Fall is here, which means it's time to start making cider - hard cider that is. Really can't have crepes from your winter leftovers without the hooch, so I thought I would try making it myself.Some of you may already know that I've been known to make wine (which has aged well over the past two years), so making cider ain't too much of a stretch. As you will see, it's basically substituting grape juice with apple cider.
Not sure if I'm going to put little bubbles in the stuff or not - but stay tuned.
But for the first step, called primary fermentation, all you have to do it put the cider (about 6 gallons) in a container with yeast (not bread yeast, but the yeast used to ferment champagne grapes). Stick it on a hotpad to get a nice warm temperature, and wait a couple of days (I think I did 14). A little measuring tool will tell you the alcohol level and let you know when the majority of the fermentation is done.
I know, I know - it looks nasty - but you'll be impressed.
