Cider bottling · 3:50am Jul 22nd, 2017
So I just finished bottling my homemade hard cider. Pictures here.
I let the English cider rest in the secondary way longer that I have in the past. I usually bottle after 2mo, somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Belgian farm house cider went in the secondary in early October. But I got in the habit of using the tap on the bucket to just pour myself a glass as I wanted it. I kinda enjoyed the ritual of walking out to the shed, so I didn't bottle it till there was only a little bit left. I have 2 1-leter bottles remaining of the Belgian.
Once the secondary was empty of the Belgian, I cleaned it out and moved the English into it. This time I only indulged my habit of pouring from the tap a bit before bottling. Right now I have 12 .5L bottles and 2 1L.
They both come out very nice, though I favor the English.
The Belgian took on the saison qualities that the yeast is famous for. Good cool to warm, it has a subtle nose of apples and hay. Dry but not overly tannin, and a bit leathery with fruit esters under it. The mouthfeel is thinner than I prefer, but the after taste is very pleasant and distinctly apple. It well deserves the name of farmhouse cider.
The English I've named Applebloom's Spring Cider. Crisp and bright, it's medium-dry cider that is best just a little cool. A strong nose of apples and honey. Tasting it, the honey and oranges are still present, but compliment the apples instead of overwhelm them. Ginger and cloves add a few notes to keep it interesting. A nice mouthfeel and well-rounded flavor makes its 10% abv a bit sneaky. I'm defiantly going to be making this again this year.
Speaking of this year. Maybe I should make a apple pear cider...
I would love to try it as well. I do have access to apple trees, but they didn't bloom this year. Hopefully the next time they do I can talk my family into trying to make our own cider instead of making applesauce and baking ingredients out of them.
Pardon me while I drool...
So bucking cool!!! I made kosher dill pickles today not as good as cider but doing home made stuff is cool!!!