Hard Cider Bottling Day

This morning, I bottled the 2011 edition of hard cider.  Let me get you up to speed on what has been happening since the last update.

I tried to get the cider to clear a little faster.  I put the carboy in the fridge to chill it down and maybe get the proteins and yeast to settle out quicker.  It got less hazy but it wasn’t clear after a week.

Then I got the bright idea to add some flavorless gelatin to the cider to kick the clearing into high gear.  It got less hazy but it wasn’t clear with a week to go ’til Thanksgiving.

So I said to myself, “Brew On.”, which in this case is synonymous for “Screw it.” and bottled up the cider.

I tasted it the night before and it was dry and tart.  It was ok to me, but my target audience won’t like it so I back-sweetened it.  Yeah, I know.  I didn’t want to do that but it seemed to be the only way to get the flavor I wanted.

So I added a can of condensed apple juice and added it to the bottling bucket.  Then I had 2 cups of table sugar that was boiled in 2 cups of water (cooled) and added that mixture until the sweetness was where I thought it should be.

I took a hydrometer reading and it read 1.010.

Now it’s carbonation time.  I know I have the possibility of bottle bombs on my hands but I have a fail safe device.

That, my dear readers, is hard cider in a plastic water bottle.  It might look like a urine sample, but let me assure you…that is hard cider in a water bottle.

When that water bottle swells up, I know it will be time to pasteurize my bottle so they don’t blow up.

Hopefully someone will drink this stuff next week.  I hate rushing things.