The cider is brewing

[fabindia]

Mrs Fab was away with the girls at the weekend, so I took the opportunity to juice my apples ready for cider making. It is a messy job, very messy, which is why best to do it while Mrs Fab was away and I had the time not only to juice the apples but then to spend a couple of hours cleaning the kitchen up afterwards

With the apples juiced, I then kill off any natural yeasts and bacteria using campden tablets. Then after leaving for 36 hours for the campden tablets (sodium metabisulphate) to evaporate off, I then add a specialist cider yeast.

So, now I have 28 litres of apple juice bubbling away on its way to turning into cider. I took an initial SG, by taking it again when the fermentation has stopped, I should be able to roughly calculate the alcohol content.

The downside, it won't be ready for drinking till next spring. Maybe I'll open the first bottle when the apples trees are in blossom; symbolic of the cycle of the seasons