Cinnamon Pear Hard Cider

I really should have bottled this last weekend but I was distracted. I got to it this morning and knocked it out really quick. I am very happy that I am getting the hang of bottling. I bought a second glass carboy so that I can do two ciders at once. One gallon of booze goes too quick. If I can find a sale on apple juice, I will make a 5 gallon batch and that will be awesome.

Pomegranate Limeade is bottled

I got to bottle my Pomegranate Limeade hard cider. I used my Spring Tip Bottle Filler. It has to be primed with sanitizer. I drop it into a cup until the good stuff flows and switch to a bottle. It's a little tricky but with practice and with a little help from my daughter. I was able to get 5 and half pints from my 1 gallon carboy.
I primed them all this time. The bubbles makes the mouth feel more appealing is what I've learned.
I immediately cleaned up and started a new batch of cider. This one is a Pear Cinnamon hard cider. It was tasty to start and when it is chock full of alcohol, it will be only better. Mean while, I have to wait until I get another carboy to make some more Downby Cider. Jen and I had some a couple of nights ago and it aged very well. Time is on our side. I've played around with some web sites that make label and I think I have a label that will work for us. When I make it next time and bottle it, I will stick on some stickers. Leave a comment of what you think of the label.
 

Downby Cider

We named our first cider, Downby Cider: A Hard Apple Cider by Avila Brewery. I like it. It is sweet with a kick. I estimated the ABV% at 6%. I do not have a hydrometer to tell for sure. This is on my "I need" list. I can only go by my unscientific; I feel silly like a beer with this amount of alcohol meter. That feeling is about 6% give or take. I can say with certainty that it is not more due to the kind of yeast I used. I would not produce a high alcohol level naturally. I wanted a low ABV% because I wanted it sweet and not dry. Downby Cider is sweet and tasty. We need to come up with a label.
This gave me the confidence to experiment. i went to Bencomo brew supplies in Fresno. I need a #7 bung. My other bung was too small or too big. I hate it when that happens. My wife asked what a bung was for. I told her it was for orifices. I put my bung in holes. She didn't think that was funny. I showed her one and I think she got it. I also need an auto-fill siphon and tubing. I am slowly moving past the simple brewing into more complex brewing. A goal for Avila Brewing this year is to compete in the Tulare County Fair. Last year, a guy from Fresno took home everything. I hope to keep some of those ribbons here local.
I am fermenting a Pomegranate Limeade Cider. It is unnamed so far. When it is done, I will take it to the board of directors and decide what to name it. Also I made a few purchases from

Welcome to The Brewery

It's the 1st of January and we're already off to a great start. I just bottled my first Hard Cider. It is tasty, if I may say so myself. I have some ideas for future ciders. Something like mango or a berry with apple. Thanks for dropping by, I hope you stop by and read about my misadventures in brewing.
My first world brewing problem of the day is I bought the wrong size bung for my carboy. It was too big for one and too small for the other. Maybe I need to take the carboy to the store for sizing. I also learned that I do need a bottle drying rack and a storage box for unused bottles. So far, this is what I noticed for my immediate needs. I know there is a ton more.