Cider v5 - brew 9

22 litres aldi apple juice
6 x 700g aldi honey
Ec1118 yeast

Same as a previous cider, expecting 11.5% abv

Brewed 27/12/2013

This cider/mead turned out pretty tasty.
Sour strong and dry with a strong apple flavour.
2 weeks is probably the minimum time to brew for this drink.
It actually went below the nominal 0 SG.

Cider v3 - brew 6

6 x 700g bramwells mixed blossom honey

22 litres of apple juice

Lavlin ec 1118

Og
24/8/2013 83 at 34 degrees
Fg
15/9/2013 0 at 15 degrees
Bottled 15/9/2013

Calculated abv 11.5%

Cider v2 - brew 5

The first cider is now bottled, and it has essentially been drinkable since it first started fermenting. So I'm eager to brew another one.
I'm going to use the same recipe as the first one, with a bit more honey.

Coopers brew kit
Thermometer for liquid
Large pot
5 grams Lavlin ec 1118 yeast
11 x 2 Litre Aldi apple juice
3 x 700g Aldi bramwells mixed blossom honey

Heat 10 litres of apple juice to around 40 degrees in a pot,  and pour it into the fermenter.
Warm the jars of honey in a hot water bath, and pour it into the fermenter. stir, then add the rest of the room temperature apple juice. Must is now at 32 degrees C.
Take Original Gravity measurement giving 68 at 30 degrees.

Rehydrate the lavlin ec-1118 yeast. Start with a small cup and add boiling water and cold water to reach 45 degrees, then wait until it cools to 42 degrees. slowly pour yeast in as you stir over about 30 seconds, trying to suspend the yeast in the water. Wait 15 minutes, as the yeast grows, it will foam and smell like smell kinda like fresh bread ie yeasty. Make sure the temperature of the yeast is within 10 degrees of the must when you pour it in.

Gravity Measurements
OG 68
4/7/2013 68 at 30 degrees
5/7/2013 65 at 18 degrees
6/7/2013 56 at 16 degrees
8/7/2013 44 at 16 degrees
9/7/2013 39 at 15 degrees
12/7/2013 23 at 16 degrees
15/7/2013 14 at 15 degrees
16/7/2013 10 at 15 degrees
17/7/2013 10 at 16 degrees
20/7/2013 5 at 12 degrees
21/7/2013 4 at 12 degrees

Cider - brew 4

My mead has been in the primary fermenter for almost a month and I 

can't wait to start the cider, so I bought a second primary fermenter and I'm going to start the cider before the mead finishes.

I just got another Coopers kit which is $89 (AU) at k-mart.

I'm guessing that the cider will finish primary fermentation before the mead does, as apple juice is mostly simple sugars, compared to honey.

This cider is the same recipe as the mead, but more apple juice and less honey.

Honey is to provide complex sugars for the yeast to digest at later stages of fermentation; which should provide more depth of flavour.

Ingredients

Lavlin ec 1118 yeast 5g 

11 x 2 Litre Apple juice from aldi, no preservatives: reconstituted apple juice 99%, acidity regulator 330, flavour, vitamin C. $1 per litre

2 x 700g bramwells mixed blossom honey.$0.53 per 100g

overall cost

$29.7/24L -> $1.2 per litre

commercial cider is around $7.5 per litre

Brewing

I heated up 8 litres of apple juice to around 50-60 degrees and poured it int. the fermenter. I then poured warmed up honey into the fermenter. Then added the rest of the apple juice that is at room temperature. I took an Original Gravity measurement before
rehydrating the yeast, according to the packet, which I then added to the must.

I put the fermenter on a stool with a heat mat under the fermenter, covering the whole thing with a blanket, as it's a very cold winter. 

Secific Gravity Measurements

OG 

13/7/2013 60 at 26 degrees

SG
14/7/2013 58 at 18 degrees
Tastes Like cloudy apple juice that has been carbonated, no alcohol taste yet. 

15/7/2013 49 at 18 degrees

16/7/2013 44 at 18 degrees 

18/7/2013 31 at 18 degrees 

19/7/2013 25 at 18 degrees

21/7/2013 16 at 14 degrees

22/7/2013 18 at 14 degrees

23/7/2013 15 at 14 degrees

25/7/2013 11 at 14 degrees

26/7/2013 9 at 15 degrees

28/7/2013 6 at 16 degrees

Cloudy apple cider taste, quite dry and medium sour. 

29/7/2013 4 at 18 degrees

31/7/2013 4 at 15 degrees

3/7/2013 0 at 13 degrees

Bottled 3/7/2013

Final Gravity 0

calculated ABV 8.0%

It's turned out really dry and very strong alcohol wise. It's both cloudy and sour, which I like. Back sweetening with cordial makes it a very pleasant drink.  My favorite mix is with the rhubarb cordial from ikea. A cheaper but still delicious option is cascade rasberry cordial. 

I'm very happy with this brew, and I'll be making many more like it.