After more reading, and reading, and reading, it seems I should age the cider before bottling. Racked it into a 5 gallon water bottle, saving the proper carboy for the Pinot Noir.
It was a good exercise in learning to use the racking cane, very convenient self-priming tool. The "universal" bung fits just fine, going to have to get a couple more of those.
Lost probably about half a gallon of cider, the cane wouldn't pick up any more. but the water jug is pretty full, so all in all, I lost only a gallon on the 6 gallon kit. I was able to pour off some to taste, and it's very bland, even after the addition of the "flavoring packet" two days ago. I hope aging will help this. I saved out one pint worth to try now, and it's not bad as still cider. Not very boozy tasting, but when I finish the pint, I'll see if there's an effect. When pouring it off the stuff from the bottom, it mixed up all the yeast when I stopped pouring, so one pint is all I'll try now.
Was thinking about keeping the deformed bubbler but the measurements will be off when adding water, so I'll just put it in the recycling bin. I like the wide mouth, but the buckets can be had much more cheaply than the big mouth bubblers, and have a spigot.
Time to clean up, and get ready for the wine. Goal date is to pitch on wednesday.
PS- In the intro forum, I outlined the debacle of deforming the big mouth bubbler. Short version, cider instructions had me boil water, and cautioned against adding hot liquid to a glass carboy, but nothing about plastic. my brand new bubbler melted and now belongs with Hermie on the land of misfit toys.
It was a good exercise in learning to use the racking cane, very convenient self-priming tool. The "universal" bung fits just fine, going to have to get a couple more of those.
Lost probably about half a gallon of cider, the cane wouldn't pick up any more. but the water jug is pretty full, so all in all, I lost only a gallon on the 6 gallon kit. I was able to pour off some to taste, and it's very bland, even after the addition of the "flavoring packet" two days ago. I hope aging will help this. I saved out one pint worth to try now, and it's not bad as still cider. Not very boozy tasting, but when I finish the pint, I'll see if there's an effect. When pouring it off the stuff from the bottom, it mixed up all the yeast when I stopped pouring, so one pint is all I'll try now.
Was thinking about keeping the deformed bubbler but the measurements will be off when adding water, so I'll just put it in the recycling bin. I like the wide mouth, but the buckets can be had much more cheaply than the big mouth bubblers, and have a spigot.
Time to clean up, and get ready for the wine. Goal date is to pitch on wednesday.
PS- In the intro forum, I outlined the debacle of deforming the big mouth bubbler. Short version, cider instructions had me boil water, and cautioned against adding hot liquid to a glass carboy, but nothing about plastic. my brand new bubbler melted and now belongs with Hermie on the land of misfit toys.
