I would like to start doing a batch of hard cider that I would like to carbonate most of the batch but I am trying to think about the process of all of this since I am putting all of this together from reading here and there online and through the forum. I am new to this whole process and only on my second batch of homebrew. First, is their any one good compiled source for brewing hard cider? On to where I am at…
I purchased 5 gallons of cider from a local cider mill. They say they do not use additives (nothing is on the label) or pasteurize. However, they kill bacteria through using UV lights…wouldn’t that be pasteurizing? Currently it is frozen and is defrosting. Is this cider OK?
After reading all of the yeast recommendations, I think I am going to go with Wyeast 4184. My luck NB is out, any other suggestions?
In an effort to stay local, I would like to add local dark honey. Two questions, how much is to much? I would like to carbonate so I don’t want to kill off the yeast if alcohol content gets to high. Can I carbonate using honey again?
The process itself, I am assuming that I bring the cider to room temp. Since I am using honey, I was going to warm (I am reading not past 170 degrees) one gallon up to disolve the honey and add it to the primary.
Last question for now. How long is typically the fermentation time for hard cider?
Thanks in advance for the help. I have already learned a lot from reading the Cider posts.
