# Cider Recipe



## bowie in space

Right folks, here is a rough idea for an apple cider kit recipe. Any suggestions would of course be greatly appreciated! Remember this is the kits n bits section of this site, so go easy!

1 Blackrock Apple Cider Kit 
750 g of either Dextrose, White Sugar, or possibly adding Light Dry Malt
2 - 4L Apple Juice (preservative free)
200g Lactose
4 peeled, cored and sliced Granny Smith apples inserted in a stocking to keep together.
Kit Yeast @ 24C or lower.
I understand this may have to ferment for 3-4 weeks.

I am also toying with the idea of pear schnapps, apple/pear juice, and possibly honey or cinnamon sticks.

I really never thought I'd be making a cider, and thus taking so much precaution to do so, but it's something new, right?

Feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Bowie


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## bowie in space

sorry forgot to mention a total volume of 18L.


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## tcraig20

A better and simpler way to make cider is to go and buy 18 litres of apple juice and a decent yeast - probably cheaper too.


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## bowie in space

Upon researching this topic it seems apparent that this is the case.
On a whim I purchased the blackrock kit and have since regretted my decision based on researching this site, hence my numerous posts on the topic.

I outta post this enthusiastically about beer!

Has anyone ever refunded a kit from point of sale???


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## Supra-Jim

I have made the black rock kit with a brewcraft brewbooster and it turned out fine, all who tasted it were very happy with it. That said i have since made cider with all juice and it is better and cheaper.

You're recipe seems fine, just stick to dex for 750g and forget the honey. I haven't used cinnamon before, but have heard good thing about it.

i would also try to keep the kit yeast a bit cooler than 24deg, maybe 20-21 deg if you can. It should ferment out faster than 3-4 weeks, though i have always found cider to be very slow to carbonate up in the bottle (6 week minimum, 3months better)

Cheers

SJ


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## Rodolphe01

When using only juice + yeast what alcohol % can you expect ??


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## Supra-Jim

When i did my all juice one (20 litres of juice), i threw in 1.6kgs of dextrose (just for a bit more kick). My OG was around 1075 and i got a FG of about 1002. This cider kicks like a mule!!!!

Cheers

SJ


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## bowie in space

JamesCraig- i'll try all juice next time. you're right it seems a lot simpler and cheaper, but as i already have the kit, that will have to do for now, cheers.

SJ- yeah 750g dextrose sounds good. i want it to be around the 5% mark. 

Also, what would be a good amount of dextrose to bulk prime? 120g? 150g?

Anyone tried the apples in the stocking trick?


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## davewaldo

Hi Bowie,

To acuratly predict your alc % I would recomend using a hydrometer and adding extra dextrose until your desired starting gravity is reached. Cider usualy ferments quite low to something like 1.000 - 1.010, so for a 5% cider you would need a SG of 1.045. When I measured plain Beri Apple & Pear jiuce it was 1.040. So not much extra dex would be needed. You can find calculators online which can help with all the calculations.

As for the apples in a sock trick... I've made cider where I just put cut up apples in loose. They just float on the surface and seem to do well there. The sugar and then the alcohol seem to preserve the apple pieces a bit as they don't go brown for weeks.

I would also encourage you to make very simple recipes to start with so you can learn what gives what flavours and improve from there. Some expreienced brewer on here said that they have gone full circle with the blackrock kit and now just make it with plain sugar and no other additions. If you complicate a recipe with many additions of spices and all sorts of other things it will be very hard to know which taste is which, or if you have a funny flavour, what ingredient is resposible (or it could be a reaction of multiple ingredients).

I was given a Blackrock cider kit for Christmas. Although I like to make all juice cider I was keen to give this one a try. My plan is to make it up with plain sugar (1-2kgs) and maybe add some cut apples for the last week or so of fermentation. By keeping it simple I will know what this kit is cabable of for the future. Or I might do half the batch the basic way and go nuts with spices and things for the other half (this might be a good idea if you have the equipment)....

but that is just my 2c worth 

Cheers,

Dave.


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## bowie in space

Great reply thanks Dave,

i think i will simplify the recipe based on your (and others) experience
should i rack into 2nd fermenter after a couple of weeks, then add sliced apples?
i am still keen to add 2L apple juice and perhaps 2L apple/pear
also keep the sugar/dex to 750g as i don't want to jack up the alc%
will take out the cinnamon, schnapps and lactose ideas?
i don't mind a dry cider
this will simplify things more

thanks again for your prompt reply
bowie


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## jonocarroll

davewaldo said:


> <snip> As for the apples in a sock trick... I've made cider where I just put cut up apples in loose. They just float on the surface and seem to do well there. The sugar and then the alcohol seem to preserve the apple pieces a bit as they don't go brown for weeks. </snip>


The browning of apples is due to oxidation (I'm not sure that the lack of it is attributable to the alcohol), so if they don't go brown for quite some time, you can be happy that your layer of CO2 is nice and steady. Perhaps we should all have a bit of apple in the top of our fermenters as an oxidation test?


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## davewaldo

Hi Bowie, Sorry I only just saw your reply.

I think adding the juice will be fine and if you do want to take the edge off the dryness adding a bit of lcatose will be good too. Disolving lactose isn't easy. Use hot water and stir for 5-10mins then add to fermenter.

I don't rack any of my beers to secondary, but if it makes you happy go for it. I find I get clear beer/cider if I just give it some time. I'd probably just open the fermenter and put the sliced apples in without racking after a week. Two weeks in primary is fine. 3 weeks is my limit (but I ferment cool at 18 degrees).

Once you do make this cider you should post your results in this thread so everyone can benifit from your experience.

Good luck.


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## boingk

I did a similar thing to SupraJim with my cider brew, except I threw in a few steeped cinnamon sticks and some split vanilla beans. I used a champagne yeast and it took off like a rocket, chewing down from 1.080 to 1.020 where I thought it was finished. It ended up a 'happy mistake' and seeing as I had bottled into plastic bottles they didn't explode and I had ~20L of champage on my hands. 

Anywho...I think cinnamon is a good idea. Throw it in after the first few days and leave for a week, use a few sticks.

