Making My Own Alcohol || How to Turn Apple Juice Into Cider

[@DukeTrout]

Some tips from a mead maker: You don’t need to add the potassium sorbate at the beginning. The commercial yeast will overcome the natural yeast on the apples. You don’t need nutrients for apple fermentations. The juice itself has more nutrients than the yeast will ever need for a short fermentation like a cider. Last, I’d suggest Lalvin 71B yeast. It’s a yeast that’s been designed to do malolactic fermentation, converting the tart mallic acid into lactic acid, giving the cider a creamy mouth feel. That helps make it tasty sooner. If you really want a treat, brew a gallon of cider with ~3 lbs of honey. Add a cinnamon stick and a single clove during primary fermentation. Rack it to a new carboy once it’s finished fermenting and add oak chips or a toasted oak spiral. Bottle it, wait a year, and it will taste like bourbon!

[@adamaustin5296]

Agreed. I’ve been making my own cider for a few years and we just add our own yeast to it. You can also add hops and/or fruit to play around with the flavor.

[@dragonhero14]

I'm really interested in the recipe you noted at the end. Is it posted somewhere? Also does it require you to wait a full year?

[@DukeTrout]

@@dragonhero14 A good resource is the CS Brews YT channel. Search for “Oaked Cyser.” But it’s not a complicated recipe. Assuming you are making 1 gallon of cyser (mead making jargon for an apple mead), add ~2 lbs of honey to your 1 gallon fermentation vessel, a cinnamon stick, a single clove, then fresh apple juice to the base of the neck of the jug. You want to leave room for foam (apple fermentations are VERY ACTIVE) and you’re going to be adding more honey later. Add 1/2 packet of Lalvin 71B yeast to the jug. Cap and shake vigorously for several minutes to dissolve the honey. (Let some gas escape every once in a while.) If you have a hydrometer, measure your initial gravity. Top with an airlock and let it ferment until dry. I check gravity weekly. When the gravity drops to or below 1.000, I add more honey. This may take a couple of “feedings” to settle in to the desired gravity. I shoot for 1.010-1.015 for two straight weeks. If you can’t check gravity, just give it a month to ferment before adding the rest of the honey. Then give it another month to complete primary fermentation. Once primary is complete, use an auto siphon to transfer the liquid to fresh clean jug for secondary. Try to avoid transferring sediment or the spices. This is where I add a toasted oak spiral. Give it at least 2 weeks in secondary before bottling. The liquid should be clear and the remaining sediment settled. This is drinkable pretty much right away, but it’s going to have an apple pie flavor. Give it at least 6 months aging in the bottle and it transforms into a bourbon-like flavor. Give it a year and other than ABV, which should be between 16 and 20%, you’d have a hard time telling it from bourbon.

[@KernsJW]

I was going to suggest m02. 71B is good and like you said it's smooth. I like m02 because it really brings forward the apple flavors and that's what I have been using for the past year on cider. M05 on a traditional wildflower mead has some interesting flavors too. Only issue is both are very picky about temp. 71B is pretty forgiving and chews through anything

[@buestad]

We have been using many different yeasts for ciders since our first try in 2020 and AC-4 is my personal favorite. The best cider we've made (with no extra additives like hops, other fruits or sweetening) was with the AC-4 yeast and it stopped by it self on an FG1015. We use only sulfite before fermentation and potassium sorbate after.

[@wacobeer6469]

I'm a commercial brewer now and have been a homebrewer since the 1980's. I recommend using cheap vodka in the airlock rather than water. It's self sanitizing! Great show, Jason.

[@cosmicbrambleclawv2]

Gonna have to start doing this when I make mead and cider! Thanks!

[@thecamperguy1234]

Couldn't you just fill the airlock with starsan?

[@cosmicbrambleclawv2]

You could, but unless you have a local home brew shop or buy offline vodka is much easier to get a hold of

[@chiblast100x]

@@thecamperguy1234 You can, but it's generally not considered best practice. While acid sanitizer won't make you sick in the way a quat or chlorine sanitizer would, it's still best to avoid ingesting any meaningful quantity and certain designs of cheap airlocks can end up discharging their contents into the carboy.

[@thecamperguy1234]

@@cosmicbrambleclawv2 that’s a good point. Unfortunately a lot of home brew stores are closing down.

