# Rhubarb And Apple Cider



## demapples (8/8/11)

Hey Guys

My first post  and i thought i'd get your attention with the strange title.

Has anyone ever used rhubarb in their cider mix before? Does the sweetness vs sourness work? Any tips? For that matter any recipes?

Cheers
Luke


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## chefeffect (8/8/11)

The book "home brewers garden" has a rhubarb infused beer which caught my eye, you might want to pick this book up its got some wierd stuff in it. You might find the rhubard would be more bitter than anything so you probably could use it with dessert apples instead of the regular bitter cider or bitter sweet cider apples??


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## Tanga (8/8/11)

Sorry to be a downer, but I think the reason apple and rhubarb pie works (sweet and sour) means apple and rhubarb cider won't. Maybe if you halt the ferment half way through, but most of the sugars in cider are converted to alcohol, and it actually tastes sour itself. I don't know much about techniques using real fruit, though, so there might be a way.


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## Airgead (8/8/11)

Actually, a small amount of rhubarb could be just what a low acid juice needs to perk it up a little. I wouldn't do it with proper cider apples as that might be too much but a regular sweet apple juice often needs a little acid and tannin to give it complexity. Give it a try but I'd keep it to maybe 5% by weight or maybe even less for a first go. Maybe start at 2% and work from there.

Cheers
Dave


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## chefeffect (8/8/11)

Tanga said:


> Sorry to be a downer, but I think the reason apple and rhubarb pie works (sweet and sour) means apple and rhubarb cider won't. Maybe if you halt the ferment half way through, but most of the sugars in cider are converted to alcohol, and it actually tastes sour itself. I don't know much about techniques using real fruit, though, so there might be a way.



Rhurbarb is a bitter sweet but most often called sour, my point is with real cider apples come in 4 clasifications which are bitter sweets, bitter sharps,sharps, and sweets, so it is possible to use rhubarb being it has similar characteristics of bitter sweet cider apples b, i w wil have to blend it with a sweet apple variety, you couldnt use a huge amount though. You could use lactose to counter the bitterness and sweetness.


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## Tanga (8/8/11)

Yup, happy to stand corrected. I was thinking of a red half and half like I make into crumble (yum), but in small amounts it may very well add that certain something something. Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

To the OP, what did Google say? Surely it's been done before?


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## demapples (9/8/11)

Awesome! Thanks for the speedy replies guys.

@Airgead - thats exactly what I was thinking of trying.

@Tanga - had a quick search through Google and it was slim pickings.

Cheers peeps - ill let you know how I go.


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## Gar (9/8/11)

My old man would dry hump the brew fridge if he knew I was making this. :icon_drool2: 
Might make him a batch for christmas.


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## Airgead (9/8/11)

There might not be much on the web about rhubarb cider but look up rhubarb champagne...


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## KudaPucat (9/8/11)

Airgead said:


> There might not be much on the web about rhubarb cider but look up rhubarb champagne...


Yes I know a couple of ppl who make this. 
With cidre, I'd try 5% as suggested, ramping it up 5% each batch until the flavour is right. 
We often use whatever we can get wrt to apples for cidre, and adding crab apple juice helps heaps for body and mouthfeel. 
I would think rhubarb would do similar. Crab apple cidre is added at no more than 15%. 

Cook, and bung some in the bottom of your fermenter. See how it goes. 
It'll be q nice colour.


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