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BadgerBrigade I live in Santa Cruz. I can see you across the bay on a clear day. Lets start a cidery.

If the finished product is too tart and lacks in sweetness perhaps try adding a MLF culture and let it do its work for a month or so. Then give it try. The MLF will sweeten it but also makes a more rounded mouth feel. Good luck all you drunk scientists!

I made some inadvertently over the Christmas vacation. I left 2 growlers of some home made cider in the snow to chill at the in-laws house and it snowed like crazy over night. The roof shed a bunch of snow and the growlers were buried. I forgot about them for a day and when I pulled one out...

I'll take more. i love cider history.

I've looked into it here and it is very cost prohibitive to get going. That being said go for it and check out your local laws. Try to get a job at a winery where you may be able use their space for your product.

Patience. I've had some fermentations take several days to start.

Potassium metabisulfite and campden tablets are both products which can be obtained in organic form. Check out 7 Bridges Brewing co-op in Santa Cruz. They are an all organic home brew supply.

Last year I mad a back of the cabinet cyser on a rainy night. It was made of about 7 lbs of dried persimmons and the water required to steep them, 8 oz of honey and a quarter gallon of honey crisp apple juice. I sliced up and cooked the dried persimmons in 2 gallons of water at 160 degrees F...

I scored a 2.5 gallon oak barrel and oaked a cider that I pressed last fall. I oaked it for about 2-3weeks and then put 2 gallons into glass bottles to mellow. The other half gallon I tasted immediately after oaking and it was borderline too oaky. I mixed the rest with another half gallon of...

Just dropped airlocks onto 2, 1 gallon jugs this evening that had tang to them. Even in the fridge...

The idea of racking to another vessel and adding more juice is good. Malo-lactic fermentation too. I usually add a teaspoon or 2 of malic acid or acid blend to a 5 gallon batch in combination with the tannin. It gives it a better mouthfeel without being too acidic. Good luck!

It could be a yeast film. I've seen some of my ciders manifest this in the past and I've kegged and bottled with no ill effects.

I've made some sulphury, funky, and just plain gross ciders in my day. However I don't ever toss anything. Play around with acid blends and tannins if you are so inclined. Age, age, age. I've had some of those nasty, funky ciders open up after being forgotten about for a few years. Good...

I believe that tannin additives are primarily made from grape stems. I have in the past used about a 1/2 tsp per 5 gallon to start with. I always put it in after primary and then let it age for a few more months.

I just want a Tabasco jug like that. Good luck with the cider!

I use a small portable dishwasher. I usually rinse out my bottles after they are poured and running them through the dishwasher has never led me astray. The water at my house is very hot and just a bit of dish soap seems to do the trick.

At your local brew shop they sell a couple of items that can help to fill out the flavor profile and improve the mouthfeel. Grape tannins and acid blend. They both serve to increase the acidity and additionally the tannins will give that tart, raspy tongue feel. They are inexpensive and...

It is going to need a long time to mellow out and taste good. A cider with that high of alcohol will taste, for the most part only like alcohol. You will need to add tannin and acid blend and maybe a MLF starter for everything to properly blend. Maybe a year or so.

I've done pure Granny Smith before and it was way too tart to drink for a little over a year. It underwent a malo lactic ferment in bulk storage and it was a bit more palatable. I ended up eventually blending it with some cider that lacked the body I was seeking. Good luck!

I have a couple of bottled ciders and one keg that are approaching 2.5 years old. They tasted horrible for the first year and half and then it was almost like their flavors integrated. If there are more tannins and a lower pH they will last longer. Your can purchase acid blends and grape...