoy watching the two of you
I made a hard cider from a jug of basic apple cider and it came out phenomenal. Super clear (after all the pulp and lees fell out) and very very easy to drink after about 4 weeks in the bottle. Solid 14.5% ABV, and probably one of my favorites. I did have to add some brown sugar to backsweeten it for my own tastes however.
I'd call that a wine personally, but glad you like it!
Did you use a champagne yeast to achieve that ABV?
@@andrewlayton9760 nah. Lalvin 71B. Champagne yeasts sit around 17% ish
I gonna try making cider in the close future. Will by the juice from a co-worker whose family have a small orchard and makes their own juice. Hopefully it will be good. I don't have any special yeast so I eill use bread yeast.
@@flamenmartialis6839 Do you have an update about your cider? Your approach is about the same as mine (except probably your juice is much clearer than mine). Though the last two times, I have used wine/champagne yeasts.
Happy to say this first-rate channel has been more than instrumental in converting me to a fully-qualified alcoholic….and at very manageable cost!
I respect the magic cards in the back.
Congratulations on a million views! This channel has ignited a super fun hobby for me. Thanks to the two of you, I’ve made about four delicious batches of mead or wine since October. I hope you all continue to grow and wish you all the best!
Thank you very much!
Made the plunge today and bought 2 gallons of apple juice for my friend and I to take a shot at making our own cider. Pretty excited and will keep you in the loop on how it turns out.
Thanks for this really well done video as well as the other videos you have posted.
How's it coming along?
@@hammerton9000 Sorry for the late reply. It turned out good. For a first cider I accomplished the goals I set out for in the brew. 1. It is dry. 2. It is drinkable. 3. The process went smoothly.
I do have one thing I am curious of. So we brewed in a 2 gallon bucket and then racked to 2 individual 1 gallon jugs. After we let it sit in the jugs for a week and tasted them we noticed one had a much smoother flavor while the other had a significantly more tart close to wine taste (we used champagne yeast so that may be why).
We were kind of curious as to why there was so much difference in a batch that fermented in the same bucket together. In racking we added a single cinnamon stick to both jugs at the same time and they both sat in the rack phase for the same time as well. My only conclusion is maybe when we were racking we pulled in a concentrated area of something that effected the taste overall of one.
i am a cook operator at an ethanol plant in the northeastern region. I do this for a living on a much larger scale. lol. I use 38 gallons of liquid yeast per batch. Each fermentor is 805,000 gallons. due to state regulations we can only produce so much alcohol per year so we usually produce around 300,000 gallons per day. most interesting job i ever had.
Every time you mention time as being on your side, I smile and agree; the process shouldn't be hurried, and only if you really overdo things will you get problems; like having your initial fermentation sitting for months without racking, for example. Once your drink is racked I find slowing myself down is the best way. I made a wonderful mead in 2015, and only in 2020 did the stuff start to really come into its own; I will have a bottle this Christmas but last year's bottle was fantastic. I used to brew beer, but found it a struggle and things never turned out as I planned/wished; ciders, meads and such things are easier and in my experience, likelier to turn out well. Thanks for this; I might go make me a batch of cider!
I use the CO2 for my clones and seedlings and let the fermentation off gas into my small garden for my starters & clones,I also use the alcohol for sterilizing all my utensils for cloning and my hands when taking cuttings. glad UA-cam recommended this video 👍 proof the algorithm works sometimes & you're left-handed that's a plus as well.thanks for the video.
Thank you for introducing me to this hobby. I have a friend who's requested 25 gallons of mead for his wedding, luckily it's a long engagement.
Good luck!
you are the first brewer I hear to say AIR is good thing. Basically you doing everything in your video that my grandfather did when I was a small kid.
Love all the wine vids you guys make. It gives me awesome ideas on what to make next. I just about have a batch of blueberry wine ready to bottle pretty soon. I made the batch from frozen blueberries and cooked them down a bit before starting the fermentation and so far it tastes amazing and refreshing. I always taste test throughout my entire process so I know what it may need or doesn’t need to have a great finish result.
