so i want to just do a once off brewing attempt at making some cider ideally say 5-10 liters and im looking for the cheapest vessel to brew in be it bucket or glass and wondering if anyone knows of a good spot to pick up such vessels and possibly other items like vapour locks and yeast obviously for minimal spend
thanks
What about those plastic brew kits you buy from bigW (coopers)
I make cider once or twice a year. It is the easiest thing in the world to do, and you don't need any special gear.
It comes out very dry as the brew process uses up all the sugars. If you like dry cider, it is good, if you like Reckorderlig, it is dramatically less sweet.
I use the apple and pear juice mix. The pear juice adds a bit of sweetness that pure apple lacks.
I buy three or four 2.4l bottles of Berri or whatever is on special. I take the lids off, add a half teaspoon of brewers yeast to each bottle, then cover loosely with glad wrap. As the cider brews, CO2 will be released. If you tightly seal the bottle, it may explode from the pressure - very messy. You could leave it uncovered, but you don't want dust or bugs getting it.
After a day or so you will see slight fizziness frothing at the top of the juice and it will start to look cloudy. This is good, it means the brewing is underway. This will continue until the sugars are all converted to alcohol. It takes about a week, but there is no reason not to leave it for 2 to make sure it is all done.
You now have flat alcoholic cider.
If you have some empty crown seal bottles and a capper, you can pour it in, add a teaspoon of sugar, seal it and 2 weeks later you will have beautiful sparkling cider. Since you are doing it once off, I suggest collecting some empty PET softdrink bottles and using them. Add about 2 teaspoons of sugar per 1.5L coke bottle. Seal them tight and leave them for 2 weeks. This last part gives a tiny bit of extra sugar that the yeast turns into alcohol and CO2. Because it is now in a sealed container, the CO2 is retained, until it fizzes out when you open it.
Enjoy your cider!
If you want to make a sweeter cider you will need to add non-fermentable sugars. The home brew people on the web suggest lactose powders amongst other things. I haven't tried, as I make it so infrequently. Oh, and if you know a home brewer, they might have some brewers yeast lying around they would give you. I know I seem to accumulate it as I get a little packet with every can of malt and usually use a different particular yeast. Otherwise, your local home brew shop will sell yeast on its own for a few dollars. Tell them you are making cider, but don't let them sell you any equipment! If you want to be really tight (hey, it is ozbargain!) and you have a bottle conditioned beer on hand with some cloudy sediment in the bottom, you could grow that yeast by adding a spoon of sugar and half a cup of water to a nearly empty beer bottle and leaving it loosely covered on the bench for a few days. The sediment (which is yeast) will multiply and make the liquid cloudy. Use a teaspoon of this for each juice bottle.
What juices have you used, and how do they turn out? Keen to hear.
I generally use generic brand apple juice or apple & blackcurrant. I've tried apple & mango too.
They all worked well; Apple & Blackcurrant is my favourite - I keep going back to it. You can make it as sweet or as dry as you like by choosing how long you let it ferment for - though if you leave it sweet it won't be very alcoholic.
They suggest avoiding juice with preservatives or with a significant amount of citrus as it doesn't play well with the yeast.
You have to be careful when pouring to leave the yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle. If it gets stirred up they can taste a bit yeasty.
Sorry for the lateness of the reply.
Cheers for the info! :)
Get a food grade container from Bunnings and cover the top with gladwrap, held on with a rubber band. That's pretty good advice from mskeggs though.
Cheapo Homebrand Napisan is what I use for sanitation, just rinse really well in water.
thanks for the info especially mskeggs
For the family home brew? maybe Bunning's or Masters.