[@MarcCoteMusic]

When I was 15 I worked in a U-Pick-type apple orchard, doing everything from trimming trees to ferrying people around the orchard and collecting them and their picked apples. In addition to my pay - something under $4/hr back then, the owner would let me have a gallon or two a week of fresh apple cider, which was made on the property and sold in plastic gallon jugs. I would let it naturally ferment, releasing the pressure every day or so before the jugs could explode. It always made the most amazing tasting cider I have ever had. It also packed a heck of a wallop... I don't know what the alcohol content was, but it had to be at least as much as a strong wine. At band practice, I'd break out a jug and we would each have a couple or three glasses. I'm sure we sounded 'great' by the end of rehearsal. Good times.

[@jangrahame4891]

❤ we put a balloon over the mouth and deflated it periodically.😅

[@MarcCoteMusic]

@@jangrahame4891 - That's a damn good idea.

[@michaelarighi5268]

From a long-time wine and cider maker: If it was just the natural juice (no sugar added), the alcohol content was likely to be around 6-8%. Most apples seem to run about 12-16% sugar, depending on variety, season, etc. The conversion to alcohol is usually roughly 1% alcohol for 2% sugar, so apples with 14% sugar would give you 7% alcohol by volume. Table wines typically range from 12-14%, with higher alcohol levels reached by manipulating the fermentation. So, considerably higher than most ciders.

[@akadez420]

As a mead and wine maker I have to say adding sorbate pre fermentation is not necessary. That champagne yeast will overpower any natural yeast. Potassium sorbate also does NOT stop fermentation it stops yeast from being able to multiply. If you add potassium sorbate and potassium metabisulfite that combo will cause yeast to no longer be able to convert sugars to alcohol. I would also recommend using Lalvin 71B for its malolactic fermentation. Also acid blend is mostly citric acid. You can buy citric, malic and tartaric separately and use the proper acids for the fruit/s you're using.

[@KillerSpud]

Thanks for the in-cider information!

[@troywalker8078]

😂

[@dorkin_aint_easy]

Don't forget to sterilize everything, especially before fermentation!! I know you likely did this, but its very much worth noting. Also ferment and store in a cool dark place as well to avoid off flavors.

[@ScubaSteve1170]

Sanitize. Sterilization is a whole other ballgame...

[@darrylqmiller]

Man you killed me when you asked Craig to take the cider into the house for your wife. For just a second I thought you had a real bromance going on there. 😂😂

[@crjuan8202]

Craig's expression was classic😅

[@MrGroovyHouse-fe4cw]

Oh, they do, Darryl. They do. ;-)

[@glenlongstreet7]

In New England, at farms up north they would keep their Apple Cider in the barrels they fermented it in outside. The temperature used to drop to well below zero in winter and the water separated from the fermented cider. They would crack the ice, and the jack would be just below the ice. Nice. Not sure who discovered this, but I am sure he was very happy.

[@mag4973]

Homebrewer for 20+ years. I do what I've read about and adjust for me. Do beer, Cider and Mead. Nothing wrong with your process. I have never let Cider age for a year, but mead is always better in the fermentor for 6 months then bottled or kegged and aged for another 6 months. Champagne yeast is great for higher alcohol content, but not required for the target you are after. Champagne and Wine yeast can survive in alcohol levels over 12% where beer and specialized yeasts would die off at those levels. As Duke Trout suggests, the Lalvin 71b would be a perfect choice. I do a Christmas beer using mulling spices in a Red or Nut Brown that tastes amazing. Try adding those to your primary fermentation in a cider!

[@miguelruizm]

I just started watching videos at 2X speed...what a game changer!

[@Bobo-gm9fd]

I've always watched them at 2× ,I cant stand how slooooow they talk otherwise

[@dalegnodle]

I do that, too. Entertaining AND quicker!

[@digitaIgorilla]

The yeast that naturally grows on apple skins is just perfect. It takes longer than winemakers yeast as it's not as concentrated but it'll still work. Really glad you made this video. Greetings from a cider maker on this side of the pond. 🍏🍎😂🍎🍏🍻🍻🍻

[@daveyoder1436]

There is a very specific mixing tool that works great. It is a metal shaft that has dangley plastic blades. You chuck it in a drill and go to town. It works great. It creates a huge vortex. It can mix inside the carbon.