Having watched 100+ of your videos over the past couple weeks, I'm hooked. Starting my first brew today, a variation of this. Wish me luck!
Brian is the Alton Brown of homebrewing!
Really interesting video! I like seeing the confidence that comes from experience and hearing phrases like "about this much". Proves that you know what you're doing when you feel confident approximating
Started my first Apple cider today. Thanks for the time and effort on the videos. They are great!
How is it going with the cider?
Alcohol and I parted on friendly terms, I just quit it without there having been any problem, but i loved to watch your beautiful video, the cider i brewed as a teen, except without added sugar :) Thank you for the nostalgia that is very instructive for others.
You can't beat a lovely chilled cider
Very true. Ciders are so refreshing, and often overlooked.
Thank you bot, for your time and for the insperation! I have almost 4 gallons of homemeade apple juice (from a mix of apples) that I will now be turning into cider!
Just made my first hard cider with a little honey and mulling spice. Came out great
I have to say at 3 weeks, and being a 6 and 6.5 from you guys, kind of makes it a great cider to me. I'm going to make this. Thank you Brian and Derica!
After seeing this a while ago, I started making cider. I tried all sorts of different brands. Since I let everything go dry (have Type 1 Diabetes and stay away from drinkable sugar), the ones with ascorbic acid in them were too...... ascorbic acidy, which I probably wouldn't have noticed unfavorably with back sweetening. I found a brand with nothing but apple juice from concentrate and have been fermenting that with a few oak chips and raisins, then force-carbonating. I'm in love! And I've saved a ton of $$$ by drinking this instead of beer. Ice cold, fizzy, refreshing. Thanks for the idea!
For adding air, I pour a tiny bit into a wide-mouth fermenter, put the top back on the plastic bottle of juice, and shake it madly. Less of a good workout than shaking a glass jar, but I'm lazy.
This was a very nice video. I’ve made cider from store bought juice many times. It so easy but I never considered letting it age longer. Thanks for the tip!
Just stumbled on this channel. Have been thinking about getting into making my own ciders and meads because I love them and they are extremely hard to get around where I live. You have become my teacher, I thank you.
Thank you for watching!
Got my first ever batch done and drinking it! Already have moved on to doing some RED apples, pears, then off to mead and biking blood. (yes I said RED apple juice and I cannot wait!)
Thanks for the quick tips and for drilling this process down to something simple. With less than $100 I was able to get myself well equipped with all the things from bungs to bottles. Keep on keepin' on with the super-simple how-to's. After a few batches of mead, it's off to the porter for me!
That's how Asturian people (northern Spain) like their cider: flat, super dry, acidic, 6% abv. But they have a special way to pour it: from high above in order to make it a bit fizzy everytime they have a sip. They call this pouring 'escanciar'.
Hard dry cider is their absolute drink of choice and Asturias region is plenty of Cider Houses.
I recommend you to check it out!
BTW many thanks for this video!!!
I’m looking forward to the follow-up. When you start out with a solid base, adding extra flavor is often extra-good.
You guys have been the most knowledgeable and helpful out of any videos I have found so far! Thank you so much
Wow, thank you! Happy to help!
I finally tried the boil concentration method for raising gravity. I have some apple trees, so I press my own juice (cider, I'm in the US). I boiled 2 gallons down to 1 gallon and used d47. It came out dry as expected to 1.000. However, it tasted much better than just juice or juice + sugar. I am very hopeful for a good dry apple wine, around 10%.
I'm betting you caramelized some of the sugars, which would give a more complex flavor... I like that idea!
@@CitySteadingBrews maybe...it still fermented dry to 1.000. Lots of apple 'punch though!
@@CitySteadingBrews You can concentrate fermented juices by freeze distillation as another experiment in the wonders of alcohol.
