Hard Cider

My decision to brew a hard cider came shortly after I had a minor keggerator disaster: Blew two kegs in two days. The Flanders Red and the American Stout are no more. Not by heavy drinking, the timing just worked out that way. About a week later the final keg (the Framboise clone) blew. And they didn't blow up, they just went dry. And I haven't had anything on tap since.

I had heard that if you show up here with a corny keg, you could get it filled on the cheap. So, keg in hand I headed out to Minea Farms. I don't know how much it would have cost because the owner quickly talked me into buying a variety of apple juices rather than whatever might have been available that day. So, aside from the yeast selection the recipe is his. The Fuji and Gala cider was for high sugar content. The Granny Smith for tartness, the Honey Crisp and Jonagold for flavor.

Hard Cider
Batch size: 5.0 gallons
Original Gravity: 1.095
Final Gravity: ? (still working)
Color 7° SRM / 14° EBC (Gold to Copper)
Yeast: Lalvin D-47

Fermentables:
1 Gallon Fuji
1 Gallon Gala
1 Gallon Granny Smith
1 Gallon Honey Crisp
2 Gallons Jonagold

Combine all, and pitch the yeast. Since I had six gallons and can only ferment five at a time I saved off a gallon for drinking 'as is', and it was fabulous. Way, way better than the grocery store version which probably comes from a single variety.

The ferment took off like a rocket - it was good that I left plenty of headspace. Now I'm waiting until I can put it on tap!