Cheers - boingk


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## Franko

Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more

12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)

Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
Keg and enjoy


Franko


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## drsmurto

Franko said:


> Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more
> 
> 12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
> 8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
> 250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
> 3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
> Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)
> 
> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
> Keg and enjoy
> 
> 
> Franko



What does the addition of LDME bring to the party Franko?

Ive made ciders in the past using apple juice and occasionally apple and pear juice and would never use any other yeast than 4766 but am intrigued by the LDME addition.

Cheers
DrSmurto


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## tyoung

My recipe is ~20L of Berri Apple Juice and 4766 Wyeast smacker.

Fantastic and very simple

The juice is 99.9% apple juice with no preservatives. You can regularly get it for $1/L from the chain supermarkets in 3L bottles. It is reconstituted but I don't know if you could tell the difference.

btw - I rescued the trub from my last brew to repitch into the next one. Presumably any nutrients etc would have been consumed in the first brew, so does anyone know what/how much nutrient to add next time?

Cheers,

Tim


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## Phoney

Franko said:


> Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more
> 
> 12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
> 8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
> 250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
> 3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
> Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)
> 
> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
> Keg and enjoy
> 
> 
> Franko



Cheers Franko. Im gonna give this one a go  

What temperature do you ferment at?


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## bowie in space

Cheers Dave, and thanks again guys for all the great input!
Gonna start cider on wednesday (just waiting for the hot day to pass, supposed to be 38C in Melbourne tomorrow)!!!
No temp controller just yet.

Went to the Yarra Valley wineries yesterday and bought two 375ml bottles of apple cider from one of the wineries. Was 7.5% alcohol and too sweet for my taste so i might drop the lactose for my recipe down to about 100-150g (was gonna go 250g).
Couldn't believe the pricepoint of $5.50 p/bottle or $30 a six pack! It was nice, but not THAT good.

I'll take your advice Dave and give lactose a good heat 'n' stir. In two minds as to rack or not. May just add apples after a week or so...
I plan on giving it a good three weeks or so to reach its FG .

Also, was at the local indian spice shop today and saw cinnamon "bark" for sale. I've never purchased cinnamon sticks before, so would this be the same thing? It was a pack of random sizes and looked just like bark off a tree and then bagged up.

Franko, I will definately try all juice and wyeast 4766 for my next cider. I have to use the blackrock kit first though.
Will keep this post updated for you all!


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## mickoz

bowie in space said:


> Cheers Dave, and thanks again guys for all the great input!
> Gonna start cider on wednesday (just waiting for the hot day to pass, supposed to be 38C in Melbourne tomorrow)!!!
> No temp controller just yet.
> 
> Went to the Yarra Valley wineries yesterday and bought two 375ml bottles of apple cider from one of the wineries. Was 7.5% alcohol and too sweet for my taste so i might drop the lactose for my recipe down to about 100-150g (was gonna go 250g).
> Couldn't believe the pricepoint of $5.50 p/bottle or $30 a six pack! It was nice, but not THAT good.
> 
> I'll take your advice Dave and give lactose a good heat 'n' stir. In two minds as to rack or not. May just add apples after a week or so...
> I plan on giving it a good three weeks or so to reach its FG .
> 
> Also, was at the local indian spice shop today and saw cinnamon "bark" for sale. I've never purchased cinnamon sticks before, so would this be the same thing? It was a pack of random sizes and looked just like bark off a tree and then bagged up.
> 
> Franko, I will definately try all juice and wyeast 4766 for my next cider. I have to use the blackrock kit first though.
> Will keep this post updated for you all!



Heya Bowie,

Just thought I would point out that the lactose mixed with the apple juice smells a little spewy during the ferment :blink: (at least it has in my experience) but it fades out near the end.

Cheers

Mick


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## bowie in space

Hi all,
well the cider has been in the fermenter for 11 days and is tasting like a weak/watered down cider with a very mild apple taste.
My final, and very simple recipe was;

1 x blackrock cider kit
750g dextrose
125g lactose
top up to 19L (slipped up, was supposed to be 18L)
kit yeast @ 24C and threw in 4g of yeast nutrient aswell.

OG 1.035 (like i said very weak)
current gravity 1.008

So my questions now are; 
should i rack to secondary and add a couple of litres of preservative free juice and a few sliced apples and leave until FG is reached?
should i just lift the lid on the fermenter, put these ingredients and give a good stir? (and not worry about racking until FG is reached)
i would like to give it a bit more body and flavour, is this possible?

cheers
Bowie


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## reviled

Im not a pro on ciders, never brewed one, but im looking at doing a Perri soon hopefully...

What I would do, is rack onto a few litres of apple juice and let it ferment out, but its gonna keep fermenting dry, so I guess you have a couple of options which are either to add some more lactic, or try and either kill the yeast off before its finished, or crash cool it so it drops out, leaving some residual sweetness in there... 

I wouldnt add sliced apples, im sure they will have a heap of bugs living on them...

Also, just had a thought so ill throw it out there, you could maybe crash the yeast out before you add the extra apple juice, and add it slowly till you get to the sweetness that youre after? 

Im probably gonna get told im wrong, but would be keen to know  lol, sorry if I wasnt helpfull..


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## bowie in space

Well folks, racked to secondary this morning. Racked onto 2L of "daily juice" apple juice (the fresh stuff)

Have just fixed some glad wrap and the "o" ring to the top of the 25L drum. Never done this before but have read a few posts on this site so hopefully will work out ok. 

The gravity has changed
OG 1.035
13 days - 1.005
14th day - 1.010 after racking onto 2L juice

will keep checking until FG is reached, then bulk prime and bottle.

cheers
Bowie


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## Franko

DrSmurto said:


> What does the addition of LDME bring to the party Franko?
> 
> Ive made ciders in the past using apple juice and occasionally apple and pear juice and would never use any other yeast than 4766 but am intrigued by the LDME addition.
> 
> Cheers
> DrSmurto


Hey DrSmurto,
I've found with the addition of LDME it gives the cider a bit more body and adds a little to the overall alc%.
I've done it and without the LDME and it alwaystastes better with at least 200gms of it.
The wife loves it and Pumpy says its one of the better ones he's ever tasted

Franko


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## Franko

reviled said:


> I wouldnt add sliced apples, im sure they will have a heap of bugs living on them...