Just started my first batch! All I could find local was HEB select ingredients 100% apple juice. It shows Apple juice as the first ingredient and apple juice concentrate as the second ingredient. So I think its a mixture. No preservatives or anything like that tho. We'll see how it does. Initial gravity was 1.044, which is a bit lower than your 1.050 to 1.055 but it should produce plenty of alcohol at any rate. I went with a half packet of safcider ab1 for my yeast.
Thanks again for producing this video! It was a real inspiration for me to get back into brewing.
If it’s clear and ‘yella you got juice there, fella. If it’s tangy and brown, you’re in cider town
Another great video. I started making hard apple ciders after watching one of your previous videos. It always turns out great with varying alcohol content (depending on which apple juice I use). Please keep these videos coming!
The new video format is very high speed, low drag. Works well for a simple recipe like this.
Good to know!
Couldn't sleep last night, so I made a simple cider. Synchronicity!
That’s the same juice I use for my cider it always comes out so good!. I let it ferment in the own jug that it comes in with an airlock cuz come on is 3 bucks! Lol
Been building up to this for weeks and just got done putting it away in a cabinet to ferment! Can't wait to check it out soon
Love yall
Good review of the process.
Glad it was helpful!
@11:46 - It IS alive. Yeast is a living organism, so I guess its more like seeing the white sludge move due to living things and it isn't living itself. This is a great video. I wish I had had all of this info 10 years ago when I first started various fermentation projects. Great!! Thank you!
I've got myself 4 brews going. 1 rose petal wine, 2 meads (1 wildflower traditional, 1 heath honey traditional) and 1 gallon of blaand. I find my self staring at the bubbling airlocks. For some reason It has a hypnotizing effect one me. Sometimes I snap out of it after a couple of minutes, but lookling at the bubbles calms me. Do more home brewers like to stare at their bubbling airlocks, or am I just mad?
You're not mad. I've been known to watch them myself. During primary I actually keep them were I can hear them and check the airlock every time I walk by. The other night I could tell from the sound that my pineapple was going to blow the airlock. That was ok, because, due to past experience, I had planned for that.
I love watching my brews and my ferments bubble!
@@melissiandre4280 Sweet I feel less insane now!
I stare at my air lock bubbles too(red Wine)during the brew process. How does your mead turn out? That's my next venture.
@@scallywag325 My first traditional mead came out great! The meads I have going on right now are both in primary, so far so good! The recipe of CS brews is great!
straight to the point, I just set the very first fermenter in place, let's see what happens 😆
Best video on how to cider, thanks 👊
I liked that view of the bottom. I've never noticed that before, but were I brew the lighting isn't that good.
Pineapple juice update: It went from 1.100 to 0.996 in just five days. It will need sweetening to be really palatable though.
I like simple instructions. I deal with complicated how tos all day so this is nice to see. cant wait to start this process.
Fairly new subscriber and I’m enjoying your channel. One quick question. How long would you recommend aging this? Thanks!
This is pretty good now. I'd say a month to three and it'd be great.
I’m a little late. This morning we made a mead and a cyser, spiced. Cider is next. I really dig your videos!
I just started my first batch two days ago. Do you swirl the fermentation vessel every day during the initial ferment? Thanks for making this so easy.
I made my first hard cider a good while back, but didn't degas it. It wasn't the best flavor, but it was good enough. Letting it mature in the bottle though, what a big difference it made in my opinion. I have one 750 ml bottle, and one 500 ml bottle left from that batch, and it has now matured for 3 years and 3 months... I'm not even sure if it's drinkable now, but I'm looking forward to try it out!
The next time I brew a hard cider I will make sure to degas it properly, and let it clear more... I have not done that properly with any of my brews. I add a little bit of sugar when bottling to make a bottle carbonation (calculated on the safe side so it won't explode of course). But next up is a mead, 100% inspired by you guys! :)
Drop a few slivers of toasted white oak in the bottle before storage. Or one can buy chips and cubes. A few juniper berries is nice too and a tiny piece of Hibiscus flower for color.
Would there be any advantages or disadvantages to putting the yeast in your vessel 1st instead of last? My thinking is that it may help mix it in when adding 1st.
