Had to chunk the smaller batch of apple-pear cider due to nasty floaties.
I’d backsweetened it in secondary with a sugar/mulling spice mix, but I used one that was already open and just dumped it in instead of boiling it first and letting it cool like I should have to kill off any grossness that might have slipped in.
Live and learn.
The little apple/pomegranate is still bubbling away, that’s gonna require quite a bit of sweetening after fermentation to overcome the tartness.
The large apple-pear batch is needing to be racked here in the next day or so. Tonight if I can get to it. Think I’ll start another batch with the pomegranate, but use a higher apple/pom ratio this time. Should keep the flavor but reduce the tartness a bit.
The thing to make sure of is to SANITIZE. ALL. THE. THINGS.
We must have pictures, as I hopefully will be getting a beer brewing kit to start soon and might need some heads up even though the process is a little different.
Most of the difference in beer brewing is all in the initial preparation, especially depending on how you’re starting out.
Beginners usually start with an extract, plus you still have to do the hops and all that stuff.
The fermenting process is pretty much the same. Sanitize the container, put the brew in, pitch the yeast, seal with a vapor lock, and let it sit.
Racking is just siphoning off into another sanitized container, avoiding the gunk at the bottom of the first one, and sealing up with a vapor lock again for secondary fermentation. Basically the exact same process.
All the difference is in the beginning, where most of it matters.
Also, note that most yeasts have a fairly specific optimal fermentation temperature range. Yeast used for stouts, for example, are great to do in the winter because of the cold. Cider yeasts like it around 65F. I need to start using champagne yeasts with a higher temperature tolerance since I can’t afford to keep the house on the chilly side.