# Black Rock Cider



## redlegger (13/1/10)

Hi Guys, Im a total novice, so any help will be greatly appreciated.
I bought a coopers home brew kit to get me started a coulple of weeks back, i have bottled my first brew of the coopers lager that comes in the kit, all that seemed to go off smoothly.

I thought i would try cider for the missus, I have only just finished mixing all the ingredients as per the instructions on the black rock can (water, yeast, contents of the can & sugar) . However my 'problem' seems to be that i havent added anything else to the brew. When i did a quick search on Black Rock Cider, people are putting everything from brew enhancer to pear juice and frozen fruit in with the brew??? 
Is this something i should of done, or can i still do it if necessary??

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers!


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## bum (13/1/10)

That one is reportedly the best as-per-instruction cider kit going so I wouldn't worry too much. You certainly could have substituted a portion of the water for apple juice, or some apple and pear juice for a little extra complexity. I wouldn't worry too much. This one will still turn out something cidery and you can think about things you like to improve on the next one.

If you are desperate to do something else to it and your fermenter has room you can just bang in some preservative free, no name apple juice. Just remember to consider the effect it might have on your OG. These juices are generally around 1040 so if your wort is there now you'll have no real effect apart from extra bottles at the end - which doesn't hurt any. Only thing is you'll need to get it in really soon. If you can't get in that quickly just pitch your yeast and brew as is. You don't want it sitting there without yeast for too long. You want you yeasties multiplying in there - not bacteria.


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## tallie (14/1/10)

The last one I made was done according to the kit instructions, using raw sugar for the sugar component. IMO, it is lacking a bit in the flavour department, but is otherwise a refreshing drink. It did take a couple of months to balance out in the bottle (seemed a little too acidic early on), so you might need to be prepared to wait a little bit.

Next time, I'll be substituting apple juice for some of the water content.

Cheers,
Kris.


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## ajdougall (15/1/10)

Hi Redlegger,

I am a new brewer too, I would not worry about adding any extras as it is only your second brew. You gotta crawl before you can walk.

I am doing a black rock cider soon, the extras I plan are as follows:


Use a champagn yeast for a dry flavour (Lalvin EC-1118)
Maybe a litte bit more sugar to increase alchohol content and body
Maybe add some apple juice for more apple taste also increase alchohol and body
Dunno how it will turn out but it is based on good advice from this forum.

Cheers

Doogs


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## wabster (15/1/10)

On the subject of adding extra apple taste to a cider, a mate of mine was told by a HB store in his area to add an apple schnapps essence to his cider kit.

Although I didn't get to try any, he tells me it was a great addition, enhanced the flavour nicely.

It does seem like a good idea, anyone else done it and can verify?

Cheerz Wabster.


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## pdilley (15/1/10)

More body? Not by adding sugars and juices. More alcohol yes. My Black Rock is as per kit instructions and was quite te potent rocket fuel until aged and still not my favourite almost a years ageing later. The rule of thumb is the higher the alcohol the longer it takes ageing before you can drink it so as a beginner learn the original gravity (starting gravity) and final gravity and how much alcohol is made in the difference between the two. Then you'll have a better base of knowledge to plan your modifications of the kit recipes.

Body is more relevant to beer but try maltodextrin as a substitute for a perecentage of the sugar.

There is a calculator in the AHB tools section or if you want to learn math I can teach how to run the calculations yourself.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete


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## redlegger (19/1/10)

Thanks for the feedback fella's. I chucked the dam can of extract out without tearing off the label for future referance. How long should it ferment for before i bottle??? i think it was something like 2 weeks but i cant be sure (i know its done fermenting once the SG is stable for 2-3 days however i dont want to start checking EVERY day?) the OG was 1.030 and it is currently at 1.020 after 5 days.


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## redlegger (26/1/10)

redlegger9 said:


> Thanks for the feedback fella's. I chucked the dam can of extract out without tearing off the label for future referance. How long should it ferment for before i bottle??? i think it was something like 2 weeks but i cant be sure (i know its done fermenting once the SG is stable for 2-3 days however i dont want to start checking EVERY day?) the OG was 1.030 and it is currently at 1.020 after 5 days.




Guys, my cider brew is at 1.002 after 13 days, wat what point should i be bottling?
Ta!


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## bum (26/1/10)

Never before you have 3 consistent readings (taken 24hrs-ish apart). It might go lower than that still depending on the yeast but 1002 sounds pretty close to me. Keep taking readings and you'll soon see - possible bottle bombs are not worth saving an extra day or two for (and a little extra time in the fermenter won't do your cider any damage).


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## chrissmartin12345 (13/1/20)

redlegger said:


> Hi Guys, Im a total novice, so any help will be greatly appreciated.
> I bought a coopers home brew kit to get me started a coulple of weeks back, i have bottled my first brew of the coopers lager that comes in the kit, all that seemed to go off smoothly.
> 
> I thought i would try cider for the missus, I have only just finished mixing all the ingredients as per the instructions on the black rock can (water, yeast, contents of the can & sugar) . However my 'problem' seems to be that i havent added anything else to the brew. When i did a quick search on Black Rock Cider, people are putting everything from brew enhancer to pear juice and frozen fruit in with the brew???
> ...


G'day m8 I've been brewing 4 over 20 years, have made quite a bit of cider 4 a good mate,i use black rock myself, do a double brew each time,my recipe is 2 cans black rock cider 1kg of dextrose & 4 litre of Apple juice, he reckons it's awesome,just remember by adding the Apple juice it adds to the alcohol content, hope this helps you out,good luck 
Chris in ceduna


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