[@NoMusiciansInMusicAnymore]

Genuinely funny first off, I have been brewing beer and cider for a couple decades and while I definitely do things a little differently what you show here is a fantastic way to make things nice and accessible, I would add you can use cheap supermarket juice as long as it doesn't have any sorbates or nitrites (usually Potassium or Sodium) listed in the ingredients as a preservative, most don't it's cheaper to just heat treat and vacuum seal the bottles. Glad I stumbled onto your channel, I'll have a browse around

[@jakematthews6982]

I made 4 gallons from my own apples this year, separated 2 gallons out to make hard cider and left the other 2 for a little while to clean up the apple crushing/pressing station. When I got back to the juice in the bucket it had already started to ferment! It was super fizzy and smelled as well as tasted like fermentation had started. Now that’s a step feed apple wine and the other 2 gallons are almost ready to rack!

[@chrisnash2154]

Bourbon Moth’s one of my fav channels. He’s always doin something new and interesting.

[@werners-werkstatt]

Hi Jason, I did this once 40 years ago. It was a very tasty wine. You could drink it very well while sitting. Unfortunately, you couldn't get up afterwards. It was a Dessert wine with 25% alcohol. Cheers. Greetings from Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany Werner

[@Andi.Mitchell.Designs]

Sounds wonderful!

[@werners-werkstatt]

@@Andi.Mitchell.Designs Yes Andi, it gives you “broken” legs but no headaches. You could drink it by the liter. Greetings from Hanover Werner

[@steveo5946]

You can also pasteurize the must to kill all the microbes. It's faster than using the potassium sorbate

[@SWCCfreak]

One thing to remember about owning a kegerator is you need to clean the lines about every two weeks. Have a pony keg that you can use for a cleaner solution. Typically caustic is mixed into water at about a 2% mix ratio. If not the sugars in the beer/cider/wine whatever you have will build nasty germ colonies which can alter the taste of the drink and possibly even get you sick over time. Also, learn to disassemble the tap handle and clean the gunk out. The gunk usually is like Lees. Find a simple cleaning video on YT and watch the steps. I did that for a while for a job. It's very simple and quick to do. On average I could clean a 2-tap kegerator in 5 to 10 mins depending on how long I let the caustic solution sit in the line. But be careful caustic will cause eye irritation so wear safety glasses or goggles with it. And latex/rubber gloves if you don't want your hands to dry out lol

[@M4st3r0fN0n3]

Regardless of your method of brewing, sanitation is always the primary concern. Use star-san, hot water, and rinse all your carboys and equipment with it. You also need to use the sanitizer liquid in the airlock to prevent any critters getting in

[@joshbooth9772]

As a long time homebrewer I was looking for the star-san the whole time.

[@M4st3r0fN0n3]

@@joshbooth9772 not once did he sanitize anything lol must be where he's getting that "skunky" flavor

[@bfirefighter3]

@@M4st3r0fN0n3 yeah he definitely didn’t do any of that off camera or anything

[@steveo5946]

Amen

[@m_cabral]

What did people do before commercial sanitation products? Was it a case like in natural cheese making where wood barrels and their biome prevented the nasty things from surviving?

[@awf118]

Missed some major steps related to sanitation. Carboy, bottling bucket, syphon, keg all need to be sanitized before touching the apple juice/cider for the first time.

[@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo]

I live in cider making (drinking) part of England most of the farmyard cider I've seen is just the apples pressed through straw or sacking put into barrels and left to ferment, the yeast in the skin does the job, the old farmer told me the alcohol kills anything that shouldn't be in there.

[@natewarner]

Oh my goodness! I considered not watching this because I knew I'd have feelings. But, I decided to when I ran the rest of YT out of new videos. Also, this really is a good thing to get to people, so good on ya. :) Recommendation: use something other than champagne yeast to get something back out of the flavor. Heck, "US05" or "71b" as search terms on A-zon would either one be much better, and not need to worry about loss of flavor. Or just use the wild stuff; maybe hit is with a half dose of the potassium at the start and let the wild yeasties do their thing (the 1/2 dose knocks out most of the bacteria and doesn't kill off the yeast). Also, go for some dry cider that's not backsweetened!! Just enjoy as is! Ah well, enough comments from a homebrewer who's got lots and lots of thoughts. (And skip the champagne yeast to keep the apple flavor!!!)