I've always added sliced apples to the fermenter have done my recipe a good 10-12 times and never ever had a problem.Just make sure your preparation is clean.
Franko


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## dustnode

Does anyone know how long the blackrock kit should take at about 24 degrees?
I've got one brewing at the moment and it's been about 2 and 1/2 weeks, 1012 but with quite a bit of foam still at the surface.
just the kit and 1.5 kg of plain sugar and about 400ml of cascade raspberry syrup.


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## cdbrown

My next brew is going to be a cider using the berri apple juice (8 bottles 2.4L), 200g LDME as recommended by franko and the Wyeast 4766. I'd like to be able to build up the stock of this yeast so should I just smack the pack and mix it with 1.5L of the Berri juice or use a malt/water wort like you would with other yeasts?


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## bowie in space

dustnode, 

from what i have read ciders take a lot longer, up to 3 or 4 weeks. I took the opportunity to rack to secondary on some juice and may still add some sliced apples. It has been 15 days and is fermenting in the secondary quite well. I will anticipate another 10 days or so, maybe longer, but will keep checking gravity until it has been stable over a couple of days, then bulk prime.

bowie


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## pokedad

Rudi 101 said:


> When using only juice + yeast what alcohol % can you expect ??



I just put this into bottles today. I actually let it ferment for two weeks since everyone said it takes a while, first reading was bang ... zero. Which I assume means it's bottling time. 

12L Apple juice
9.6L Apple / pear juice
1.75 Dextrose

Topped up with water to 22L

SG - 1.070
FG - 0.00

Est Alch % - 9.45%

I decided to make a base batch, with no flavouring in it at all so I can drink it and think how I'd like it to taste from here and have a better idea what to add next time. 

My question is this, what sort of storage time you think this needs, before I can sample this bad boy....


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## drsmurto

Been drinking my latest cider over the past few days.

Only have 6 bottles so i am on rations till i get some fresh pressed apple juice.

Was a 1:1:1 mix of fuji/sundowner/grannys put thru a juicer. Add some metabisulphite (campden tablet) and let it sit for 24-48h. Rack off the clear juice from under the crusty top that forms.

Pitch Wyeast 4766 and some nutrient.

Definitely my best cider yet, has more complexity than the straight berri apple juice i have been using in the past.


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## komodo

Hi every one.
I've been reading with much interest about every ones cider making.

I've got about 35kg of apples and about 7kg of pears ready for juicing.
Apples chosen are granny smiths, fujis, red delicious & some very small and quite "sharp" for want of another word apples sold as "childrens apples"

I juiced about a litres worth of the apples and a couple of pears and tasted the juice. Very nice I must say. A little sweet but that should ferment out. I was thinking that I will juice the fruit add some vanilla pods, some cinnamon and some LDME and set it to ferment with Wyeast 4766. 

Couple of questions - is there any harm in splitting the batch and trying different yeasts and blending them back after fermentation has completed? I thought I wouldn't mind trying some made with the natural yeast some with the 4766 yeast and some with a Safale US-05 yeast and then consider blending. Plus its a way of experimenting with what yeasts bring to the ciders.

How long (roughly) does it take for cider to completely ferment? I've used the Oztops in the past to make cider and thats very fast but from what I'm reading it takes quite a while for cider to ferment properly.

Also does any one see any major flaws with my "recipe" for my cider? 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Cheers,
Kirk


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## pokedad

Allan Quatermain said:


> My question is this, what sort of storage time you think this needs, before I can sample this bad boy....



Well a small update on my recipe and progress. I've drunk a few bottles of this. It's a bit young. As previously mentioned the carbonation is light right now. It tastes suprisingly drinkable, I really wuite like it. It's a little tart and dry for my taste. Next batch I am going to add some Lactose maybe 200 grams or so. I've been thinking about what to add to spice it up a bit, and the answer is nothing really, I like it the way it tastes. I am going to put down another batch of it today maybe a couple of sticks of cinnamon and lactose, that's it. Oh and use the proper cider yeast. 

Lesson learnt was, at roughly 10% alch don't put it in 750's. Anymore than two and I feel like I have to go lie down for a while. I've got some 330ml, so I'll use those.


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## manticle

Bottling mine in a bit. Just bulk primed.

There's still a slight odour when the lid is off but the smell has dissipated considerably since a week ago so hopefully some time in the bottles makes it go away all together.


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## MHB

Can someone explain the benefit of putting Apples (cored sliced or otherwise) in to a cider?



I don't believe you would extract much from below the first fraction of a millimetre in from the exposed surface much better surely to juice the apple to get all the goodness out.



On the use of "Malt Extract" in cider, it can help the ferment along; pure juice is deficient in most of the trace elements and a lot of the other cofactors that help yeast to thrive, malt contains everything yeast needs.

I have always used a bit of yeast energiser (the complete yeast nutrient, not just DAP).

With a bit of malt or energiser, I always get a good clean ferment that's over in less than a week.



Yesterday I was down dropping off a pallet load of cubes to get filled with Cider Juice from an orchard that grows proper cider apples.

I git to taste a real cider apple, how to describe it?



Can you imagine chewing mushy cardboard that is both sweet and sour at the same time, with a big hit of tannin?

Not at all like any apple I have ever tasted before but I am really looking forward to the brewing this when the juice gets back.



It was also great to get a look at a real cider making operation.



MHB


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## mattcarty

tyoung said:


> My recipe is ~20L of Berri Apple Juice and 4766 Wyeast smacker.
> 
> Fantastic and very simple



i have this brew in the fermenter as we speak for the misses, should be ready to bottle in a few days. from taste tests of the SG reading samples it doesnt taste too bad and im not normally a fan of ciders, 

cheers
carty


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## cdbrown

The kegged cider took a bit of a hammering on saturday. It's not my type of drink, but everyone loved it being a dry cider. Even had one of my beer drinking mates getting stuck into it for most of the afternoon. The brew was so simple and straight forward that I'll make sure to keep making this as the keg runs out.