Either way. Makes no difference really.
Hell yeah. I'm glad I found this. I hate to admit but due to mistakes of my youth (don't worry changed it around 180) was taught how to make hooch this is bascislly the same. But I'm glad a professional is showing how to do it. Wanted to make some recipes for Thanksgiving and Xmas.
Very excited for more of your videos!
"Looks like its alive"... I mean.. tecnically it is right?
Parts of it!
Just made my first basic hard cider it was good. My second Cider was made with Honey Crisp Apple juice. I back sweetened and carb'd it. Ended up at about 6.5% abv. WOW!!! that was the best Cider I have had.....
Nice!
Thank you for the easy to follow instructions. I always thought making good cider was more difficult than it actually is. It is apple season here in NY and I will be making my first batch of cider soon. Thanks again.
Glad it was helpful!
Very cool video! I like the regular people feel of it. Easy to watch and very informative!
I want to thank yinz so much! I have wanted to try fermentation for so long and your clips came across my feed and answered SOOO many questions. Even when I tried looking things up online they all contradicted each other but you help clear it up and made me feel excited to try it out!
Ikr jeez
Just started making mead. Watch a few of your videos. Now following. I love the info, simplicity, and vibe. Keep going!
Thanks!
Just wanted to say thank you for the information, just made my own cider at 1.000 6.56% ABV and now have racked to degass and clear up a little more. tastes like a young champagne that I think will go well with a little sweetness and carbonation.
Dude. You are shredded. 1: Hope you're ok, health-wise, 2:make fitness videos?, 3:love your (both of you) videos.
I enjoy your videos and thank you so much for the knowledge. I have two gallons of hard cider fermenting now, two different flavors. I appreciate all you teach.
WoW! Back light on the lava lamp cider ferment. I had a mead that had a migrating blob that I left be for 9 months, best lava lamp ever!!
Love the channel. Used this recipe for my first fermentation. So far so good. Thanks for all the great information. I see a lot of Alton Brown influence in your style. He is my all-time favorite TV personality. I noticed his book behind you on your shelf. Keep the videos coming. You have a fan.
I met him years ago. Possibly the only celebrity I have met who is worth knowing!
Hey CSB, I followed this tutorial and my cider came out great, the finishing ABV was 6.5%. It’s also has a quite refreshing taste. Ty guys for a great video 🫶🏻
Happy to help!
I've used this technique for years, but I do add sugar and use wine yeast. One option to get some variety is add some other juices, about 1 part of another juice to 5 parts apple. Cranberry, prune or mango work very well.
Started my first cider brew last week. Thank you for inspiring me.
Unrelated, but I saw you mention that bread yeast can take you up to 11% in your tests. Obviously, it's known that this can vary depending on environment, yeast, sugars, etc. Wanted to share that I just did 6lbs of honey in 2 one-gallon carboys and both batches reached 15% ABV with regular bread yeast! 1.125 to 1.010 in 4 weeks. I just racked and will let it sit for at least another month or two before bottling. They already taste great for a young mead.
I've been brewing for a few months now and I've been getting more and more confident and comfortable with it, I was listening to Vincent Price talking about Port wine and I was wondering if the same process to make port would work with cider. Have a wonderful week and stay safe happy and healthy 🙏😊
Started my first today. Put in fermenter at 11:30 am, and as of 6:00 pm, I had nice bubbles coming up and activity on the top. Can't wait. Used same yeast, and my original gravity is 1.043. Now, to learn patience.
cider in history was once the drink of choice
Woah! I saw this as soon as it dropped!
Thanks for the advice. About to do this for the first time, with 5 gallons!
I suggest smaller batches when starting out... just in case!
Glad I found this little gem. Last good cider I had was 2 yr old goodness. Sadly the guy passed and took his secrets with him. Will sub to keep you guys in mind for fall applefest!
Can’t wait to find out what you’ve planned with those other bottles!
Coming in a week or two!