How to make hard cider - General

What you need: Ingredients: A completely unwashed, natural apple. About 1 1/2 gallon apple juice, no preservatives. The more natural the better and faster this will develop. Hardware: You will need an air lock. Google the nearest wine and beer making shop, and you can pick one up there. A 1 gallon glass jug STERILIZE ALL OF THESE (not the juice or the apples, the hardware. The more untouched the apples are the better) ------------------------------------- Before you begin you will need to make a starter. This is how you would make it: Ok, to make it you take like 3+ cups of apple juice (no preservatives) and put it in a bottle. Then peel an unwashed organic apple, and put it's peels in the juice that's in the bottle. Swish it around in the bottle, then leave it till the next morning. If there's no pressure in the bottle, don't do anything. The apple peels should sink to the bottom then float to the top over about 3 days. Once they float back up, they will begin to make bubbles, and pressure. Relieve this daily and SLOWLY,noting the smell of it. After about 1-2 weeks it should be building extreme pressure and smell very much like alcohol. When it does this, your starter is ready for use. To make the cider, take 1 gallon of your juice. Pour off 2 cups of the juice. Pour the juice into the jug, and he pour in 2 cups of the starter into the jug, straining out the peels. Then pour the 2 cups of juice into the starter, and reseal it. Put the airlock on the jug, and leave it alone for about 4 days for a sweet cider, and 7 for a less sweet one. Congrats! You're done! If you like the taste of it, be sure to keep your starter going by adding 1 tsp of new juice every 2 days, and pour in the dregs from your last batch. If it gets too full of juice pour off a little. P.S. Ask the guy behind the counter about fermentation sugars! If you plan on bottling this, you put in 1tbsp of it into it before bottling to make it sparkle. And it's that simple. [editline]15th October 2010[/editline] If you freeze this and then remove the ice it can go all the way up to 80 proof depending on how cold your freezer is. UPDATED: instead of using unwashed apples, you can use champagne yeast, which will have a higher sucess rate, but be slightly less apple-y (or however you would say that)

The fuck, how does Cider cause blindness?

[QUOTE=itsDivine;25425641]The fuck, how does Cider cause blindness?[/QUOTE] I was just wondering that myself.... I think I'll pass on this one.

Sounds kinda [I]hard[/I] to do.

Why specify that the apple has to be unwashed, when you then go on to sterilize it? Also homemade cider is much nicer than shop brought.

I now know how to make hard cider my life is now complete, thank you

Theres something with ethanol or methanol or something aka: one of them makes you blind the other makes you drunk. Learnt in school for like 2 years ago so don't count on my statement.

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/William_Henry_Harrison.jpg[/img] William Henry Harrison Approves.

No, sterilize the hardware, not the apple. [editline]15th October 2010[/editline] When you boil it it dies not rid of the toxins, so you get concentrated toxins. Freezing it freezes the toxins, and when you remove the ice they leave with it.

I'm pretty sure that at some point here you need yeast to have the apples ferment, otherwise all you've managed to do is make a lot of past-due juice.

The yeast comes from the unwashed apples

[QUOTE=Mr mellow;25425560]What you need: -Words- And if you boil it it causes blindness! SO DON'T BOIL IT[/QUOTE] I beg to differ... [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] Methanol is created when you burn it in a still, but you have to be absolutely fucking retarded if you manage to do that :v: [editline]16th October 2010[/editline] Or better yet, you're dumb if you manage to create a lethal dose of it.

Good point

[QUOTE=itsDivine;25425641]The fuck, how does Cider cause blindness?[/QUOTE] Probably because of the methanol that forms in it. Just a wild guess. [editline]15th October 2010[/editline] Oh wow, ninja'd bigtime.

Actually, you have to add something you shouldn't in it, for making methanol, like fermented wood or methane gas. When smugglers sell moonshine they tend to water it down with methanol so they get more sell. Without saying, they're cynical tools :sigh: But enough off-topic, homemade cider > mass produced

If you boil it you make methanol which causes blindness

And it's "easy" because once you make the starter, you never need to again (unless you got unlucky and the wild yeast doesn't taste good)

[QUOTE=SteeleCratos;25426533]If you boil it you make methanol which causes blindness[/QUOTE] That depends on how you made your starter, if it's pure sugar and water, it shouldn't turn into methanol. I really don't know if the starter in OP has the potential to turn into methanol though.

IMO saftey is better than accidentally harming someone

Damn, i can only make malleable cider.

Yeah, let's forget that still/burning part. I've only tasted homemade cider that a dude I hangout with, made for a concert/party this summer, wasn't much, but it was delicious. Although our whole family brews homemade beer for christmas :v:, that shit is gooood!

[QUOTE=McAnonymous;25426608]That depends on how you made your starter, if it's pure sugar and water, it shouldn't turn into methanol. I really don't know if the starter in OP has the potential to turn into methanol though.[/QUOTE] The pectin in the apple peel can ferment into methanol instead of ethanol, which is something to be wary of.

Ok, then it's pretty dangerous if you plan to boil it. (don't do it) Also, rated useful.

What the fuck is a 'gallon'? Some kind of imaginary unit?

Cider causing blindness is an old wives tale, there's no truth in it at all.

I had some of my friend's homemade alcoholic cider. Shit was so good. 15% too

You don't know what a gallon is?

[QUOTE=itsDivine;25425641]The fuck, how does Cider cause blindness?[/QUOTE] If it isn't sterile or fermented enough the bacteria can cause temporary blindness, it's similar to the bacteria that is on dog shit. if done incorrectly.

Shhh!

thumbs up for making Vodka :P [B]offtopic:[/B] Last time I tried to brew my own hops I was on the adventurous side, so I decided to throw 15 fish fingers into the toaster cuz I thought I was awesome... 2 days later I was diagnosed with Food Poisoning.... Being excentric FTW!!