Hard Cider 2

So after my first cider was completed i immediately began planning on my next "experimental batch", I learned patience is and will be the key with these ciders but with that I can take the time to learn more behind the fermentation and aging process. So this time I decided to splurge for some cider and this time i decided on using champagne yeast to complete the fermentation. One of the few things I can expect is a dryer finish so I will need to back sweeten the entire batch, but I did add some additions to boost the ABV and to "hopefully" add some flavor and/or taste...

Robust Porters

Porter....the definition could lead to many many debates on styles & variations of sorts. But for our mere discussion we simply consider it as a dark beer, and with that we have a multitude of flavors & profiles we can play with. With that said I'm doing tonight another take on "Vanilla Bean Coffee Porter" this time utilizing cinnamon as well.

Just as with any brew day a complete sterilization and deep cleaning of the brewing area is needed and well deserved, for this recipe I used a baseline extract recipe of steeping grans (Malts) and a single variety of Hops in two stages for flavor and bittering of the beer. And for fun I added a late addition of honey to "kick" up the alcohol (ABV) n the finished product, two weeks in the carboy and two or three week in the bottle before opening for a taste test....

Hard Cider

So beyond my obsession of beer, I also have a obsession with liquids that require or stack up to heavy or even light fermentation...With that being said I embarked on a side project (or two, more to come on that) I'm always tweaking and attempting to learn something new. I recently joked to one of my fraternity brothers (proud brother of Sigma Pi) that I've done more reading now then I did in college (thanks JWU), I actually like going to the library and spending hours reading about yeasts and ancient monks and liquors and coffees that were used 80 years ago.

This has led me to Ciders, by no means do i plan to replicate the traditional ciders we see on our local shelves such as Woodchuck or Strongbow. I'm going to leap outside of the box with this one, I plan too make this one of my special bottles for the holidays and really bump up the (abv) alcohol levels to 6% maybe 8%. From all of the research that I have been able to compile it's very simple, pure apple juice (pasteurized or non) 100% with your choice of yeast (preferably champagne or Safale 04 or 05. And your traditional brewing airlock and store in a cool, dry place to let ferment.

When all is said and done I plan to share these with my special taste panel (Sunday Family Dinners) for a possible tweak of the recipe or begin a full volume of the recipe. I will update on the tasting and any tweaks!!!

FYI: Right to Left is the time Lapse of 1 week....