Yesterday I decanted the “Mr Beer” cider yesterday into the 1 liter bottles, it having been two weeks since starting that batch. Those got a little sugar into each bottle to reactivate the yeast for the sake of carbonation. Supposed to sit for 2 more weeks like that, then get refrigerated (or, in this case, into the unheated garage) for 2 weeks more…so this batch won’t be ready until mid January at the soonest.
Still, I tasted it as there was a little extra at the bottom of the barrel. Seemed okay, but not as flavorful as the semi-finished Whole Foods brew 1st batch. Maybe it’ll improve.
Meanwhile, I started two more WF organic juice batches (1 gallon each)…and I had a gallon of cold-pressed cider from a friend which I wort’ed up by heating on the stove and adding about a cup of sugar. Unfortunately, I lacked a spare glass jug and so ended up reusing an old plastic one, carefully disinfected and cleaned. I’ve had a few issues with it, most notably the yeast foamed up overnight and fouled the airlock…but I cleaned it out, reduced the amount of water in the u-tube, and now it’s bubbling steadily. I used a special liquid cider-specific yeast this time for all three.
Oh, another thing I’ve done has been to put the jugs in pails of water, to help buffer the temperature over time, since we turn down the furnace at night.
Meanwhile, I have more glass jugs and some lager yeast on order from yet another homebrew company…