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## pdilley

dustnode said:


> Does anyone know how long the blackrock kit should take at about 24 degrees?
> I've got one brewing at the moment and it's been about 2 and 1/2 weeks, 1012 but with quite a bit of foam still at the surface.
> just the kit and 1.5 kg of plain sugar and about 400ml of cascade raspberry syrup.



I have the Blackrock bottled in the cupboard carbonating up. I don't think I'm a fan of it from the little taste test I did while bottling, considering the price I paid at the LHBS I'd rather do my own all apple juice or pear/apple juice must mixture.

That said I keep a brew diary on everything except, you guessed it, the Blackrock. But I am sure it fermented out before the time on the tin (mine is tossed, so if you read 2 weeks, I was done a couple days before then.

I'll see how this one tasted after the carbonation is done and its chilled, but I have a gut feeling you really need to shrink the brew size to keep any flavour, mine seemed lacking in that department.

I used the kit yeast and supplied no additional adjunct juices/LME etc. outside of the recommended additions on the tin.

Cheers,
Brewer Pete


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## davewaldo

Don't be in a rush to toss it down the drain though if it doesn't taste good in a few weeks (not that you would...).

I once made a Cider (a long time ago now) which tasted AWEFUL when I was bottling it. It had a bad, slow fermentation.

Anyways, to cut a long story short, after 3 months in the bottle it tasted quite good. Very similar to cheap commercial cider, so it wasn't great. But all the nasty flavour disappeared....


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## pdilley

davewaldo said:


> Don't be in a rush to toss it down the drain though if it doesn't taste good in a few weeks (not that you would...).
> 
> I once made a Cider (a long time ago now) which tasted AWEFUL when I was bottling it. It had a bad, slow fermentation.
> 
> Anyways, to cut a long story short, after 3 months in the bottle it tasted quite good. Very similar to cheap commercial cider, so it wasn't great. But all the nasty flavour disappeared....



I'll keep it, no worries. I'll give it a fair go. No nasty off flavours, just what I would consider a rather weak flavour of apples in general :blink:


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## manticle

Brewer Pete said:


> I'll keep it, no worries. I'll give it a fair go. No nasty off flavours, just what I would consider a rather weak flavour of apples in general :blink:



I would say the black rock could do with a flavour boost but it's alright for a straight kit. The two that I've done came out reasonably dry. It's on a par with a mercury (not shabby but not great, not strongbow but not aspall etc etc)

I'm also looking for more of an apple flavour which is what led to my recent fresh apples, perservative free apple juice and kit experiment. Bottled on the weekend, smelling slightly funny. Hopefully that dissiptes. The next one I do, I may ditch the potassium metabisulphite and take the risk with the apple yeasts.


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## Verbyla

I'm doing a cider at the moment. Do you think its important or is a good improvement to use cinnamon sticks?


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## buttersd70

Verbyla said:


> I'm doing a cider at the moment. Do you think its important or is a good improvement to use cinnamon sticks?



'orses fer courses imo, but.....have a bit of a think about apple recipes in cooking (particularly in english/ french)......cinmamon is a common partner with apple.....why? cos it works. Does it improve it? well, thats opinion. My personal opinion is that cinnamon, used sparingly, and subtley, improves apple flavour in almost everything. If, however, the cinnamon _dominates_, it turns what could have been good into something bad......


So, subtlety is the key, IMHO.

2c only.

eDIttt:"'; sPEAULuing feeerr fat FINGuazz.


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## manticle

Good to see a knowledgeable and helpful brewer such as yourself posting again.


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## Verbyla

OK well if i were to use cinnamon and only wanted it to have a subtle presence in a cider how much would i used in a 25L batch that was made from juice and what is the best way to add it to the brew?


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## cdbrown

I've seen on other forums (mainly UK ones) that chucking 2 sticks into the fermenter gives a subtle flavour.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/apple-cinnamon-cider-84322/


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## Mcstretch

Franko said:


> Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more
> 
> 12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
> 8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
> 250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
> 3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
> Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)
> 
> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
> Keg and enjoy
> 
> 
> Franko





Hi all, This is only my second post, and I've sucessfully bottled my first European Larger. 

Im going to try making this Cider for my other half, and was wondering what flavour difference would be if I didn't use the apples cut into quarters. I was discussing this mix today and was wondering would the raw apple infect the brew? 

I am also going to be looking at adding some cinnamon sticks into the mix at the start with the malt extract and sugar before I add the juice. I figure that if i boil the cinnamon at the start it would reduce the chance of infection at a later stage?

Once fermentation is complete I will refridgerate for a few weeks and then add the priming sugar into a second fermenter, mix with a small amount of Boiling water and then drain the cider into the second fermenter. I will let it sit for a while and then bottle. eliminating the need for carbonation drops or individually priming bottles.

I have to wait for the Wyeast 4766 to come into stock but will let you know how it turns out.

Cheers,

Mcstretch


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## Phoney

G'day Mcstretch, im planning to make up Franko's recipe too pretty soon.

I wouldnt boil the extract though I dont see any point, nor would I add sugar into it. Adding the cinnamon sticks into the fermenter should be fine so long as you pull them out of the packet with clean fingers and put them straight in. As for the apples, so long as they're washed (with steralize solution if you want to be extra careful) they should be sterile on the inside.

Let me us know how it turns out!


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## The Big Burper

Franko,

Thanks for that cider recipe, looks good, will give it a try.

cheers
Dave


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## vanceonbeach

I've currently brewing an apple flavoured rocket fuel by accident.

I bought the 'Irish Cider' kit from Brewcraft which has a Black Rock Cider tin, a Kg of brew enhancer and a tiny little bottle of apple schnapps flavouring. The wife pointed out my mate who requested I make a cider has coeliac disease (i.e. needs a gluten free diet) so I substituted a Kg of Dex for the brew enhancer. But then I was worried it would be too thin and flavourless, so I chucked in 6L of apple juice as well.

Long story short SG 1.050 and after 4 weeks it is 0.998 and still going. Which means it must be 7%+ alcohol at the moment :beerbang:


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## manticle

Check the black rock tin. It may contain malt already in which case your mate can't have any. Some cider kits do.

Make one with all juice/all apple and yeast and he'll be happy.


