Matt's Blog

This afternoon I bottled 2 gallons of hard cider. Used some local cider, kind of local honey, and a bit of maple syrup some friends got me on a trip back east. When I opened the bucket prior to bottling, I noticed it smelled very orangy. It was then (not two weeks ago when I made the mistake) that I noticed I had cut the entire recipe in half except for the orange zest (used 2 oranges instead of 1). Ah well, every batch is an experiment. The orange was mostly noticable in the aroma and aftertaste, which was pretty nice. MaryEllen thought it tasted kind of watery. Hopefully the flavor will develop in the bottle a bit over the next month or so. The carbonation will help the mouth feel a bit too. And while I don't take readings anymore since I broke my hydrometer (and am too cheap to buy another), I'm thinking it must come in at about 12% abv. But there wasn't any alcohol burn as it went down, so there's hope for a nice smooth cider by Christmas.

I was going to brew up a pot of farm stout (sweet stout) while I was bottling, but didn't want to take the extra time. I'll have to get that going next weekend. I made a nice porter in September or October and it's going fast. Good stuff. I still have some summer beer that I'm finishing up too, an american wheat and a blackberry wheat.

Doesn't it all sound so good!