Bites without Borders
For Chsitmas of 2014, my brother gave my dad a very small kit to brew his own beer. Since then, my dad's hoby of brewing has grown, and he's created all sorts or different beverages from IPAs to Beligian beers! Today I'm going to share a little bit of the brewing process that my dad uses to brew. It's been fun to learn about this process with him, and although I'm not there for a lot of the brewing (because the process takes months!), I got to observe quite a bit of the process over this past Christmas break.
(My dad and I touring a brewery this past month!)
We're going to be focusing specifically on cider today. The cider in this recipie is one my dad came up with himself! He calls it "Pricilla's Pink Planet", after it's pink color, and after my niece Pricilla. This is a 6.3% ABV apple berry cider, and this recipie makes about 3.5 gallons of it.
Cider is believed to have originated from the United Kingdom, and it is assumed that cider was created after the Norman conquest.Because the UK's climate was better at producing apples than grapes, cider became more popular to drink than wine. (source)
The basic ingredients of cider include a wine or cider yeast and a lot of juice.
The recipe and ingredients for this aren't published, because it's my dad's recipie. He's posted all of these pictures on his facebook page, so that is where I am getting all of my informtion for the process from.
(proof that I'm getting this info from my dad - here's his Facebook page!)
This is the brand of yeast my dad used, but any brand of wine or cider yeast will do the job. This pouch in particular hasa nutrient package inside of it. Break the packet, put it back in the large pouch, and let it sit over night. This allows the yeast to grow. You should see the package swell up.
Cider yeast is the microbe S. cerevisae. The yeast metabolizes the pyruvic acid (a derivative of the glucose sugar molecule), and without oxygen breaks it down into ethanol (alcohol) and carbon dioxide.This process all occurs through the alcoholic fermentation pathway.
Here's most of the juices my dad used. You'll want 280 oz of juice, not from concentrate. My dad prefers the "Simply Apple" brand, and uses about 3 jugs of apple juice, and 2 jugs of fruit punch. On the far right you'll see the 4 12 oz cans of berry juice concentrate you'll need. The juices shouldn't have any preservatives, but citric and ascorbic acids, or vitamins are okay! It's fine if the juice is a cloudy color.
You also need a gallon of clear juice (about a jug of fruit bunch/mixed berry, and a jug of apple), as well as 2lbs of brown sugar for later on.
Here's all the materials you need, including a carboy (the clear jug), a bucket, a funnel, an airtight seal, the yeast, and Star San sanitizer (dad recommends this brand!). The 2.5 gallon mark is already made on the carboy.
The last two ingredients include Pectic enzyme (used only if your juice is cloudy, to force the pulp to fall away during fermentation, and Yeast nutrient to help the yeast along during the fermentation process.
In your bucket, mix a gallon of water and add Star San (or whatever sanitizer you used) according to the directions. After you stir it in your bucket use the funnel to add some of the solution into the carboy.
Necx, slosh the sanitizer aroung to cout the inside of the carboy. Also spread some onto the mouth. It should bubble up like in this picture. Dump out the excess, but don't worry if some of the sanitizer gets left over - it'll be used to feed the yeast!
Throw the airlock, the funnel, and the yeast packet into the bucket with the rest of the sanitizer to sterilize it. Let it sit here for a few minutes.
Use the funnel to add all the juice concentrate to the carboy. Add enough juice to fill the carboy to the 2.5 gallon mark. If your juice is cloudy, add 1.5 tsp of pectic enzyme. Add in 2 tsp of yeast nutrient, and the contents of the yeast packet.
Remove the funnel and aerate the juice, by placing a clean and sanitized hand over the mouth, and vigorously shaking for a minute. This adds ozygen into the juice, which help the yesat during early stages. (Note that later on in the process, you should avoid adding more oxygen into the cider!)
Insert the airlock onto the mouth of the carboy, half fill the airlock with sanitizing solution, so that cider can bubble out without getting contaminated. Set the carboy in a cool, dark area for 3-4 weeks. Active fermentation starts in approximately 2 days, and slows down in a week.
The yeast is what causes the fermentation process, and is what makes the juice become alcoholic and carbonated.
Cider is very similar to wine, which can also be found in Europe (especially France and Italy, because they have better climates for growing grapes). Wine tends to be made from grape juice, where as cider tends to be from apples, however you can have a grape cider or an apple wine. Wine tends to be higher in alcohol content (around 10-12 ABV), because more sugar is added to the process. Wine is also aged for longer. Overall, they're very similar. (source)
Interested in trying a recipie that incorperates cider? Try this Apple Cider Pulled Pork with Carmelized Onion and Apples from allrecipies.com!
