Blending Ciders

I was given a gallon of good cider from a local farm, unfortunately it already Potassium Sorbate added before I got it. I had already a gallon of a very dry cider sitting oak chips that I wasn't entirely happy with, so I decided to blend the two together.

My wife really likes the Woodchuck Seasonal Fall Cider, Which is a sweet cider with cinnamon and nutmeg, aged on oak. So I took one gallon of the two and added a small amount of those spices. I hadn't checked on the carboys until a week after I blended the ciders not expecting any fermentation because of the preservative. I happened to glance at them while bottling some mead earlier and saw what looks fermentation, not alot but it definitely seems to be there. There seems to be more in the non-spiced carboy but that is probably just an effect of the spices. So I will these sit and see what happens, the question is if I would be able to bottle these carbonated instead of flat as I was previously planning. A test of some sort to see if the yeast are active will have to be done.

Graff Experiments and Kolsch update

I racked the Graff into two different 3 gallon carboys. One was left alone and the other was racked onto tart cherries. The cherries were fresh picked, frozen and thawed to break the cell walls. The Graff is a lot darker than I expected but I expect that is from the crystal 120. Within twelve hours a new krausen had formed on the on the carboy with the cherries.
At this point it seems like most fermentation on the Kolsch has slowed down almost entirely. Its pretty cloudy but also its very young still. Its got a nice color that should be a nice blonde color in the glass. In the picture below left to right; Normal Graff, Cherry Graff, Kolsch.

Brandon O's Graff (For the most part)

 Every attempt I've made at straight cider using juice, sugar and yeast came out thin and dry. Not at all like commercial sweet ciders. This is supposed to be sweet and have body like Strongbow or Woodchuck. Perfect for my significant other and other friends who don't care for beer.
I brewed up a 5 gallon batch following Brandon O's recipe as stated here. The only difference is I used 1.25 Oz of torrified wheat and just amber DME as it was all I had on hand. I used Crystal 120L as suggested in the recipe as I used cheaper juice. Cascade hops were selected as they seemed to go well with cider flavors.

I kept some of the yeast cake from my Honey Pilsner Ale and repitched it into this. The yeast is Safale US-05. After 12 hours the airlock would bubble every 5 seconds or so. Upon pitching the yeast the final gravity of the wort was 1.062. The only thing I am worried about is its currently fermenting at around 70 degrees. I really need to figure out a way to control fermentation temperatures, I'd prefer lower temperatures so no off flavors develop. I have high hopes for this cider.

After a long break.

Sorry about the long break in updates, We have been moving and other various life issues. So after settling into our new apartment I pulled the homebrew equipment out and bottled the milk stout. It smelled hoppier than I expected, but it will hopefully fade in the bottle.
I racked the 3 gallon peach mead into a fresh carboy with new fruit and some yeast energizer. I've also racked the tart cherry mead into a fresh carboy with some fresh cherries and yeast energizer.
After tasting samples from various carboys I've decided that the Whole foods cider is ready to be bottled as soon as I get some lactose to sweeten it back up, as it very dry currently. The cherry mead also seems ready to bottle within the next month and I'll probably do the peach mead at the same time.

I've changed the plan and I am no longer going to pitch Belgian yeast with the Patersbier  kit I have. I am going to just go with a clean fermenting American ale yeast. I am hoping to brew that tomorrow.

Whole Foods Cider

Having heard good things I ventured out to whole foods and bought a gallon of Apple Cider. It comes in a one gallon glass carboy and is a light muddy brown color. Already pasteurized and with no preservatives it makes it really easy, Just pitch the yeast and put an airlock on it. I used a Windsor Ale Yeast for the the faster turn around time and lower alcohol content versus wine or champagne yeast.

-One Gallon Whole Foods Cider
-Windsor Ale Yeast
-Petic Enzyme