And so we brewed...

Months ago I posted about getting a brewing kit.   Mr Fox spent some hours researching brewing and decided upon making cider for the first project.  It was a simple recipe using store brought apple juice, yeast and I think a bit of sugar?

Bottles cleaned and sterilised.

The bottles and other equipment were all thoroughly cleaned and sterilised.  This seem to take a long time. Mr. Fox then mixed everything all in a great big stainless steel pot (which is ever so handy when I make laundry liquid!) and syphoned it into the glass demijohn.  It all looked like fun to me but the kitchen is so small I couldn't get involved in the action.

Brewing in progress

After about a week of fermenting in the spare room we decanted the cider into bottles and popped them in the fridge.  For a total of $12 we got 24 litres of cider.  It was mighty strong and barely palatable but with a bit of lemonade it can make for a cheap tiddly night.  Our Samoan neighbours have been loving a few bottles....apparently it tastes like one of their traditional brews back home!  They drink it straight.

My job was putting on the lids

We are going to try making beer next time.  I don't drink beer but I am looking forward to seeing the brewing process.  I can't wait to try cider again.  We think we brewed it too long and that may be why it is so dry.  Not enough sugar and a tad too much alcohol content.

The finished product