[@Sebastopolmark]

I have been watching for a couple of years not and 27:42 is the BEST. Thanks Jason, GREAT video! !! !!!

[@steveo5946]

Don't let your alcohol sit on dead yeast for a year. That gives it weird flavors. Always transfer the cider to a second carboy after the yeast settles to the bottom (about 2 to 3 weeks after starting)

[@robertm348]

When I was in the Navy, onboard the Nimitz, fresh fruit from the mess decks was always in high demand. Not that I ever made applejack, mind you. That would have been illegal...I just cut up fruit, added sugar and yeast and stored it in a cool, dry place till it tasted good!

[@WexWerxScott]

Homemade cider is fantastic! Made it on a few occasions along with mead! Nice work!

[@TheRealRescue1]

I love how serious you are about your cider. no messing around 😂😂 your the Best Jas.. Jase? Jace?? not sure what the abbreviation of Jason is. TTFN

[@Yosser70]

I got 10 litres of 8% cider to the point you put it in the keg but I made apple jack with mine. Freeze it solid in 2L plastic bottles, then leave them to defrost open and upside down until all the colour has gone and you’er left with crystal clear ice in the bottle. What you’ve done is separate the water and alcohol (the alcohol thaws quicker). You can do this a few times and you end up with a liquid that has the consistency of brandy. It’s very strong but also full of flavour, well worth a try.

[@seancrowe1351]

Pretty much everything you did was correct, but there are some things you can do for insurance. 1. If you buy apple juice, make sure it is organic or doesn’t have any preservatives added. The preservatives will prevent healthy fermentation. 2. Using a sanitizer (like starsan) on all your equipment prior to the brew can help ensure no foreign bugs don’t contaminate anything. 3. Filling the airlock with star San or vodka can help make sure over the long fermentation no bacteria or molds make their way through the airlock.

[@cristitib7364]

For 18 years I've been brewing my own beer on my 10 gallon home made all grain setup. Until 2 years ago when I got into woodworking as a hobby and completely stopped brewing. This video makes me like the moth even more!

[@thedirtyridge]

If you don't want to press or have ability to press apples, your local brew supply store should have cider kits that come with a bag of concentrate and the yeast you need. It's super easy, but you will need to bottle or keg. It's also a lot less steps than what Jason shows.

[@treyreppe4348]

I think you can use the leftover sediment ring to pitch the next batch. Maybe use the cloudy liquid for cider donuts?

[@jnl.]

instead of adding a bunch of citric acid you could just use more tart apples, like granny smith and crab apples. you really should add some crab apples in, they are great.

[@jamollify]

Jason, have you thought about using your own apple juice from your snazzy press to make a concentrate to add in near the end of the cider process? Love the video as always!

[@stevenbell1888]

yeah man you dont want to "splash rack" with a cider thats roughly 6%abv like that. Thats how you get vinegar. Degass it and let it age a few months instead. NEVER splash unless you are well over 15% abv

[@joshuabooth8853]

I love your video on making the apple press and I love this one where you tell us how we can make our own apple cider!

[@jsuewrs135]

Your property looks beautiful. What a nice part of the world. I'm sure sitting out in your garden with a cider and some friends is awesome

[@ChooRoo]

Nice and concise. Love me some cider. Much love from South Australia.

[@d.mushroomhunter3528]

Yeah I've been making mine for about 30 years I was taught to use Camden tablets (potassium metabisulfite) and then I add food grade urea for yeast nutrient, and kill the fermentation with the potassium sorbate at the end before bottling. Sometimes I just throw it in a corny keg and force carbonate. Delicious😂 I really wish I had a apple grinder like that I would pay for plans or just buy one it works a hell of a lot better than the ones I've tried!

[@brianrogers1799]

I like to use English Ale yeast to ferment my ciders. It keeps all the apple flavor, and gets you to about 6-8% ABV. Plus with a nice raw cider like that, it will be absolutely perfect for that.

