Cider Update

Hey everyone! So, I managed about a week ago to transfer and re-rack my cider. My buddy Matt came over with an extra brew bucket, and after sanitizing we syphoned the cider out of Carboy #1 and into the brew bucket. The amount of yeast sediment on the bottom of the Carboy was astounding, and... a little gross but a good sign.

After the syphon did its job there was a small amount of cider at the bottom, I didn't want to tip the Carboy to syphon the last bit out because I wasn't keen on the idea of sucking up any of that yeast sediment. So, I tipped it and syphoned it into a glass for a first taste of what's to come. It was light in color, tangy with a yeasty quality but the apple flavor was there and there was no off flavors. GOOD NEWS!

After I cleaned out the Carboy and sanitized it it was time to move the cider back into the carboy. The transfer was complete and the airlock and plug were placed, I covered the carboy in a towel and moved it into my closet. Now it's a mere two-three more weeks until it's time to bottle. Hopefully I'll take some pictures then, we needed all 4 hands to do the syphoning so there were no photo ops.

Keeping Track of Time By Bubbles!

So, although I don't have any new pictures, I do have news to report. The bubbles caused by the fermentation seems to have hit its stride, she's bubbling constantly at a six second pace, "Blurp!" One. Two. Three. Four. Five. "Blurp!" On the six second mark, Your could set your watch by it!

The cider is also beginning to settle out, much of the heavy particles are settling to the bottom of the tank and the top inch is a distinctively lighter color. It's kinda parfait looking. I'll try to get a picture of it, although I'm not sure if it'll be easy to distinguish through the photo. It's only been what? A few days and I'm already obsessed with bubbles (although that could be a result of my rather slow nature) and I'm already counting down the days until bottling. It's gonna be a slow couple months.

It's Alive

I returned home after work yesterday, went over to my cider and gave it a little once over. It seemed that nothing had changed and it seemed to be dormant. But, as they say, "A watched carboy never bubbles." So as soon as I turned I heard a "blurp!" I spun but not quickly enough to catch the action, so I waited, and some time later, "bulrp!" a pocket of air pushed past the water in the air-lock and burst forth with fermenting jubilance!

I tried not to let this small triumph go to my head, and I proceeded with my evening fully aware that if I were to listen for the tell tale sign I would surely drive myself insane! So as I turned my attentions to other events, like the Yankees loosing! YEAH! The evening quickly wasted away and it was time for bed.

It was there that I began to lay awake unable to sleep that I began to notice the "blurp!" in the still of the night amongst the breathing of my chubby Elkhound sleeping on the couch. I tried not to listen to it again fearing for my sanity when I noticed the noise much more frequently than before, the fermentation was really beginning to happen, "It's Alive!" I muttered in a Gene Wilder voice and slowly drifted off to sleep counting the "blurps!" in my head. So although it will be sometime before I'm singing "Puttin' On The Ritz" with my jug of cider, I was resting easily with the knowledge that I was creating something.

More to come soon, pictures of the Cider as the sediment begins to fall and the cider's future becomes clear!

Ferment Me Baby!!!

So, I picked up my cider yesterday and oh how pretty she is! Rich delicious cider calling out, "Ferment Me Baby! Please Ferment Me!" to which I replied, "You Know I Will!" So this morning after bringing the cider up to room temp over night I mixed up a yeast starter and blended it into the cider inside the Carboy named EBISU!


Here's another pic of the Carboy, these aren't the best pics, I'll try to get a few good shots in some natural light later today. If it isn't dark by the time I get home. I clipped out the background so you can't see how messy my apartment is! HA! Marvel at the Cidery Goodness!!! So I know you're all excited to taste it, but alas, it'll be near Christmas when I bottle it! So those of you lucky enough to taste it are going to have to be very patient! The Fox Hollow Cider Experiment has begun!!!

My New Ventures

As this blog was actually set up not just for the boat, (which I fully intend on completing at some point and time) I'm here to tell you all (whom can still be found here) about the newest project I'm up to.

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.

Hank Aaron Signature Mitt completed!

I have recently finished my second complete baseball mitt. You've seen the before pictures, the tan lace had begun to dry-rot from the years and I have replaced every bit with new matching red leather lace. I had the lace custom cut by a local tanner and this thing is gonna be a great glove. Here are some new pictures.


As you can probably see, the custom cut leather is a lot "thicker" than the original lace, which made it hard for me to keep flat. But, I'm confident that when I order me new lace for future projects I'll make more progress. This lace is very strong, so the glove needs to be worked in with some hard line drives and throws. It's a sweet glove, and is for sale, as well as my Bobby Bonds signature that I finished a couple weeks back.

Furthermore, if there is anyone out there who's reading that either has a project glove that they have no need for I'm looking for my next project glove (softball or baseball). Or if you have a glove that needs repair, my services are available. I'll post the Bobby Bonds mitt later this week. Although I don't think I have any "before" pictures, but I bought it for .99 so you can imagine it needed a lot of help!

Time For An Update

Well, it's certainly been awhile since I've written anything here so I think it's time that I update you all, if anyone is still checking up on the status of my canoe. I am at the moment at still trying to build up enough money to re-start work on the boat. I'm hoping to pick up some part-time work to help with the costs of the boat and I hope to resume work as soon as Mid-November. I also hope to post some of my other projects/small ventures here soon.

For instance I have begun re-lacing baseball mitts and have recently completed my first glove start to finish and have a 1960's - 70's Hank Aaron model that I'm in the process of fixing as well. I'll post some pictures soon. But for now here are some "Before Pics" of the MacGregor Hank Aaron Model.




Pretty sweet right? I've finished the pocket and the finger lacing and now I'm working on the inside lacing on the heal of the mitt. This is no easy task, so I'm taking my time. Check back on Saturday or Sunday, maybe I'll finish it this weekend. The new lace is custom cut, dark red. It's the tits!