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## vanceonbeach

manticle said:


> Check the black rock tin. It may contain malt already in which case your mate can't have any. Some cider kits do.



Thanks for the tip I checked the label but it reckons it's just apple juice concentrate and yeast so he should be OK.

Any idea why it is fermenting down so low? The kit says it should stop bubbling at 1.006 but then again it doesn't say to add litres of apple juice and bright green schnapps essence either.


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## manticle

Is the schnapps essence alcoholic and does the apple juice contain preservatives?

Both could affect fermentation although they'd likely stall it (keep it too high) rather than drop it so low.

Check your hydrometer (should read around 1000 in tap water).

I'm not entirely sure but it can't have far to go. Just leave it till it's stable or crash chill it for a week to drop the yeast out. Sounds like it will be very, very dry but the schapps might give it an interesting flavour.


----------



## Mcstretch

phoneyhuh said:


> G'day Mcstretch, im planning to make up Franko's recipe too pretty soon.
> 
> I wouldnt boil the extract though I dont see any point, nor would I add sugar into it. Adding the cinnamon sticks into the fermenter should be fine so long as you pull them out of the packet with clean fingers and put them straight in. As for the apples, so long as they're washed (with steralize solution if you want to be extra careful) they should be sterile on the inside.
> 
> Let me us know how it turns out!




Hi,

I ended up using Franko's method slightly modified

10L Apple Juice
9L Apple Pear Juice
250gms LDME
3 cinnamon sticks
Wyeast 4766

OG 1.046

Started bubbling after about 12 hours

Im fermenting at about 22 degrees and so far it smells insanely nice if you know what I mean.

Cheers


----------



## Mcstretch

Mcstretch said:


> Hi,
> 
> I ended up using Franko's method slightly modified
> 
> 10L Apple Juice
> 9L Apple Pear Juice
> 250gms LDME
> 3 cinnamon sticks
> Wyeast 4766
> 
> OG 1.046
> FG 1.002
> Cheers



After about 10 days in the fridge and being racked twice the cider is starting to dry out almost like a white wine. Is there anything that I can do at this stage to reduce the dryness and possibly sweeten it up a bit. Perhaps throw in a litre of fresh juice or some other flavouring or even sugar?

I'm looking at bottling this within the week.

Cheers


----------



## iScarlet

Mcstretch said:


> After about 10 days in the fridge and being racked twice the cider is starting to dry out almost like a white wine. Is there anything that I can do at this stage to reduce the dryness and possibly sweeten it up a bit. Perhaps throw in a litre of fresh juice or some other flavouring or even sugar?
> 
> I'm looking at bottling this within the week.
> 
> Cheers



I've got the same problem. It's dry, but it's not unpleasant, so we're just going to mull some of it with cinnamon, cloves and possibly some sugar.

I _did_ end up using white wine yeast seeing as that's the best my closest HBS has, so I reckon if I go the white wine yeast next time I do this one I might add a bit of lactose to counter the dryness.

Otherwise, lovely.


----------



## Verbyla

The answer to sweetening up a dry cider is to use lactose as it is a non-fermentable sugar. 

For a 23L batch use 200-250grams for medium sweetening and 500grams for a sweet cider


----------



## Mcstretch

Verbyla said:


> The answer to sweetening up a dry cider is to use lactose as it is a non-fermentable sugar.
> 
> For a 23L batch use 200-250grams for medium sweetening and 500grams for a sweet cider




Can I drain off some of the cider, heat it and add the lactose, then mix it back into the cube in the fridge as is or is it something you really need to add at the start

Cheers,


----------



## manticle

@mcstretch: You can add lactose at the start or after primary. Being unfermentable it doesn't matter which point. If you heat the cider and add it back though it will change your flavour profile and not in a good way.

Use a new packet which has been stored in the fridge, add it in dry and leave it for 24 hours. It should be sterile enough. I dissolved some in boiling water for a recently made stout but it occurs to me that boiling milk sugar may be a bad thing. I'm still not sure either way although the stout tastes great in hydro samples so far.

If you add apple juice or sugar you may kick off fermentation again. If you bottle straight afterwards you're looking at making the bottles explode.


----------



## Mcstretch

manticle said:


> @mcstretch: You can add lactose at the start or after primary. Being unfermentable it doesn't matter which point. If you heat the cider and add it back though it will change your flavour profile and not in a good way.
> 
> Use a new packet which has been stored in the fridge, add it in dry and leave it for 24 hours. It should be sterile enough. I dissolved some in boiling water for a recently made stout but it occurs to me that boiling milk sugar may be a bad thing. I'm still not sure either way although the stout tastes great in hydro samples so far.
> 
> If you add apple juice or sugar you may kick off fermentation again. If you bottle straight afterwards you're looking at making the bottles explode.



I guess the main concern as well is that some people that may want to drink this cider may be lactose intolerant. I've done a bit of research and found that some people also like to add honey. I may go with the honey option and see what happens.

Trial and error, eventually I'll get it right but at least I'll have fun trying. 

Cheers,


----------



## manticle

Honey is fermentable though. If you add fermentable sugar to a finished brew it will start fermenting again. If it ferments again and you bottle it it may be either gassy or explode. You could do that if you were kegging.

If it makes you feel any better, some people are intolerant to honey (fructose intolerance).


----------



## andrewl378

Franko said:


> Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more
> 
> 12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
> 8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
> 250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
> 3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
> Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)
> 
> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
> Keg and enjoy
> 
> 
> Franko



Hey Franko, your recipe looks great. Being new to cider and in particular Wyeast, I have what may be a very basic question. Do you need to increase the cell count of your yeast by using a starter? I keep reading that cell count is important and all that, and it has me a little spooked about starting without doing it right.


----------



## manticle

Don't freak out too much. A lot of technical stuff is interesting and probably makes better brews but it's not always essential to being able to brew a tasty drop. Some demystification can be a good thing.

To make a starter from a smack pack of liquid yeast I smack and allow to swell. I go by the rule of 1/2 day for every month since manufacture so obviously buying fresh yeast is a good idea.
While it swells I boil the kettle and pour off approximately 2 litres into a stainless steel bowl. I add a couple of hundred grams of dme, whisk then cover with glad wrap and allow to cool to 18 degrees.

