Cider

Procedure;

1. Take OG. If low, add brown sugar. If high add sanitized treated water. Add ~6 gallons of cider to sanitized bucket. Target around 1.050 to start. If your pH is higher than 3.6 you'll want to do ML fermentation in a barrel or something, or blend with a lower pH cider. Otherwise proceed if the pH is low enough. Adjust with acid blend.
   
2. Add 1 crushed campden tablet to cider and wait 12 hours.
   
3. Add 1/2 tsp per gallon of pectic enzyme and wait 12 hours.
   
4. Add yeast nutrient.
   
5. Pitch yeast (no starter, but as fresh as possible) Use Sauvignon Blanc yeast, or english dry cider yeast. Don't use ale yeast or belgian strains.
   
   Primary until activity subsides (7 to 10 days)
   Secondary until clear (1 month min, to 2 months)
   Transfer to serving keg, cold condition for a few more months
   
   Once secondary is complete, add potassium sorbate (prevent re-fermentation) if kegging, let it sit overnight.
   
   Gravity should be around 1.001 when complete.
   
   Cold crash for 24 hours.
   
   Keg. Burst carb at 30 psig for 2 days, then at 12 psig for 2 weeks.
   
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   1st brew -
   6 gallons of fresh cider from carter mountain orchards
   used 1 vial of white labs english dry cider yeast
   fermented at 66F for 2 weeks
   Secondary in glass carboy at 50F for 2 months
   Kegged and cold conditioned for 2 months
   Very dry, thought it was almost perfect, just took a long time
   
   2nd brew -
   Used 12 cans of wegmans concentrate apple juice
   1 packet of belle saison at 66F for 2-3 weeks
   Transferred right to keg, no secondary
   Don't like the belgian flavor notes here, took forever to mellow
   
   3rd -
   Used 5 gallons Wegmans Honeycrisp cider
   1 packet white labs english dry cider yeast
   ~65-70F for 2 weeks before secondary in keg
   Honeycrisp not a great cider apple, punchy and tart but kinda weird
   
   4th-
   Use QA23 yeast. Bought apple juice from Aldi. Will adjust with acid blend and tannin after bulk aging and prior to packaging.
   Unadjusted with acid and tannin, tasted awesome and very balanced. Apple thiols come through as well as wine character. Very dry though, it would benefit from a small amount of sweetness added post fermentation. Also because the apple juice was very acidic from the citric acid, there is a bite. Definitely try this exact approach with better quality apple cider from something in season.
   
   5th
   Copy batch 4 approach but use better cider.