Once you ’ve brew and fermented a one gallon batch of heavy cider , Margaret Mead , or other homebrew , it ’s time to bottle it ! This is my simple method for how to bottle heavy cider or mead .
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How to Bottle Hard Cider or Mead
Before bottling laborious cyder , you need to brew up a heap ! This same method acting works for bottle a Imperial gallon of mead as well .
See my Emily Post onHow to Make Hard CiderorHow to Make a Gallon of Meadto get you started .
After the zymolysis of your cider has completely subside , and the babble in the air lock and jugful has totally stopped , it ’s clock time to take the severe cider off of the sediment that has formed in the bottom of the jug .
I often get ask if the brew can just be put through a strainer or coffee filter , and the solvent is no . The sediment is too hunky-dory and will go powerful through the finest mesh strainer . It ’s also very sludgy , so will clog up a coffee filter in no time .
I ’ve tried all different methods of absent the sediment from the brew , and the truth is that getting a few pieces of dewy-eyed bottle equipment makes thing so much easier .
Hard Cider Bottling Equipment
The main bottling equipment you will need is amini auto syphon with tubingand abottling verge .
These items make bottle really easy , so I highly recommend getting them .
The next thing you need are bottle of class !
The best bottleful to practice in my judgment are I that havebuilt in flip top lids(grolsch style ) . They are the bare to cap , and can be reused over and over .
Sometimes the gasket on the caps need to be replaced , but they are very inexpensive .
One gallon of hard cider or mead will fill approximately eight 16 oz bottle .
Sanitize the Bottles & Equipment
You should already havesanitizerfrom when you brew .
I always sanitize more bottles than I think I will want , as it ’s a bummer to be correct in the middle of bottling and not have enough quick .
You will also demand to hygienize all of bottling equipment .
Bottle the Hard Cider
This really is a two person job , so snaffle a supporter !
Once everything is sanitise and ironical , bind one end of the tube to the machine siphon and the other end to the bottle wand .
Put the jugful of cider or mead onto a buffet or table and one somebody will put the auto siphon into the jug without touching the sediment on the bottom .
Put all of the bottles on a towel on the floor below the Imperial gallon jug . Gravity is your supporter while bottling .
This is the basic set up that you need .
The second person does the bottling .
Put the bottle verge into one of the bottles , all the way to the bottom , pushing down to create flow .
The first person pumps the machine siphon off a few time , and the cyder should start moving through the thermionic tube and into the bottle .
When the cyder amaze almost to the top of the bottle , an column inch or so from the top , draw the bottle wand up and the menstruum will immediately stop .
There should be an inch or so of question quad at the top of the bottle , which is what you want .
Move on to the next bottle and once again press the bottling wand into the bottom of the feeding bottle until it ’s full .
Keep filling each bottleful until you ’ve gone through all of the hard cyder in the jugful , stop when all that ’s leave is sediment . Cap the nursing bottle with the flip top hat .
That sediment is the main reason why bottling is necessary . You technically do n’t have to bottle , you could drink mighty out of the fermenting jugful if you ’d like ( not recommended ) , but that deposit can be a piddling much . It also can touch the flavor of the ruined cider .
The sediment wo n’t hurt you , by the way , and is actually full of bacillus vitamins . So do n’t interest if a small bit gets into your bottles . It also makes great compost , so that ’s where I put it !
Aging & Drinking the Hard Cider
Once you bottle the savor of the cider continue to evolve into something even more wonderful .
Hard cider does n’t need to be aged for very long , but a few mean solar day to a month really amend the relish and takes aside much of the harshness .
( Meadis much better after several month of aging , however ) .
I have to admit , I enjoy the smell and will often drink it mighty away .
But that ’s just me .
This is n’t fine wine-coloured , however , and you do n’t want to wait long for cider . Who has the sentence ( and patience ) for that anyways ?
I say drink up ( with a cinnamon stick on the side , of course ) !
This surd apple cider is also very tasty ( and festive ) when you make it intomulled intemperate cider ! It ’s a outstanding path to warm up on a parky nightfall or wintertime daylight .
Or tryhard apple cider jelly , which is amazing on a decline appetizer platter with goat cheese .
quick to commence your next brewing project?Here are some more tasty home brewage to try !
How to Bottle Hard Cider (or Mead)
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
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