Well I did it. I am brewing my first cider.
Which is a very simple easy recipe...
- 3 Gallons Raw cider straight from the orchard (no preservatives),
- 3 campden pills (let sit overnight)
- 1 lb lt brwn sugar, (mix w/qrt H2O, boil for 20 min)
- Mix
- pitch yeast (Cote Des Blancs Wine Yeast)
It's bubbling away and it does have an odor that beer does not emit. Kind of sulphur-ish, not super strong only noticable when you walk in the room but not particularly pleasant either. My init grav reading I believe was 1.060, At least I am on my way!
Yep, that smell is normal for the first few days. Good luck with your batch!
Will the smell disappear after some time? Would that be a sign for the cider being 'ready'?
The smell should be gone by day 4 or 5, typically. Judging the cider by smell is not going to be very accurate. You're better off taking a hydrometer reading, you will get more consistent results that way.
Thank you. Do you know which one I need or if those two are the same?
Oechsleweight/Hydrometer to measure sugar content in wine, scale from -20 to +120
or
The Oechsleweight is the winemakers most important instrument. With the help of it it is possible to obtain considerably safer results.
They're the same thing, only one of them comes with the flask. I would get that one, unless you already have a flask that size.
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