Harvest Moon Hard Cider 2009!

In previous posts I have mentioned our harvesting of organic apples from the one producing tree we have here plus the forgotten Orchard out at the 1 Acre Homestead. We chopped & pressed so many apples in the hopes of Homemade hard cider. I am a true fan of Hard Cider.

The Apples picked during the Harvest moon of 2009 has finally come to a stage of bottling. It sat in the cold basement from the day it was placed into the jug fermenter until recently when I decided it was time. As I bent down to grab this particular jug, I noticed all the dust on the bottle and thought how I should have done this sooner. Then a country song popped in my head which made me laugh aloud. Think dust. Wine bottle. Gets sweeter with time...

Just in case you still have no clue as to what I am rambling about, here is the song to which sprang in my mind- rather fitting really... :



So I lugged the dusty jug upstairs to my laboratory, a.k.a Kitchen, where the sterilized bottles waited and the double boiler was set for the wax melting.(I dip the cork ends into the wax so if the cork should start to dislodge, the wax seal will show cracking and let me know if I need to release any late fermenting air before it is too late).

My laboratory does not house professional tools or gadgets. I do not find any justification in spending money on items which will be rarely used and only cost so much due to the popularity of home brewing. Not to mention I never paid much attention in chemistry.

Removing the air lock was not as easy as it would be for others. I had medical tape and saran wrap securing it in place. I do not have corks to fit my recycled jugs, so I improvised and left the airlock on until this stage. (my airlocks cost less then a dollar a piece so I grab 'em when i think of it and have enough to simply leave on the jugs while in use).

I use a funnel and fine mesh cloth for the straining and pouring. Yep. Not professional and I am sure many of those who may be a Connoisseur of this subject are clucking away. but I rarely follow the "rules" since I prefer to do it the old school method. Before corner wine making stores or the Internet were available.

The smell... I could pick up the apple cider smell with a sure fire alcohol following. Very pleasant. Not like some of the apple wines I have made in the past.

Now as to taste, I have yet to indulge in a glass. Hopefully the scent is not misleading. I am waiting for the bottom sediment to settle before I do any tasting. I had enough in 1 jug to fill 1 large wine bottle, 3 medium/ large wine bottles and 1 grolsch bottle. Leaving 2 inches of liquid and sediment for me to taste (after a filtering) while the kids are visiting relatives the evening before Santa day. I look forward to sitting on the love seat we have by the wood burner, indulging in a few taste tests with hopefully my neighbor and friend Jeannie. She helped picked the apples and grapes for our wine/cider , so she must share in the tasting. Reap some fruits of her labor in a girl night hanging in my basement... Gosh. 10 years ago I would have laughed at someone who actually looked forward to something like that.

Anyway, I made up a label to go on the bottles of Hard Cider. I am gifting one to my good friends Chris & Lisa over at the 1 Acre homestead. I have no color ink and in fear of not making an improvement to it's look, I refrained from water colors or the such. I did use Medium tooth paper used for drawing with charcoal and pencils. The thicker paper with its natural fiber feel makes for great "ripped edge" organic look for a label. The heavy weight adds overall a touch of class to it's appearance.

O.k....The truth? I ran out of copy paper and "swiped" a sheet from Panda's drawing tablet. I had no other choice but to use that paper plus it really does make for a nice label which I plan to use from now on. Made for a great discovery.

Besides adorning with a personal label, I dip the cork ends into wax multiple times (as you will see in the following picture). This is to add a more visually secure seal plus old world charm to the bottle. I take a candle end and rub it all over the label front to add liquid resistance and a touch of shine before gluing it in place on the bottle. A scroll filigree style stamp mixed with a black/green ink for a touch of color finished it off.

It's all about what is inside anyway.

So now I must tend to the other jugs from the cold basement, awaiting my presence and attention. So far, 1 small jar which contained left over liquid from another jug, has transformed into Grape vinegar. I have a small raised grape motif glass bottle which will house it and go to some other friends along with some home made herb blends and my Italian bread for the holidays. Hopefully only the jars I intended to be vinegar have not spread their behavior to any other jugs placed a good distance apart- of what better be drinkable grape wine.

I better buy a new drawing tablet. Should have about 10 bottles to label after filtering. Panda has very little paper left in her tablet for me to swipe...I mean use, so a new must be acquired.

We have another giveaway coming this week with 3 items as one big Prize!

Enjoy the Holidays!

Sweet dreams,

~Tammie