I recently made cider from my apple trees and hand pressed them and all and I am having trouble figuring everything out.
So far I have made the hard cider two different ways my first time, to test both and eliminate waiting for them to ferment.
I am using cider yeast for both of these.
I used for my first batch:
- 1 liter cider
- 3 tbs honey
- Enough yeast for 1 gallon ( due to having no way to measure it accurately)
It's been sitting for 7 days not with little bubbles still filling my balloon.
I got a carboy but my container doesn't fit it well.
The second batch is:
- 1 gallon cider
- 1 packet of yeast ( good for a gallon)
It has been sitting for about 4 days and is very bloated the bottle ( being that it's plastic and the other ones glass).
This one doesn't have any balloon on it just a cap sealing it.
When will I know if they're done?
How do I bottle them correctly with still allowing them to have some carbonation?
If I pasteurize them will that kill the possibility of having it carbonated when I bottle it?
If anyone know the answers to these please feel free to be as detailed in your answer as possible because YouTube videos and reading online always leaves grey areas.
Thanks a lot