[@cuanham]

Would like to see more of this. Would be cool to see you distill your own bourbon. Would also like to see your take on Tapache

[@NicholasIzzo-yq2me]

In southern Florida the well water tends to have a lot of hydrogen sulfide making the water smell like eggs. To remove it a lot of people run their well water through an aerator which basically turns the water into a mist which effectively removes the sulfur smell. You could try getting a new unused! weed sprayer and putting the cider in there, pressurize it and spray the mist into a clean container to properly aerate it, that will certainly remove all the hydrogen sulfide and the sulfur smell / skunky taste. Cheers.

[@brickabrack_cat]

Aeration isn't something you want in alcohol production unless you plan on making vinegar.

[@NicholasIzzo-yq2me]

​@@brickabrack_catI'm glad you replied, I did not know that in regards to alcohol production, I only knew how they remove the hydrogen sulfide from groundwater and thought it could apply here as well, I guess not!

[@ericheft6184]

For someone who claims not to know what he's doing .... you have quite a process! Can't believe I watched the whole thing.

[@minutemark]

Craig is the BEST!

[@beepbopboop1303]

Just finished bottling 12 bottles of Odin's Skull Mead (honey, green apples, cascade hops) 15% just in time for Christmas

[@mageemq]

Long live John Maier’s beard! Fun one and thanks for the follow-up. Now awaiting this winter's apple jack video....

[@d.mushroomhunter3528]

Oh yeah I was watching at the end you could add water if it got way too sweet... I got a crazy idea to throw some turbo yeast int 10 gal last year.. and all the sudden there was a big copper thing in my garage😎🤐🤔🤫

[@garrydeimert7397]

Coming from the West Country in England (Somerset)i the home of cider in the uk and have tasted lots of cider, including what we call rough cider that the farmers made in their barns that is some posh cider that you have made, real cider is flat and cloudy and puts hairs on your chest, still great video and i bet it tastes great cold on a hot day. Cheers 🥂

[@gcarson19]

My thoughts as well. All things are commercialized now. I was waiting for this video to include an ad for ball-shaving products...

[@xBris]

Finally the cider video that we wanted a year ago ;)

[@Seadalgo]

Wild type spiced cider is amazing, and it's only one step

[@bobh64]

When my grandparents lived in the same house as my parents when I was younger, my grand dad used to make hard cider. He saved some to freeze. the cider that didnt freeze was then botttled called cider chanpange it made your head explode with just a sip.

[@arsonshadow187]

I think thats called freeze distilling. Itll be loaded with alcohol and sugar for sure. Sounds good

[@AGMJSProduction]

Was currently getting rid of a small fridge, and a lot of leftover cherries, this video couldn’t have come at a better time.

[@clocktowertx]

Awesome video. I love the woodworking but Iove homebrewing too.

[@2goldenace]

A very nice woodworking video, thank you ❤

[@mikedressler5971]

You should look into building a keezer and customize it with your awesome woodworking skills.

[@1Bigtomtom]

Apple cider is a non-alcoholic beverage made from apples that is unfiltered, unsweetened, and raw. It's typically sold unpasteurized, which means it's perishable and requires refrigeration. Apple cider is different from apple juice in how it's processed. Apple juice is typically made from filtered apple juice, while apple cider is often made from unfiltered apple juice. This usually makes apple cider appear darker than apple juice

[@tomkrump3329]

Looks good! Couple of comments... 1. Add your extra sugar with the initial yeast addition. That'll do two things. First, it lessens the chance of contamination as you are opening your fermenter less. Second, it gives the yeast an easily fermentable sugar to get started on. 2. Get yourself a carboy carrier. They make strap ones you can buy. I used an old milk carton for years. You could make a wooden crate out of scrap wood. Bumping a full, glass carboy being carried without a carrier is like a vaginal bear trap. You're going to loose a finger in cider.

[@rotatingringbelt]

Nice video. Change of pace and content never hurts anybody.

[@HowRay]

Well done, Jason... I love Hard Cider. And good Beer. ..... And Mead too.!! AND ---- Other fermented things as well.!!

[@markhendrix745]

25 SECONDS WOOHOO SATURDAY MORNING BOURBON MOTH.. NOTHING BETTER

[@alejandrohuerta988]

You don't have to worry about oxygen in primary. The CO2 is heavier and will displace any remaining oxygen through the valve.

[@ArzAx]

I use to make grapefruit wine. But I used champagne yeast. I think it tasted better then the red or white wine yeast.

