cider

[nathanjw]

Today I finally processed and bottled the cider I've been fermenting since Cider Days 2006. It's a mixture of 50% Northern Spy and 50% Jonathan, and it's been quietly aging in the basement since November. The final gravity was 0.996, which I'm not used to from my beer work - totally dry. I bottled two gallons of it, using some fresh apple juice to sweeten it for possible carbonation. The remaining four gallons were kegged, also with fresh apple juice, but more for sweetness than for carbonation - the tank pressure will take care of that. The cider from the keg will be drinkable in a couple of weeks; the bottles should be good in a couple of months.

Next year, I need to remember to get a couple of extra gallons of cider to sulfite and store for priming and sweetening (can you call it krausening if it's not beer?).