how to improve real cider

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beesley121

how to improve real cider

Post by beesley121 » Thu Oct 02, 2008 5:46 pm

Hi guys,

done my first pressing of apples last week and must say it was hard work but at the same time great fun
I managed to get 3, 1 gallon demijohns ful of juice. The orchard is ful of apples so I wanted to experiment this year with different recipies and then which ever is best, will scale that up for next year. Im doing more preesing this weekend but I would like some advice on the 3 demijons that I have already done

1. Demijohn filled with red apple juice (not sure on variety), campden tablet added, Gervin wine yeast Varietal D added after 24Hrs. O.G 1.40

2.Demijohn filled with red apple juice (not sure on variety), Gervin wine yeast Varietal D added after 24Hrs. O.G 1.40

3. Demijohn filled with a mixture of red apple juice (not sure on variety) and also a dessert apple variety , campden tablet added, Gervin wine yeast Varietal D added after 24Hrs. O.G 1.38

Now I know that the OG on all of them was a bit low but I wanted to see what type of cider they would produce without any interferance from me.

They have almost finished fermentind and Ive had a little taste of each

No 1 is absoulutly gorgeous, red in colour and still very sweet. No 1 doesnt seem as nice as No1 and a bit tart. No3 is very tart/bitter

I am thinking about added something like sugar or honey to them to increase both alcohols levels to around 5.5% and also to give a better flavour to them, especially No3

can people please advise on what I should do to achieve this and how much I should add. thanx

stevezx7r

Post by stevezx7r » Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:14 pm

Although I haven't made cider (from frsh apples anyway) the experience I've had with beer has tought me that early first tastes aren't a guarranteed way to pre-judge the final product.

I'd leave them all be as you will have a good benchmark on how each brew ends up.

FWIW, I think #3 will be the best as I've heard that using a mixture of apples is the way to go for making good cider.

Also, as your pressing your own apples, have you considered freezing the apples for a day or so, then defrosting them before you brew as this makes the apple "soggy" and so, easier to press/get more juice.

buzzrtbi

Post by buzzrtbi » Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:56 am

it takes several months to mellow out

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