Cider v2.2
I purchased a keg system this past weekend so I'm finally able to keg my batch of cider.
I finally made my way to Northern Brewer this weekend and picked up some supplies, notably a little keg system. Since I had some time today I completely dismantled my new keg, cleaned it out, sanitized everything, filled it with cider and pressurized it.
I attempted to use my aforementioned racking wand/siphon system (like this one) and again ran into the problem whereby I couldn't start a siphon. This time I used my new CO2 tank, set to a very low pressure, to start the siphon. That worked fairly well despite seeming like complete overkill for what should otherwise be a simple process.
I sampled half a cup (palatable though a little tart) and measured its SG (1.001 @ 63F) which puts it right around 6.0%. Later tonight I'll try drawing some off the keg and serving it over ice.
Oh, and BTW, I finally got around to dedicating a bit of space in my basement to brewing related activities. Here's a photo of the mess...
Update, 9:30p
Well, fuck me. I just tried to decant a glass from the keg and ran into problems. Upon inspection I realized I reassembled the posts onto the keg backwards! The "IN" post is in the "OUT" position and vice versa. Now I have to depressurize the keg, dump the cider into a bucket, disassemble and reassemble the posts, re-sanitize the keg, pour the cider back in, repressurize it and hope it works the second time. By the time I'm done I'm going to be a keg expert.
Update, 9:50p
Unfuck me. I had installed the tubes in the correct position but merely swapped the post. This means that I was able to swap the posts back without emptying the keg! Everything is fine now. The cider is a little tart.
//Serially