When the pack has swelled and been left the appropriate amount of time, I pitch into the dme mixture, whisk again (whisk is always clean and sanitised as is the thermometer), cover and leave again. When foam begins on the surface I consider it ready for pitching.

This method is not perfect but unless you're building up a lager starter (which is a larger starter ha ha ha) or building from a slant or building for a 1090 wort, I reckon this is sufficient. The only time it's failed me was when making a pilsner and I probably should have been making a double size starter for that. Smack packs are supposedly sufficient without starting for an average wort so any building is going to help.

With ciders, nutrient in addition to the yeast is recommended.

As I keep the yeasty wort around 18 I don't feel the need to pour off the top liquid. I also don't ferment right out which is recommended by some people. As with all things - just because a method works doesn't mean it's the best one around. Mine works - it may not be the best one around but it's simple enough to try for your first few until you're comfortable with everything.


----------



## barneyb

How important is this part:


Franko said:


> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter


I have no room to chill any large amount of anything, is this for clarity or for something unique to ciders?


----------



## manticle

You can do without it. I do it for all my beers and all my ciders and find it helps mature them and round out the edges. It also flocs out the yeast which helps with clarity.


----------



## jbew7692

Hi guys,
Great forum. Im very impressed with the quality of advice - better than any brewing book! 

I think this is the most useful cider thread I have found to date! Just thought I'd add my own experiences to the mix in the interest of the collective good.

I based my first cider off Franko's version (terrific base recipe!):

Franko's:
12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)

Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
Keg and enjoy

Mine:
24L Aldi 100% Apple Juice
500g LDME (sweet tooth)
Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast

fermented ~2 weeks at 15 C' then bottle conditioned for 1 month.

To give some feedback, I found this cider fairly dry, but not overly so. The LDME prevents it from drying out more than my liking. Its not an aspall, but its 1000x better than a strongbow. 

To tune the recipe, I split the fully fermented batch in two. I added 20g/L Lactose to one batch (to make a sweet cider) and nothing to the other (dry cider). Feedback at today's christmas party was mixed, half preferred the sweeter and half preferred the drier cider. 

I think the next batch will be a compromise, sweetening a lesser amount (say 10g/L lactose) and adding more sour/bitter apple juice, to balance out the good-for-drinking-but-not-so-good-for-fermenting aldi apple juice. I plan to use blitzed crab apples to provide ~10-20% of the juice for the next batch, as they are in season (at least they are around sydney) and rampant across the burbs. Will let you know how it goes,

Cheers and happy christmas,
J

Edit: Come to think of it, the more the relo's had drunk the more they preferred the dry, opposed to sweet, cider. This may be a confounding factor...


----------



## the_yobbo

tyoung said:


> My recipe is ~20L of Berri Apple Juice and 4766 Wyeast smacker.
> 
> Fantastic and very simple
> 
> The juice is 99.9% apple juice with no preservatives. You can regularly get it for $1/L from the chain supermarkets in 3L bottles. It is reconstituted but I don't know if you could tell the difference.
> 
> btw - I rescued the trub from my last brew to repitch into the next one. Presumably any nutrients etc would have been consumed in the first brew, so does anyone know what/how much nutrient to add next time?
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Tim




I'm looking at brewing a cider. Was there any feedback regarding using reconstitued apple juice from the local supermarket? Thats what I was thinking of doing (cheaper for a first attempt).
I beleive fresh apple juice from supermarkets have a shelf life. I assume using fresh juice 1 day before it's expiry is unwise. Therefore, what is the shelf life of a cider made with fresh or reconstituted juice?

Cheers


----------



## boingk

The shelf life will vary depending on the yeast used and alcohol in the final brew. I did an 11% cider (20L apple juice from + 2kg white sugar) with a champagne yeast that turned into a brilliant drop reminiscent of (surprise surprise?) champagne, especially seeing as I overcarbed it. Aged that one over 6 months I think before it was all gone.

Not sure what the shelf life of the lower alc stuff would be but I imagine that 6 months would be fine and perhaps up to a year in glass depending again on the specifics of the brew.

The chamapagne stuff was made with the reconstituted no-preservative stuff and came out fine.

Cheers - boingk


----------



## JayDin

Thanks for the good reading everyone. Only started any brewing recently, with this forum being my starting point. Did one about 6 weeks ago, and my 2nd is fermenting as I type:

First One:
22l Aldi reconstituted apple juice
EC-1118 champagne yeast
My opinion: tastes OK without being special. Dry, but to be expected given the yeast. Best drank with a glass full of ice cubes.

Second One (doing 10-12 litre per batch now til i find the "perfect drink"  ):
11l 100% pure unflitered apple juice, bought fresh from Cedar Creek Orchard (no preservative, only pasteurised) in Sydney
WLP720 yeast
Still fermenting, so will update in a few weeks when bottled and carbonated. BUT, I'm keen to see how it ends up. Apart from this forum spent a good amount of time reading up on yeasts before option for the White Labs. And the juice tastes devine fresh. Will be a cloudy cider, but then it is what it is and some beers are too. Maybe because it was unfliltered the OG was 1052 (I also have their filtered juice and OG is 1045 or so).

My current intent is to make a new batch every month, with slightly different ingredients to see how the taste changes. But I'm pretty sure will stick to this juice, and if this yeast works as well as I hope will stick with it too.

Yeast took a long time to track down in Sydney. But can order it through: E.S.B. Brewing Supplies 1/ 11 Lorraine St Peakhurst NSW 2210 ph: (02) 9584 3372


----------



## Stinky Nightgown

Hi Guys........Got this one conditioning in the primary at the moment.

Somerset Gold 5Litres (1 Gallon) by msheridan69
========================
2.4L Apple (Just Juice)
2.4L Apple & Pear (Just Juice)
Juice of half a lemon
250mls strong Liptons tea
100gms Honey (diluted with hot water for easy mixing)
3.5 gms Favorite Yeast

1. Steep tea bag in about 250mls of boiling water, add juice of lemon and honey. stir honey until dissolved. 
2. Cover with cling file and let cool down. 
3. Fill fermenter with juices (this should equal 75% apple and 25% pear)
4. Add Honey Lemon tea liquid.
5. Pitch yeast - I used left over pack of Coopers kit yeast. Probably an ale yeast. If using a champagne yeast the end product may end up very dry.

