Hard Cider. Yep, that's right I'm making my own Hooch! I'm a huge Beer Nut and have always enjoyed the fruits of my own labor, so what better way than make my own beer right? Well, I will. But, in the mean time with some suggestion from my pal Mike, I've taken a slightly lazier approach. The approach of what I am speaking is of course the aforementioned Hard Cider.
So let's start from the beginning. I was down at my favorite local brewery ITHACA BEER tasting some of their delectable brews and looking at the home brewing equipment for sale and chatting with my pal Mike about home brews and the joy of drinking something you've made, and while this only wet my appetite for brewing I knew that my bank balance wasn't as into the idea as I was. It was at this moment where Mike informed me of his intention to go the "lazy" route, making hard cider. Un-pasteurized cider is full of Wild Yeasts and bacteria that will basically do the whole thing for you, and if you're really feeling energetic, you can add your own yeast, such as a champagne yeast and some extra sugars and really go balls out.
So, after thinking about it a couple days I decided that Hard Cider would be my fall project, so after buying a new 3 Gallon glass carboy, and air-lock, a packet of champagne yeast and some organic raisins (for extra sugars and yeast nutrient) I was in business. We dropped off our carboys at Little Tree Orchards, run by a delightful Jerry Garcia looking guy who informed us that they'd be juicing soon and that we could return in a few days to collect our carboys full of fresh un-touched apple cider.
After I pick up my carboy (tomorrow) I'll start the fermenting process, where the carboy will sit for approx. 1 and 1/2 to 2 full months letting the sediment drop to the bottom and the yeast to do its thing. Then I'll be bottling it into 22oz champagne style bottles where it will continue to age for 3-6 months. I'll be adding pictures and updates as I go, look for the first images early next week, for now, I'll leave you with my label design for Fox Hollow Hard Cider.