[@Bundalaba]

Dang your lawn area looks great !

[@arsonshadow187]

Yours came pretty clear. Probably a bit to do with the carbonation. I find since I usually don't carbonate it would stay a bit cloudy unless sat for a very long time. Lately I've been putting pectic enzyme early in and it helps separate the solids out and can make a extremely clear cider. Also, I love the taste of honey in the first fermentation. I'll add it with the yeast and others stuff at the beginning. It gives it a nice earthy flavor. But was told its technically not a cider anymore, but a cycer. Yummy

[@allannagar5026]

Zymergy is as much science as it is art. Taking a clean equipment add ingrdients and patiences and you cen get some amazing stuff for your efforts. Whether you are fermenting , berley, grapes, apples, honey or whatever. Sometimes it's trial and error.

[@duanemiller5606]

In the United States, the general terminology of apple cider, apple juice or hard cider is as follows. Apple cider is the cloudy hazy unfiltered juice straight out of the apple. It’s somewhat seasonal and generally kept refrigerated. Apple juice is filtered and pasteurized and is the clear stuff that is shelf stable until it’s opened. Hard cider is when you take either apple juice or apple cider and ferment it to make it an alcoholic beverage.

[@BretHall]

Yeah, people really need to look something up before putting their foot in their mouth. Too many terminally online people with more opinions than brains.

[@DanielMores]

@@BretHall just in case you think the USA is the center of the universe, there are other countries out there and a lot of viewers from these countries show up here. "Cider" is an alcoholic apple based beverage pretty much everywhere. Sort of like "football" is played with feet and a round ball all over the world except ... you know ... 🙂 Cheers mate! 🍻

[@bjornbark5145]

In Sweden it has to be fermented to legally be called "cider", even the non-alcoholic variant. Otherwise it's only juice or "saft" as we it's namned in Sweden 🇸🇪

[@bpmunroe]

Thank you. That last video drove me crazy with everyone saying it had to be alcoholic to be called cider. Love the fresh pressed cider from the apple orchards near me in the fall.

[@iambear.6526]

@@BretHall Self-awareness isn't your strong suit, eh?

[@markduggan3451]

I can't drink due to the medication I'm on, but that looked great. I used to home brew when I was younger.

[@TracksWithDax]

27:39 that was WAY TOO GOOD 😂😂😂

[@mattkent655]

Yup. Now I need to drag out my brewing stuff and make a batch of Xmas beer

[@harmenalkema5719]

Next video: a bar to put everything in, and a couple of matching barstools?

[@babyg6934]

Aaah dude! For a second there I thought you were gonna be nice to Craig. Couldn’t stop laughing 😂 Nice video, you know so much!

[@drerod8543]

While being incarcerated i was taught by one of my cell mates how to make “pruno.” The county jail where i was taught only provided oranges. In san quentin they gave apples, pears, and bananas. I was surprised at how easy it was myself haha and the end results are pretty good if done right!

[@M4st3r0fN0n3]

There is a finite amount of alcohol that the yeast can produce. If your goal is in the lower range, but you want a sweeter product, pasteurize the "must" after the initial fermentation. After its been pasteurized, add more sugar to bump up the sweetness gradually until you get to a point that you like. The yeast will be dead at this point so there is no chance of re-fermentation. Also, because it is a hard cider, it is considered a wine. Increasing the abv only makes it a stronger wine.

[@snowman2916]

When it comes to force carbonating your kegs: NEVER go above ~35 PSI. As Jason said when ready to serve, you can drop it down to ~10-18 PSI, but you'll notice that on the top of the keg there's a little ring that you can pull to release all of the pressure then let it build back up to 18 PSI. When you turn the pressure down from the tank, the additional 15-20 PSI inside the keg has to get out somehow.

[@CaMaMorro]

Wait! The apples were picked from the trees (elevated from the ground), went into the cart (still elevated), onto the ground (very much not elevated anymore) to get rinsed, to then be lifted back up to be thrown into the shredder. At 6’4 I’m certainly not the tallest dude but tall enough to avoid picking up stuff from the floor whenever possible. It’s a long way up. There’s a table right there, with enough space to put a tub of water on it (elevated). 🙈

[@gcarson19]

Yeah, and he put his head in a bucket of apples. Go figure...