Primary for 14 days (16-24C)

This tastes great straight out of the fermenter as a 'Scrumpy' but tastes even better when conditioned for 2-3 week 

I used Nottingham yeast. 
OG 1.050
F.G 1.012
Damn 5.8%.........just drinking the sample makes me want to go lie down.......but the taste makes me want to skull from the top of the fermenter..... :chug: 
Very simmilar to Bulmers......not super dry.......not super sweet.......Just right


----------



## jzani

QuantumBrewer said:


> The browning of apples is due to oxidation (I'm not sure that the lack of it is attributable to the alcohol), so if they don't go brown for quite some time, you can be happy that your layer of CO2 is nice and steady. Perhaps we should all have a bit of apple in the top of our fermenters as an oxidation test?



The vitamin C in the apple juice may also prevent the (brown) Azo Dyes from forming. Acts as a reducing agent if I can remember my high school chemistry correctly.


----------



## JestersDarts

Stinky Nightgown said:


> Hi Guys........Got this one conditioning in the primary at the moment.
> 
> Somerset Gold 5Litres (1 Gallon) by msheridan69
> ========================
> 2.4L Apple (Just Juice)
> 2.4L Apple & Pear (Just Juice)
> Juice of half a lemon
> 250mls strong Liptons tea
> 100gms Honey (diluted with hot water for easy mixing)
> 3.5 gms Favorite Yeast
> 
> 1. Steep tea bag in about 250mls of boiling water, add juice of lemon and honey. stir honey until dissolved.
> 2. Cover with cling file and let cool down.
> 3. Fill fermenter with juices (this should equal 75% apple and 25% pear)
> 4. Add Honey Lemon tea liquid.
> 5. Pitch yeast - I used left over pack of Coopers kit yeast. Probably an ale yeast. If using a champagne yeast the end product may end up very dry.
> 
> Primary for 14 days (16-24C)
> 
> This tastes great straight out of the fermenter as a 'Scrumpy' but tastes even better when conditioned for 2-3 week
> 
> I used Nottingham yeast.
> OG 1.050
> F.G 1.012
> Damn 5.8%.........just drinking the sample makes me want to go lie down.......but the taste makes me want to skull from the top of the fermenter..... :chug:
> Very simmilar to Bulmers......not super dry.......not super sweet.......Just right



G'Day mate - 

First up it says you used the kit yeast, and then it says you used nottingham - 
Which one did you use?
or is this two seperate attempts at the recipe?


----------



## trax

I am a first time brewer and I'm attempting Frankos cider recipe but their is still a few bits and pieces I'm not sure about mainly when it comes time to bottle. I have read a few recipes on the net and some people add a teaspoon of sugar to each bottle and some people don't why is this and should I do it any help would be great cheers.


----------



## fergyle

any of you guys know if it's possible to buy that wyeast that franko mentioned online? i'd love to give that recipe a shot, but i'm a bit of a n00b and haven't found somewhere that sells it...


----------



## WilBier

fergyle said:


> any of you guys know if it's possible to buy that wyeast that franko mentioned online? i'd love to give that recipe a shot, but i'm a bit of a n00b and haven't found somewhere that sells it...



I emailed Grain and Grape in Melbourne and ordered some of the 4766 Wyeast about 3weeks ago. They didn't have any in stock but were just placing an order. John got it in for me and a week and a half later it was 'in the meter box'. Excellent service.

I'm putting 2 cider recipes on tonight. One will be 20 litres of crushed apples - actually I'm going to use a typical high-speed domestic juicer tonight (it will be painful, but it's only for a triall) and in parallel I'm going to ferment 20l of store bought apple juice. Both with the 4766 yeast. I'll keep you posted. 

Wilbier 

(is back, recently moved house and now I have a double lock up brewery!!)


----------



## Gormand

WilBier said:


> I emailed Grain and Grape in Melbourne and ordered some of the 4766 Wyeast about 3weeks ago. They didn't have any in stock but were just placing an order. John got it in for me and a week and a half later it was 'in the meter box'. Excellent service.
> 
> I'm putting 2 cider recipes on tonight. One will be 20 litres of crushed apples - actually I'm going to use a typical high-speed domestic juicer tonight (it will be painful, but it's only for a triall) and in parallel I'm going to ferment 20l of store bought apple juice. Both with the 4766 yeast. I'll keep you posted.
> 
> Wilbier
> 
> (is back, recently moved house and now I have a double lock up brewery!!)



I did something similar recently with the juice. 22L apple juice +500g maltodextrin, US-05 yeast.
undrinkable :/ completely dry and tastless I found. A friend of mine added in some cut up apples and other things and it came out way better.

Im not sure if it was just the brand of juice I used or what, but I plan to experiment more later.


----------



## WilBier

I crushed my apples on Monday and added some campden tablets to clean up the juice after I finished. The mix has been resting for around 40 hours now. I have a smack pack swelling up at the moment and I was wondering if I should consider any aeration before adding the yeast tonight or just tip the yeast straight in?


----------



## tomdavis

Franko said:


> Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more
> 
> 12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
> 8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
> 250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
> 3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
> Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)
> 
> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
> Keg and enjoy
> 
> 
> Franko



Hi guys, 

Sorry to dig up an old post but, I have been looking at Franko's trusted cider recipe, which I am keen to try, but I do not have kegging facilities. 

I am experienced with bottle conditioning/bulk priming though. Also, I would prefer to produce a medium-dry cider rather than a bone-dry champagne style one. 

I am interested to hear opinions on how would you tweak this recipe to suit a bulk-priming method instead?


----------



## a1149913

you wouldn't tweak it, once finished bulk prime with dex and bottle. The 250g of LDME should give you a medium dry cider, more = sweeter.


----------



## a1149913

After trying this cider i made with berri juice, i'm finding it to be quite bland. The front palate is very watery, while the back palate resembles somewhat of a dry cider. Is there any way to increase the apple flavor?

