All bottled up.

I just finished bottling the last of the cider. I ended up with a case of long-necks with an A.C. of around 8.4 %. After adding the priming sugar and transferring the cider to a nice clean bucket with a spigot, the bottling went off without a hitch. A new round of tasting revealed that the cider tasted a mite sweeter than the last sampling. I attribute that to the lack of sediment, fermentation slowing down, and the spent yeast. It tastes pretty damn good. It is still not as good as I would like it to be, but that just means I will have to continue to pursue perfection, one new batch at a time. I have the bottles back in my 'vertical basement' so the cider can go through its fermentation for carbonation nice and slow. I plan on popping the first top on Christmas day.

My plans for the next batch include fresh juice from a home built press and the addition of raisins to the must during primary fermentation. I bought several packets of the Cote des Blancs yeast so I will continue to use that until I run out.

Once I finish getting the plans for the cider press fleshed out and I start the construction stage, I will let you know how it is going and add some pictures showing my progress.

I am happy with my first venture into the home brew arena and I will continue to write about it. Talk to ya soon.