Brewing Cider

I started brewing cider nearly two years ago and have been making steady progress since. The first few batches went bananas on me and were way too strong, up around the 13% mark I reckon. Since then I have been honing my skills and while it may not be Champagne de Carlow it has at least become drinkable! I prefer a sweet cider which is why my first batch went so crazy( I added too much sugar). In essence cider making is very simple, yeast loves sugar and after it eats the sugar the by product is alcohol. Apple juice has sugar in it, so you just add some yeast and away you go. Here is how I brew my stuff.

Equipment:

1 Carboy (just a container to hold your brew)

1 additional carboy or bucket.

1 airlock

yeast
Funnel, tube and some bottles

Apple juice

Lactose

Hydrometer

When we started first we picked and pressed the apples to make the juice which broke our hearts so now I just buy apple juice from either Lidl for €1 a litre or from a local fruit farm in bulk.

It is simplicity itself to make. Just sterilise all your equipment with Milton or such like. Pour the juice into your carboy. Take a reading with your hydrometer. This allows you to figure out how strong your brew will be. I use this calculator to help me. So once you have done that throw your yeast in(you can buy cider yeast and all other equipment at a home brew website. I buy mine from The Home Brew Company which are an Irish outfit). Finally stick your airlock on and sit tight for as long as it takes!

You will know it is ready when it stops bubbling and the reading on your hydrometer is around 1000 and more importantly it has the same reading for a few days in a row ( this may take weeks and weeks). After this stage I syphon off the brew into a sterilised container leaving the sediment behind. I then clean the original carboy and pour the cider back into it. It is usually at this stage that I sweeten the brew. I have been using lactose which is a sweetener that does not contain sugar and therefore the yeast cannot turn it into alcohol. You simply heat some of the brew and dissolve the lactose into it. Pour it into your cider to taste, be careful not to over sweeten! I like to leave it under the airlock in the carboy for another few months in order to allow more sediment to settle on the bottom. This gives a less cloudy cider.



The final stage after that is to bottle it. Again sterilise everything with Milton. Put one teaspoon of sugar into each pint bottle which will make it fizzy. Pour in your cider and leave for as long as you can. I find around 6 months works well for me. There you have it a recession proof tipple for 50 cent a pint!!