First Ever Cider

[tatlock]

Did my first ever Cider today.
3 litres of AJ from Larry Lidls (84p per 1.5 litres) and a sachet of youngs cider yeast.
I plan to add more apple juice as the ferment slows down until the demi-john is nearly full.(correct?)
when its done just siphon into bottles and leave for about a month.
If i have got this right then its a lot bloody easier than AG brewing!!!!

[Benson_JV]

That sounds about right mate
Although if you want sparkling cider of course you have to prime, but i presume ye know that

[Mitchamitri]

Keep it on the cooler side - at beer fermentation temperatures with apple juice from conc you increase the risk of "Pear drop esther" or whatever its called. Other than that its as easy as it seems.

[randomdave]

If i was you id pour in the last carton of aj an hour before you bottle. That will be sufficient to prime it and give good fizz, If thats what you want ofc. Thats all I do and i end up with some great cider.

[DREADSKIN]

GO TO YOUR GREEN GROCERS AND BUY A BIG BRAMLEY APPLE. GRATE IT AND STICK IT IN TOO. THE FLAVOUR WILL BE MUCH BETTER.

[tatlock]

will give that a go next time fella.
wanna see what it tastes like with just the juice first.
once i have bottled the cider i was planning on adding juice to the existing demi-john and yeast and starting the process all over again.
any problems with me doing that?
how many times could i do that,(if at all).

[DREADSKIN]

YOU COULD DO IT FOR EVER. THATS WHAT I DO, AND IVE BEEN DOING IT FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW.

[tubby_shaw]

YOU COULD DO IT FOR EVER. THATS WHAT I DO, AND IVE BEEN DOING IT FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW.

I made my first TC back in Dec 06 and I think I have had at least 1 gallon fermenting ever since

[randomdave]

That must be one hell of a happy yeast colony.

[DREADSKIN]

HEY TATLOCK. i was in your shoes a while ago. experimenting is cool. i posted my favourite recipie on here ages ago. here it is. if you wanna do it for a gallon devide by 4.

Postby DREADSKIN on Mon Sep 15, 2008 4:52 pm
HI ALL,

Although technically new to this forum (ive been reading it at work taking notes etc for the past 6 mothes) i thought i should give my 10p worth on this topic. i love cider and have been experimenting since xmas to come up with the best recipie. this is it. ive since made it three times with perfect strong cloudy scrumpy

my recipe for 20ltrs TC:

20 lts of lydle apple juice
3 pounds lydle honey
8 bramley apples (skinned), blended
1 cup of strong tea made with 3/4 bags
youngs cider yeast

stick 18ltr of juice in the fermenter, blend apples, stick them in. use some apple juice to melt honey, mix with the tea, stick it in.

when the apples 'fall out' of the juice, ie go to the bottom, and the larger bits float to the top, rack off. top up with more juice. ferment to dryness.
if you want it clear, add bentonite, (or just grow up and get a set of b*llox).

bottle it, if you want it with sparkle ad teaspoon or a slosh of juice.#

drinking: get yer mates round and watch them fall over!

i didnt really like the turbo ciders much. they were drinkable, but lacked depth or character or some other pretentious term... by adding the brambleys it gives the cider loads of body and balls. basically its sort of what the kentish cider makers do, and is a cheap method to recreate this.

ends up about 8%


only difference is a now do it with more tea (ie two pots made with 4 fresh teabags each time)

[DREADSKIN]

also 3lbs or 1.5 kilos of soft dark brown sugar gives a nice almost toffee taste instead of the honey (which leave a lovely aroma), and i plan to do a batch with a similar amount of maple syrip just to see what that would be like too.

[Mitchamitri]

I love the "ferment anything"mentality of TC - that git Heston Blumental thoughtb he was being original but TC'ers were making all sorts of unrelated recipes years before that workshy came along.

[BillyB]

only difference is a now do it with more tea (ie two pots made with 4 fresh teabags each time)

Hi, what's the purpose of the tea. Something to do with tannin?
Thanks.

[Laripu]

once i have bottled the cider i was planning on adding juice to the existing demi-john and yeast and starting the process all over again. any problems with me doing that? how many times could i do that,(if at all).

You can do it until you get an infection of wild yeast or bacteria, and then you'll have a bad-tasting batch. When that happens, chuck it down the drain, resanitize and start with fresh yeast.. Better yet, start with fresh yeast every fourth time, and hopefully you'll never have to waste a gallon of juice.

[DREADSKIN]

billy boy,
the purpose of the tea is, as you say, to add tannin. west country cider apples, and any real cider apples are loaded with tannin giving 'real' sommerset cider its unique taste and flavour. lydlls apple juice and bramleys dont have any or if they do its very very mild. just think of the difference between any westons dry cider and that marrydown stuff (it is made with out tannic apples - magners too for that matter). i prefare the west country taste personally so that why i add loats of tea.