brewing cider, part II

Earlier this month, I mentioned that the boy has taken on a homebrewing project of making cider. Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out the science of the art (or the art of the science?), but I’ve been promised that more brewing is to come in the fall. A larger apartment awaits us when we return to Montreal in September (yes, I’ve finished my finals for the semester!), so I’m hoping we’ll manage to vent the system for beer (which will give off fumes more potent than those innocuous ones from the cider).

The cider bubbled incessantly for the first two days or so, and was quick to clarify – you can see the progression of quick change between days two and five:

 

This is what the cider basically looked the next day when the boy syphoned it using a rather ad hoc set up. I quickly learned the beauty of bleach and tubing (kept straight by attaching to a large chopstick). And realised yet another use for mason jars. 

The stuff still tasted acrid and sharp, but is exponentially mellowing. Now, we wait. It’ll be worth it (hopefully) if we just forget about the bottles for a few months before ‘rediscovering’ the brew.

homebrewing cider

For four days now, I have been bombarded with fermentation-related jargon. 

With it being the season of final exams and all, my scholastic apathy was forced, 180, into sudden studiousness, so unfortunately, I’ve been unable to digest too much of the boy’s babble. I did, however, happily capture photos of his new one gallon carboy, currently housing his first batch of cider. Stay tuned for updates, and the how-to’s of it all.

Anyone else find the airlock mechanism phallic?

 

Look at the yeasties go!

 

Staring at his new pet: