I made wine!

[CheerfulHeart]

OK, it's hard cider. I just finished bottling my first batch and it actually tastes good! Success is invigorating! I used the recipe for Pappy's Pub Cider at homebrewtalk.com because it is very simple and it seemed a good place to start. Warmer weather has come to the Sierra Nevadas so Dragon Blood and Skeeter Pee are next on my list. I'm trying to not go overboard but the possibilities are overwhelming, in a positive way.

 

[Angelina]

Congrats!

 

[Boatboy24]

Ah, you are experiencing the 'thrill'. Welcome to the addiction.

 

[montanaWineGuy]

It takes a good amount of time to get to tasting your creation. Some initial success is important. Several times in my initial efforts, I thought I was fermenting a disaster. Now that it has worked out, I'm very excited to ramp up the production and try new things. Creativity, it's the next frontier.

 

[seth8530]

I always wanted to call fermentation more of the "itch" than anything else lol.

Welcome to the club, though!

 

[BernardSmith]

One of the nice things about hard cider (as opposed to apple wine) is that with an ABV of about 5% it is in fact quite drinkable in a relatively short time. Apple wine (about 11 % ABV) really needs to age 6 -9 months or more before it comes into its own... But you may have very different thoughts...

 

[mwulf67]

Per the recipe (Pappy`s Pub Cider), this ain't no cider....but some high octane stuff...but it does sound good!

 

[CheerfulHeart]

You're right, it's probably more a wine. I didn't have a hydrometer to measure the SG so I don't know the ABV. This does seem fairly high octane but pretty smooth and easy to drink. I have some bottles set aside to age until next Autumn...it should have some real character by then. Time will tell. For what it's worth, this recipe was good for a "first-timer" to make. Now other recipes and kits don't seem so daunting.

 

[heatherd]

Cheerfulheart, congrats! Welcome to winemaking.

A hydrometer is a must-have for this hobby....

Heather