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So remember that batch of cider I started a few weeks ago?

Sorry the photos are still rotated weird.  They look fine on my computer, but as soon as I upload them something happens.

Here’s what happens next:

Here it is, untouched since last time.  Lift it up high, we’re gonna use gravity to help us transfer it off of the yeasties that have settled on the bottom.

Siphoning into a 2nd clean and sanitized bucket.  This take between 5 and 10 minutes.

Still going.

Add a clean and sanitized lid and put the airlock back on.  This sits in its “secondary” fermentation usually at least twice as long as the primary took.  If you drank it now, you might notice some off flavors.  When apples ferment they create sulfur so the cider might taste like rhinoceros farts.  The secondary fermentation is really just an aging process.  I’d recommend at least 2 weeks, but if you’ve got the patience 2-6 months is great as long as you keep the water level up in your airlock.

Here’s the yeast from the bottom of the bucket.  It’s going into the fridge until I start a new batch.

So now the bucket just sits for a while, you can check back every day if you’d like, but I have no idea when I’ll get to the bottling.  So hopefully you’ve seen that it’s really easy.  Honestly I think that bottling is the hardest part.  Getting it into the damn bottles without getting it all over the place takes more patience than I have.