[@donnyconnelly8588]

loved the ending!

[@bradm0429]

Cider is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. In the U.S. and Canada, varieties of alcoholic cider are often called hard cider to distinguish it from non-alcoholic apple cider or "sweet cider", also made from apples. The word cider is first mentioned in Middle English in biblical use as sicer / ciser "strong drink", "strong liquor"

[@russellzauner]

I wonder if I could use bananas or even sugar canes to give it enough food without feeding it refined sugar/concentrate.

[@steveo5946]

Yes, you can, but they both produce weird flavors. Concentrate tastes best

[@cdstackhouse]

If you like a tart, slightly sour cider, highly recommend checking out Sourvisiae yeast. Them acid additions will def not be necessary afterward 😂

[@heather_the_plant]

Instead of tossing the end bits from your carboy, you can cook a pork roast in it

[@caide]

I do it easier and more natural way. I just add the yeast and when bubbles are gone, I bottle it. One week in warm room, then to cold basement. I drink it in spring and summer. No sugars or sweetening, super good and easy.

[@jpalarchio]

Using "Better Bottles" instead of glass carboys are a lot lighter and more safe than lugging around a heavy glass jug that can get slippery. If someone is buying new gear, definitely would go with the Better Bottle over glass.

[@geoffpriestley7310]

My dad use to make beer and rhubarb wine . We had good crop one year so he made a still. its 60 years since he brewed the wine i still own the house I'm wondering if there's any wine bottles left under the floor

[@louisstrowger8807]

I had the BeARD brew beer years ago at an Oregon Brewfest and to be honest it was not bad. A bit of a Belgian flavor that was pretty good once you got past the whole beard yeast thing LOL.

[@kevins1463]

Tip from a home brewer, use sanitizer or cheap vodka in your airlock. That way in the event that it gets sucked into the carboy, you won't have to worry about something funky in the water getting in your cider.

[@dustinw.9044]

This^ some of that water can still be sucked up through the airlock by accident. The vodka will make sure bacteria is D-E-D.

[@SinHurr]

So glad I found David Harbour's KZbin channel.

[@kolezeppelin4872]

10:28 wort is the name for beer or a grain based wash. anything from fruit juice would be called a must but great video

[@carnright]

Next step Applejack by Freeze Distilling 😁 The Bourbon of apples 😜

[@GreenJimll]

I always just use the natural apple skin yeasts when making cider. Never had any complaints from the folk who drink it and the process is a lot less faff than this.

[@Consequator]

Could you heat the juice up to like 60-65C to kill the natural yeasts instead of using the potassium sorbate? Or would that affect the cider ?

[@1gun136]

I’ve heard if listen to “I’m a Cider Drinker” by the Wurzels whilst making cider it’ll taste better.

[@davewozere2k9]

If it doesn't taste of anything it's probably because you are using sweet eating apples. Try adding a few bitter/tart cooking apples. If you get the balance of tannin, acid and sugar right you won't need to add all that stuff at the end as it will just taste great on it's own.

[@justglueit]

Hey Jason, thanks for showing us how to make cider that was really cool. I noticed you got a chicken coop in the backyard and I never seen you do a video on building that did you make that that would be a cool build, bro?

[@wbtittle]

"long time"... I put it outside in cold weather and not directly in the freezer... It started turning within 24 hours.. .I was perfectly happy with it... Others didn't..

[@pnuttheclownh2254]

THANK THE LAND FOR YOUR for your YT videos.

[@lechatbotte.]

Next up on Bourbon moth, Jason builds a cider house lol

[@davehoffman515]

If you don't press your own, be sure to get non-pasteurized apple juice from an orchard. The juice from a store has inhibitors that will prevent yeast from doing its job effectively

[@Adrian1206-m3k]

Your videos cure depression. 😅

[@raymondjoseph7177]

I live 10 minutes from Lairds apple jack cider. Pretty old company in NJ. It's the oldest distillery in America. I lived here my entire life. They offer tours and i would love to go but always felt it would only justify my bad drinking habits. It's hard making that stuff.

[@jeffreycerasano6647]

I would rack it to a new fermenting container and get it off that layer of trub or dead yeast and protein off the bottom. You will get cleaner better tasting cider.