aerate and pitch the yeast.

Q)How do you aerate the cider ?
A) The easiest and cheapest way to aerate is to dump the cider between two buckets a few times

Q)and what do you mean pitch the yeast?
A) Pitching yeast is just another way to say add the yeast

Q) ALso, what should the hydrometer read to be ready?
A) I like to shoot between 1.065 and 1.070

Q)What is the alcohol content of the hard cider?
A) If you start with 1.065 and end at 1.000 you will have around 8.5%

Aeration is really only important to replace oxygen in the wash, to replace oxygen driven off by boiling or heating. The yeast needs the oxygen to build new cell walls in the yeast’s reproduction/growing phase. I don’t know how you produce your cider, but my process is entirely cold, so no oxygen is lost due to heat. Not only that, but the crushing, draining (from pressing) and pouring into jugs or carboys, aerates the cider some also. For me, at least, I don’t additionally aerate my cider.

“Pitching” yeast is just the introduction of yeast to your fermentable liquid.

Because apple juice typically ferments to between 5 and 8% Alcohol By Volume (%ABV), you’ll get less alcohol in the distillate than some of the higher %ABV washes, like grape wine, for instance, or a sugar wash. If you mix a gallon of, say 7% hard cider with a 5th of maybe 40% Calvados, you’ll have a total (in fluid ounces) of (26)(.4) + (128)(.07) = 10.4 + 8.96 = 19.36 ounces of ethanol.

As a strictly ballpark estimate, if you distill that mixture to a final head temperature of 98 or 99C (208 or 210F) you will, for all practical purposes have all that ~19 ounces of ethanol in your collected distillate. Again very roughly, if you mixed all of your distillate together (which I don’t recommend – this is for calculations’s sake), that total distillate would be about 50% ethanol, so your total output would be twice that 19 ounces, or 38 ounces of total distillate.

For yet again a great handwaving approximation, perhaps 3/5 of that total you will save as hearts, that spirit which tastes good to you, and 3/5 of 38 is about 23 fluid ounces, not quite a pint and a half. You will probably have to add a bit of water to that amount, to get the drinking strength you want, so that pint-and-a-half will grow a bit. Depending on lots of things, your actual results will vary from that, but the upside is that homemade Calvados is delicious!

Good luck!

Zymurgy Bob

Zymurgy Bob-

is this your book?

Hi Richard,

Yes, that’s my book. It’s mostly aimed at beginning potstillers.

I usually ferment in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid an airlock-

You can use the white food grade buckets and lids from homedepot (they are cheaper and work great for smaller batches)

link to airlock-

The only way to know for sure if it is some fermenting is to take a hydromter reading- if you don’t have one I’d let it go the full two weeks to be safe.

The life cycle of yeast can be considered to have 4 major phases, each phase with its own requirements and products.

First, for dry yeast, there is the hydration stage. In the presence of water , the dried yeast cells reconstitute, and are helped greatly by “hydration nutrients” at this point.

Second is the multiplication or growth stage. This is when the yeast cells multiply by budding, increasing their numbers by a large factor. At this point, the yeast metabolizes sugars to water (no ethanol) and carbon dioxide. During this phase oxygen is vital, and required to make the lipids for new cell walls. Normal yeast nutrients are also necessary at this point.

The third stage is our favorite. After stage 2 has consumed all the oxygen (aerobically), the yeast kicks into its oxygen-less (anaerobic) stage, where it now metabolizes sugars into carbon dioxide and ethanol. It still needs yeast nutrients in this stage.

Fourth stage is where the yeast has eaten all the sugar, and just quits, clumping together (flocculation) and settles to the bottom of your fermenter, ready to be revived for another fermentation.

To sum it up, oxygen is necessary at first, and then its absence is necessary so we can get ethanol. You can leave your fermenter open, if you figure you’re safe from wild infections, and can determine whether your ferment is finished by taste or specific gravity, but an airlock keeps you safe from infection and tells you (by bubble frequency) where your fermentation is in the process.

Anything that I bottle to keep for a while, I figure needs to be free of infections so I airlock and disinfect, but for distillation, I’ll often just throw a towel over the fermenter to keep fruit flies and cats out. Once the still’s fired up, everything‘s sterile.

Deanas,
What yeast did you use?

1.000 usually means that fermentation is finished- but some yeast will keep going below 1.000.

Do you know what your starting gravity reading was?

I’d probably let it go for another day or so- take another reading and if it does not go below 1.000 I’d then put on the lid and let the yeast settle to the bottom.

Right on-

Sounds like a winner!

keep us posted

It sounds like you did a fine job, but now you’ve got the hobby distillers dilemma. You want to age it to perfection, but you have to taste it to know how it’s coming. By the time it’s perfect, it’s gone.

I wouldn’t remove the oak cubes until you see the color you want, and then I’d make sure the calvados gets some oxygen once in a while. If your container has some air space, just open the container to get some new oxygen-rich air, the close it again, and shake the hell out of it. For larger containers, I use a stainless airstone and O2 to oxygenate it. After oxygenation, it’ll mellow some in the next month or two.

Deanas, I can’t find a PM function on this forum, so could you email me at [email protected]?

aerate you just shake it. Don’t do that. That is good yes but if you want to do it like a professional (ex shiner) simply add 1 drop of olive oil per 5 gallons. To get 1 drop dip a tooth pick in the oil and let it drip. 1 drop acts like o2 to the yeast. If you get a few extra drops it wont hurt it but wont help so 1 drop per 5 gal.