about to make my first batch of hard cider tomorrow, wondering

>>8284282

That stuff looks scary.

>>8284310
tell me about it. that's what i want to avoid!

>tfw your bung hole is filled with lees

>>8284282
check the sugar levels in the juice, i got some from a local farm but summer here was shit and the gravity was less than 1.040 meaning it won't produce enough alcohol to keep it sterile. adding sugar makes the end cider more watery

add nutrient/cut up raisins, apple juice doesn't have enough minerals ect for the yeast. bubbling over like that pic is fine and it will die down after a fews days but PLEASE keep an air lock on it

adding flavors at the start doesn't really work, rack it off, add clearing agent, after 2 weeks rack again and flavour or just bottle

1 gallon gets me about 9 bottles

>>8284337
absolutely got myself airlocks, don't want a big mess. i know it'll get foamy but that one is so chunky in the middle of it. is that normal? all other pics ive seen have sediement at bottom and yeast activity at the top but clear mids.

thanks for the suggestions, didn't hear about raisins until now. will look into it. i've heard the flavor goes last so i'll taste after 1st and 2nd rack and see how it is. if i dont end up using it i make sodas, candies, w/e with my extract so no big deal

do you age yours for a long time after the 2nd rack?

How do you plan on hardening the cider?
Freezing won't work, you'll break the glass...
I guess you could use a medical waste solidifier?

Seems like a waste of good cider though.

>>8284369
lol

jokes aside, slushies made with apple cider are incredibly refreshing

>>8284352
the pic looks fine my be, my latest juice had a lot of sediment and that will get caught up in the bubbles making a lot of foam
i racked and aged with clearing aged for 2 weeks and i plan to age mine in the bottles for 3 months before i even think about opening one up

i also added 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to 3 of the bottles to see how much carbonation that makes, word of warning a few years ago i added sugar to the bottles and when i opened one it sprayed all over the place and i was left with about 2 inches left in the bottle

>>8284369
Hard Cider is an American term, anon. It implies alcohol content.
Have you got a passport?

>>8284375
ok! thank you for the help. hope it turns out alright!

>>8284384
The passport thing doesn't work the other way around.

>>8284404
yeah, when people want to come to the US they just climb over the wall