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Notes/brewing.md

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+# BREWING NOTES
+
+## Cider
+
+01OCT2023 - batch 1 primary fermentation 
+	Had strong fermentation at beginning but died down in a week.
+
+14OCT2023 - batch 1 racked
+	Pretty boring flavor.
+	Re-pitched yeast. (No hydrometer reading to go off of - just guessing that it's dead. In hindsight, I don't think it was.)
+	- Gallons 1&2: Plain
+	- Gallon 3: added 1 tblsp honey and some ginger
+
+09NOV2023 - batch 1 bottled
+	- Wow! Strong! Hydrometer down to 0%. Smelled very yeasty. Tasting directly, it's kinda gross, but backsweetening turns the whole thing around.
+	- Bottled with potassium sorbate (@ 1/2 tsp/gal) as a yeast-killer/preservative.
+	- From gallons 1&2: 
+		- 2 gallons + 1 liter with 1 gallon of cider, boiled to a concentrate
+			This is lovely. Nothing exquisite but lovely.
+	- From gallon 3 (ginger and honey added in racking):
+		- 1/2 gallon with 1/4 an orange + 1/4c sugar
+			This is kinda too sweet - a little 'fake'. The orange is doing a lot!
+		- 1/2 gallon with 1/4 an orange + 1/8c honey
+			This is a great balance and the honey adds a better flavor. The orange is doing a lot!
+
+14OCT2023 - batch 2 primary fermentation
+	Had strong fermentation at beginning but died down in a week.
+
+09NOV2023 - batch 2 racked
+	Strong! Hydrometer down to 0%...
+	- 1 gallon racked with 1/4 cup dried elderberries
+	- 1 gallon racked with 1/4 cup chopped ginger
+	- 1 gallon racked with 3 teabags (adds tannins???)
+	I'm a little worried that it's over-fermented already. Fermentation seems to be going too quickly?
+		No it's not, it's been almost 4 weeks. Oops. 
+
+15NOV2023 - Batch 3 pressed
+	- hydrometer reading 5% ABV potential
+	- there's a good bit of pulp on the top. Pressing didn't go fun.
+	- tastes. eh. "flat" - not crisp and sharp.
+	- put in 3.5 campden tablets
+	- put in 1.75 tsp pectinase
+
+
+# 2023 Cider Pressing
+Thoughts for next year:
+- Find the right cheesecloth. Needs to be strong but allow stuff through. The tea towel actually ended up working pretty well, but it wasn't quite big enough to do amazingly.
+- Get a metal bin that can withstand the pressure and isn't tapered. Or make a slotted barrel thing.
+- Drill lots of holes in the bin - and drill them on a spiral, so there's no dead level.
+- If the 'puck' had a handle on it that would be stellar. Make sure the puck is plenty strong.
+## Ideas to try
+- Potassium Sorbate kills off yeast (campden does not)
+- Add concentrated apple cider (1 gallon raw cider -> boil -> put into 4 gallons brewed)
+
+# BREWING
+BREW BREW BREW CHOO CHOO CHEW