I don't post a lot of how-to's in my blog, mostly because I'm usually the one Googling those same how-to's on other peoples' blogs. But this time it's my turn to tell you about my modified process for making hard apple cider. This comes with the predictable disclaimer: 1) I have a far superior immune system to most people - having lived in a virology laboratory, kicked H1N1 in the butt, swam in dairy farm runoff, swam in virtual sewage flow named the "Red Cedar", and commonly beat the cold up over some Advil and a glass of beer, 2) This method of making cider worked for me but try it at your own risk; I am by no means a brewmaster.
Before I started my first cider, I read up a lot of sites on how to make hard cider. Of course, there's lots of high-maintenance recommendations such as this one (yes, it does link you to "Mother Earth News"), but while I would love to put the time and money into this kind of cider-making, even to peel and press the apples myself, I'm a graduate student who had an interest in making my own alcohol (safely) and had neither the time nor money to dedicate to this exercise. I kept looking and as much as I hate on Cornell at least weekly, I have to commend them for their simple and accurate outline of how to make hard apple cider.
I modified this method slightly. My cider experience begins with delivery of thawed, deep-frozen cider from last year (thanks to Liz and Chris!). The cider was unpasteurized and unpreserved (except for the freezing), thus it was still well-populated with the wild yeast accumulated during the cider-making process. It sat in the fridge for a week or so before I finally had the time to make it down to the Winemaker's Shop and pick up my supplies. I decided to make the cider in the original gallon jug and to keep the wild yeast. This meant I needed only a #6 stopper with a gas release valve (~$2) in order to get started.
Unfortunately, this coincided with our Pelotonia ride. I got up early in the morning and before we left, I opened the cider and attached a funnel through which I poured about 1 pound of sugar. Motivated by fear that the gallon would explode while we were gone, I was in a hurry to get out the door and the sugar activated the yeast in a frenzy of bubbles which shot out of the jug like a Mentos-infested Diet Coke. Needless to say there was some clean-up involved, and I had trouble finding a place in the fridge to shove such a tall contraption (hadn't considered how tall the gas release would make the jug). However, I was afraid to leave it out after the previous explosion, so it went into the fridge. That was the 3rd week of August.
The cider started smelling really good about the 2nd week of September. I started calling knowledgeable beermakers about how I might know if the cider was safe to drink, etc. Everyone assured me to just try it. However, there was a week where the cider got really smelly and I was sure it was gonna go bad. I let it continue to sit in the fridge and just figured that the process needed shook up more often and that the gas valve, which was slightly contaminated during the explosion, could use a little cleaning. It wasn't until my birthday party this past Sunday that I finally found someone brave enough to try the potion with me.
Of course, I should've known Ryan would be game for anything, we've nearly killed each other doing stuff at this point that it's only funny. We each took a shotglass and sipped away. I had to be careful pouring out the cider because it was still in the original jug - I didn't siphon it off like the instructions said I should. This just meant I needed to keep an eye on all the debris that was floating at low levels in the jug. I think I said something along the lines of, "I'm a ... genius." Pretty proud of the taste, we convinced our significant others to partake as well. This was followed by my brother and the originators of this fine Michigan cider.
I have no idea the alcohol content in it, but on the test subjects, a few of us got color in our faces after about 3-4 oz, and one or two reported some lightheadedness similar to a light buzz. It has a lot of bubbles to it, similar to champagne. That will be the biggest challenge because it limits what I can bottle it in. The last thing I want is more exploding glass in the house like back on New Year's. Plans to limit bubbles in my next batch are already in the works, but I'm not really sure how to do that yet. I'm going to try wine yeast for starters to change things up. Also, the temperature might limit how much escapes in the process versus how things act once it's poured. Anyhow, that's the short and very sweet on how I made hard apple cider in the fridge.
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