HIC.HIC, HIC

[Paul]

Some juices in supermarkets have stuff added to stop fermentation.

Got an apple tree near you? Here's a brew I use.

Fill a 5 gallon bin with apples.
Some say don't peel them, I did and cored them.
Rough cut them but careful, NO BAD BITZ!
Put them through a liquidizer or just crush them to pulp.
Wrap them up in a CLEAN cloth and wring out the juice. (Knackering, hard work)
Try for 3 quarts freshly pressed apple cider (Pure apple juice)
Add
1 quart water
1.5 pounds sugar (Some use special sugars, I used good old Tate and Lyle)
Bring to the boil and skim off any frothy bitz.

MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS REALLY CLEAN.
I brought a sachet of wine bottle cleaner and rinsed all my bottles and demijohn (gallon fermentation jar).

Pour the gallon of brew into a fermentation bottle and loosely cap it with cling film.
Let it cool.

You can buy a packet of Brewers Yeast specifically for 1 gallon.
Costs about 60p (or did)
It won't look a lot but don't worry, A little goes a long way.
Follow the packet directions and add it to the brew.

THE BREW MUST BE COOL! Too hot and you'll kill the yeast.

Stir it in and fit a fermentation lock. When the airlock stops "blurping", it's ready.
It should take around two weeks at room temperature BUT look for the bubbles to stop DON'T DO IT ON TIME ALONE, no bubbles is good.

At this time, if it's discolored or smells horrible, the jars weren't clean or something else has gone wrong.
Basically bad smell equals Whoops, you've gone wrong.
Happened quite a few times to me until I got REALLY careful about cleanliness.

Siphon it (being careful not to get the mash, you only want the clear liquid) into cleaned out Grolsh stopper bottles and put it away. The longer you leave it the better.

I could never get the same strength twice but after a few months, I slept VERY well after a bottle or two.

Have fun.
Paul