The Next Big Step: Bottling 

So we are the stage of bottling, I've been out to http://www.leylandhomebrew.com/index.htm & bought some blue bottle caps, £1 for 50 I think. I've already sourced a bottle capper (see picture above) locally when i bough a few cases of empty glass bottles. Available all over the Internet for around £15. 

Empty bottle can be bought cheaply if you source them from some one in the local area but be aware when you buy them on the Internet & included the P&P, the price can soon mount up. 

I got the bottle capper, 80 empty 1 pint bottles (which needed to be cleaned BTW) boxed for £40, but i was lucky as the person selling them was in the local area & were easily picked up on the way home from work. 

Additionally i grabbed a couple of essence bottles, to give my cider the aroma it deserves. At less then £1.50 they were a steal & came with free advice which is always vital to a beginner like myself. Apparently 1 bottle will provide enough from a 25 Litre / 40 pines of beer or cider & both will be more than enough for a very sweet / strong flavour. 

I'm going to try Apple & Raspberry cider & will be testing the quantities of each with a trial 1/2 pint before bottling. the volume I add for the half pint will be multiplied for the total volume required. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself, because this is tomorrows task. 
More updates to come.....keep in touch & like on my Facebook link or Google+, just so I know if all the updates are getting annoying yet, ha. 

So I set the Cider brewing on the 12th January & had a specific gravity of 30 on the 16th January.

Tonight it was time for sample number two. I sampled the fermenting tub with the plastic measuring cylinder or Trial Jar up to a level of around 700ml or 3/4 full & carefully added the hydrometer. 

The hydrometer reading was between 1.00 & 10.00 so very close but not ready yet.

Next I'll be filling the bottles, capping & conditioning for a week or more.

Introduction: 

I've wanted to brew my own cider for a long time but never got round to sourcing all the materials. So when I was finally motivated & decided to make some cider ..... I cheated. I bought a Cider-making Starter Kit from: http://www.biggerjugs.co.uk for £30.95, with almost all of the equipment ready to start brewing straight away!

The set contains the following:

instructions (Always great for a novice like myself)

25 litre Fermenting Bin with lid & opening for the airlock

Bubble airlock

Clear syphon tube with tap

Brewing Spoon

Hydrometer &  Plastic measuring cylinder

100g VWP Cleanser / Steriliser powder 

Cider concentrate kit

Cider yeast (to start the fermentation process)

1Kg Brewing sugar

What the kit is missing:

Bottles / Keg

Blank Bottle Caps

Bottle Capper / Lids

My personal plan is to use this set up as a stepping stone & practice. This summer i intend to source a mix of fresh apples, self picked if possible then Crush, Strain & use with a combination of other fruit to make a special cider brew of my very own.

For the time being though, I'm using the ingredient from the set. The instructions are really straight forward but in case your using your own kit here they are: 

http://www.biggerjugs.co.uk/pdf/100132.pdf

Apple Concentrate:

The starter kit allows a selection of one of the many concentrates available on the market. I selected 'Samson's' concentrate as it sounded like the kind of cider i like, strong tasting southern cider. 

The concentrate package contains:

Full instructions

Apple concentrate with malt extract 

Sachet of brewing yeast that makes approximately 40 Pints (23 Liters)

Tips: 

- Sterilise everything as you go.

- Source bottles, caps & clean before you start. 

- Try to keep the fermenting bin at a constant temperature as this will speed up the process, i used a heating belt or brewing belt, available for as little as £20. Cheaper on eBay from China but just not as reliable, plus they can taken weeks to arrive.

- Once cleaned, follow the instructions heating the concentrated apple juice, but try not to over do it as it will take away the taste of the apples. You're only trying to kill of any other bacteria still in the container, it has already been sterilised. 

Guide:

From there its as simple as adding the quantity of water & sugar required & keeping at a constant temperature. I keep the fermenter in the boiler room as it keeps it at a reasonable temperature compared to the rest of the house.

Note that 1kg of sugar makes an ABV of approximately 4.8%-5.0% & an addition of 0.5kg (1.5kg in total) makes a cider ABV of approximately 5.0%-6.8%. All tested with a hydrometer that is included in the kit.

'Everything you ever need to know about hydrometers & more'

Here's a picture of my hydrometer readings at the start of brewing:

A recording of 30, which means it has a long way to go before being alcoholic even in the slightest.

As of now its bubbling & brewing away & can take between 7-21days. 

Conclusion:

In my opinion the greatest advantage to the kit is that its self contained, quick, reliable & all reusable. I will keep you all updated on its progress & try to write up next the stages of its development.

A good video for a brewer starting out can be found below: