Turbo Cider Recipes, Methods and Taste Collection.

[FarmerFred]

It seems to be doing the job at the moment. Could end up being around 7%. I'm hoping though it's not as tasty as the real cider I made last autumn though- a lot more blood, sweat and tears went into that brew.. well not INTO the brew

[Cider rider]

ok i've gone for the Innocent AJ, so far i have:

20l of AJ
3 jars of tesco honey (500g)
5 bramble apples
3 Pink lady apples
mug of strong tea
1 satchet Youngs cider yeast
and some Youngs nutrient

The method ill be doing is:

18l of juice in FV
peel the apples and grate them in (i dont have a blender)
melt the honey in a little AJ and mix the tea in
add the yeast and shake like buggary
when the apples fall to the bottom transfer to another vessel and top up rest of juice
ferment to dryness (what does this actually mean??)
bottle (im not going to use the keg just yet as i've never used one before so unsure of the actual workings) priming with either splenda or sugar?? after reading through im confused as what to use??

Any help/advice/thoughts appreciated

[Cider rider]

rats!! I've only gone and damaged my FV by closing the car door on it, it now has a lovely crack along the top , can i ferment in one of my king kegs or should i just buy another? They'll be getting sick of me in the brew shop, after not brewing for years (decades even) i've had to go out and re-buy most of the stuff i gave away over the years!

[Pinto]

Go buy another fermenter - they're dirt cheap Keep the keg for the cider afterwards

Just for clarity - you cant backsweeten with a fermentable sugar - use sweetner (stevia, spenda etc) or non fermentable sugar (such as lactose)

Your recipie looks good (although technically a cyser because of the honey ) - make sure that the mix you pitch your yeast in is at 22-25 degrees or you'll shock/kill the yeast. Fermenting to dryness means that the yeast has consumed all the available sugar and converted it to alcohol

[stoofer74]

so my fv had been bubbling away for about 11 days but seems to have come to a standstill now.however i'm slightly concerned because the bramley cookers are still floating .what do i do wait until they sink and then transfer into bottling bucket?i didnt use nutrient as i didnt have any will this have made any difference?any help and advice will as always be appreciated

[far9410]

I'm not a big cider drinker but some friends are, would like to make something nice, without reading through all this post, have we got a steady recipe?

[Pinto]

Lack of nutrient just slows down fermentation - and the only real way you can be sure that its all done is by taking a specific gravity measurement with a hydrometer or refractometer

[stoofer74]

as the bramley apples are still floating at the top is this still an indication that the cider has still got some fermenting to do? cant really get a hydrometer reading because of said floating apples

[oldbloke]

as the bramley apples are still floating at the top is this still an indication that the cider has still got some fermenting to do? cant really get a hydrometer reading because of said floating apples

Got a turkey baster? Run some boiling water through it to sterilise it, then use it to nick enough out of your FV to use the hydrometer in a trial jar (I had to use the hydrometer case last time, broke my trial jar...)
This sample must be considered contaminated and must not be returned to the brew. You'll have to drink it. Oh no!

[oldbloke]

I'm not a big cider drinker but some friends are, would like to make something nice, without reading through all this post, have we got a steady recipe?

People do all sorts, so "not really". Bloke elsewhere insists it's no good unless you use malic acid and pectolase: I never do and my wife reckons mine come out OK.
The one she likes most so far is:

1/2 litre strong Earl Grey
1/2 litre Morrison's cranberry juice
4 litres Morrison's Saver juice (not 'juice drink')
tsp nutrient
half pack Young's cider yeast

Use the other half pack of yeast on an identical gallon that has 4 cloves chucked in
Or 200g fresh ginger thinly sliced and simmered in the tea for about 20 mins

Always remember to hold back 1 litre of the juice to day 3 or 4, otherwise it'll escape through the airlock.

I find mine drinkable after 1 warm and 2 cold weeks conditioning, but do notice some improvement if they're left longer. Making only 2 gallons a month means I don't yet have much older than 4 months though.
If you do use malic, it'll be sharper when new but should be better all round when aged.

[Cider rider]

Go buy another fermenter - they're dirt cheap Keep the keg for the cider afterwards

Just for clarity - you cant backsweeten with a fermentable sugar - use sweetner (stevia, spenda etc) or non fermentable sugar (such as lactose)

Your recipie looks good (although technically a cyser because of the honey ) - make sure that the mix you pitch your yeast in is at 22-25 degrees or you'll shock/kill the yeast. Fermenting to dryness means that the yeast has consumed all the available sugar and converted it to alcohol

Cheers Pinto, you've been very helpful. Ended up buying another FV after all!

This backsweetening thing im a little confused about though, probably a stupid question but if you don't ask you dont learn, if i don't add fermentables when its racked off how do i get it to carbonate in bottles/keg?

Just started my brew @ 5pm and already its slowly bubbling

[Cider rider]

and after buying myself a(nother) hydrometer i only went and forgot to use it............doh!!

[Pinto]

Add both - Priming sugar will make for the carbonation, but also add the sweetener which will just make the brew sweeter - I added 1.5 Tsp of sugar and one tsp of splend to each 500ml of my last ciders - thats a heavy priming charge but i like my ciders very fizzy

The splenda thing was just arbitory - I'll be seeing how sweet it is when I open a bottle being a cranberry cider it was extra dry anyway when i sampled at bottling so I think it can take whatever sweetening i throw at it

[Cider rider]

ahhhh right excellent i understand now, i like my ciders fizzy also so will probably stick with the 1.5 Tsp sugar, btw what type of sugar do you use, brewing or just regular granulated? Also will i just scale up the amount required if i decide to keg it ie 1.5 + 1 Tsp per 500ml = 69 + 46 Tsp per 23L?

[Pinto]

Granulated sugar will be fine, its a lot cheaper too Should just be a scale up too