I’m interested in …

Sparkling cider vs still cider

We cracked open a bottle of one of the last ciders to be bottle yesterday; merely to check on progress of course!  We know and expect all pf our ciders to be dry not least because we use a strong yeast that will scour away most of the sugar but also that the apples we [...]

All racked off

On the 1st October I racked off the 12 gallons of cider from this years crop.  In most demi-johns I put in a good dose of glucose.  These are still bubbling quite nicely and I was a little worried that I had overdone the sugar (which I probably have) but the yeast seems so strong [...]

Step away from the cider!

It’s a constant source of annoyance to my wife that I cannot leave the fermentation barrels alone for five minutes.  I’m forever tapping at the airlocks, shaking the barrels up, topping the locks up.  Once all the prepartion and hard work is out of the way all you can really do is wait.  From now [...]

That lovely smell!

Each morning before I got to work I take each 6 gallon fermentation vat and give it a good shake and a spin.  This is to stir the yeast up so that the nutrient and sugar rich juice is spread around as well as making sure the yeast gets to the juice.  Sometimes the airlock [...]