From the other side....

A forum for cider makers
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gibbiem

From the other side....

Post by gibbiem » Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:17 pm

.... the beer side.

Found a taste for cider recently though so want to try brewing one. Got a few questions if anyone fancies educating me.

Do I literally just fill a bucket with apple juice and hoy in some yeast? Got some Tesco apple juice, not from concentrate stuff.

What's the best yeast to use, got some Gervin cider yeast from wilkos?

What sort of temp should I ferment at?

Does oxygen hurt cider post fermentation as it does beer?

Do I just ferment for a week and rack off or is there a secondary phase etc?

Thanks in advance for any help

gibbiem

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RobP

Re: From the other side....

Post by RobP » Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:46 pm

I asked a similar question a while ago. Read down this, there are few very helpful links.

viewtopic.php?t=78707

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Crastney
Steady Drinker
Posts: 84
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 4:44 pm
Location: Norwich/London

Re: From the other side....

Post by Crastney » Wed Dec 13, 2017 2:09 pm

.... the beer side.

Found a taste for cider recently though so want to try brewing one. Got a few questions if anyone fancies educating me.

Do I literally just fill a bucket with apple juice and hoy in some yeast? Got some Tesco apple juice, not from concentrate stuff.
- Pretty much, yes. that will make cider. however, if you want something better than tramp juice, then add some tannin, and give it plenty of time. AJ on it's own will give you an ABV of around 5.5 - 6%. You can add sugars to up this ABV but sugars are flavour dilutants, so you'll lose more of the apple flavour if you do this.

What's the best yeast to use, got some Gervin cider yeast from wilkos?
- that should be fine. Most cider is made using Champagne yeast (Lalvin EC118 - or something like that is the most commonly found)

What sort of temp should I ferment at?
- 18-20 is about right. any higher than 23 and you start getting fusols (bad hangovers!), but it'll carry on a lot lower too. longer slow ferment at a lower temperature, is better for cider than quick and hot.

Does oxygen hurt cider post fermentation as it does beer?
- yes! that's why you need an air lock on your vessel - usually a DJ too, as it has a thinner neck which reduces the area of liquid exposed to the air.
I left 3 gal of cider in an FV suitable for 6, so lots of air gap, and a large surface area, and it turned into vinegar - not a good taste!

Do I just ferment for a week and rack off or is there a secondary phase etc?
- first fermentation can be as quick as a week, but cider always tastes better with plenty of time for the yeast to clean up any other by products, and maturation can easily take 6 months. Think of traditional cider making - shove it in a barrel in autumn, and leave it till next summer harvest to drink. Often freezing if left outside over winter, and re-starting in the warmer spring.
- normal process that I've followed is allow to ferment for a month or so, then rack off the lees, top up with more AJ if necessary, leave for secondary fermentation, and also allow to clear, then bottle (you can add priming sugar to the bottles individually, or add in bulk to a Bucket, and siphon onto the sugar, stir, and then bottle)

Thanks in advance for any help
- you're welcome. compared with beer, cider is easy!

gibbiem

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