I also added 5 cut up apples and a vanilla stick to the primary. 4766 yeast

JT


----------



## Tanga

A. I am brewing my current experiment with Nottingham yeast. I'll let you know how it ends up, but so far I'm impressed. Much slower than 1118 (champers yeast). But a lot more flavour.

Is a 5 seeds style what you're after? That's a possibility with store bought juice. A Bulmers, however, is not. I know this is probably going to lose me some credibility (actually, scratch that I'm pretty sure I have none), but it works. Cordial (one made with real apples) used in place of priming sugar (it is just concentrated juice + sugar) will add apple flavour.

PS someone tell him about lactose. I don't know anything about it. I like dry ciders.

PPS. Contrary to common sense the apple flavour seems to come back (a little) with aging.


----------



## The Giant

I'm about to keg this tonight
21 litres preservative free apple juice from woolies
500g lactose
1 x 12 g pack of cider yeast from craftbrewer (dry yeast)

OG was 1054
FG was 1012, however I think it could have come down a bit more, I liked the taste of it and as i was kegging i dont have to worry about bottle bombs, so i chucked it straight in the fridge to cold condition as previously my ciders kept on coming down and became to dry

Very happy with it but as above I may have stopped fermentation early.


----------



## Jeff_beazley

Hi all.

So I've just got my first cider recipe going (Franko's recipe) and my only question is with the cooling and bottling part.

After 8-12 days of fermentation, do I literally put the whole wort in a fridge for 2 weeks? Does the bottling come in after this and is it similar to beer where there is a 2nd bottle fermention with priming sugar/carbonation drops?

Thanks in advance 

Jeff


----------



## technoicon

Stinky Nightgown said:


> Somerset Gold 5Litres (1 Gallon) by msheridan69
> ========================
> 2.4L Apple (Just Juice)
> 2.4L Apple & Pear (Just Juice)
> Juice of half a lemon
> 250mls strong Liptons tea
> 100gms Honey (diluted with hot water for easy mixing)
> 3.5 gms Favorite Yeast
> 
> 1. Steep tea bag in about 250mls of boiling water, add juice of lemon and honey. stir honey until dissolved.
> 2. Cover with cling file and let cool down.
> 3. Fill fermenter with juices (this should equal 75% apple and 25% pear)
> 4. Add Honey Lemon tea liquid.
> 5. Pitch yeast - I used left over pack of Coopers kit yeast. Probably an ale yeast. If using a champagne yeast the end product may end up very dry.
> 
> Primary for 14 days (16-24C)
> 
> This tastes great straight out of the fermenter as a 'Scrumpy' but tastes even better when conditioned for 2-3 week




I have done this recipe be for and I think it's awesome. from memory it lasted about 4 hrs. I used the powder kit from kmart that they no longer sell. 

will be doing another one soon!


----------



## db73

I have few questions.

This is the first cider I have done and have put down Frankos recipe but used S04 yeast with no nutrient, as it was all I had access to. 

I use glad wrap in lieu of the lid and airlock. 

Looking for signs of fermentation, I don't see the foam/krausen I'm used to seeing when I brew beer but the glad wrap is bulging at the top.

With cider does a krausen form?

Can anyone who used this recipe give me an SG as I forgot to take a reading when I put it down.

Thanks 

db


----------



## peterlonz

New to Cider making myself so can't offer any practical suggestions.
However I have just put down a Black Rock Cider Kit on the recommendation of my LHBS.
They said "just follow the recipe it's the best of the cider kits".

Reading extensively here I can see I jumped in far too quickly.
For anyone interested:
I carefully established a wort temp of 23 which is the low end (23 - 27) according to the kit.
Pitched & stirred in two packets of kit yeast (long story here, somewhat embarrasing, I accidentally spilled the first can contents all over the floor).
Organised the "wet towels in water trough" with digital temp probe taped to outside of fermentor.
Waited & waited, 36 hours, temp hovering around 23 - 23.5 no observable fermentation, airlock & lid seal checked all OK.
12 hours later some bubbling from airlock.
This sluggishness to get started is worrying; admittedly I did not attempt yeast hydration, because I never, or very rarely use this technique.
I now have the fermentor uncovered as the weather has changed; temp is now around 23.5.
Has anyone experienced this slow start?
Hope I have a decent cider when all is finished, the kit cost $20 so it should be dependable.


----------



## d3vour3r

ive done the summerset gold cider, but i ramped up volumes to 

3x2.4L apple 
3x 2.4l apple pear 
750ml strong tea
juice 2 lemons, 
500g honey

just added the honey and lemon to the hot tea, then threw it all in fermenter and pitched yeast. was the easy brew of anything ive ever done lol.

tastes great (still have a few bottles floating around, been a couple months)

i noticed not a massive krausen appeared, just some foam. best way to cehck fermentation is the wort looks lightly carbonated ie small bubbles rising to the surface.

Sometimes i wish i knew these things when i was a teenager trying to get alcohol. probably a good thing i didnt...

hope it works out well for u


----------



## JDW81

When ever i make cider I always let it ferment for at least 3 weeks (always trying to maintain @20C) and in my experience they always take a bit longer for fermentation to kick off. I also never really get a large (or often any) krausen, even when fermentation is in full flight. If the glad wrap is bulging that's a sure sign of a good healthy fermentation.

I don't know if this is the same for all ciders but I've made quite a few and this has been the case for all of them (they've also all been ripper brews too)

If it tastes good then you're in business 

JD


----------



## Lurks

I made this Somerset Gold recipe, ramping up to a 20L volume and with a bit more tea, honey and lemon.

It's great, but I'd prefer if it had a bit more bite to it. It's a nice drop but I like some tang.

Anyone got a suggestion how to achieve that?


----------



## Cactus

Chinamat said:


> I made this Somerset Gold recipe, ramping up to a 20L volume and with a bit more tea, honey and lemon.
> 
> It's great, but I'd prefer if it had a bit more bite to it. It's a nice drop but I like some tang.
> 
> Anyone got a suggestion how to achieve that?



I'm a bit new to all this so nothing gospel here. 

But, the couple of ciders I've done have had an excellent tang, I like very sharp and dry cider though, not to everyone's taste. 

I added a wee bottle of apple shnapps base from the LHBS to the wort and primed with apple juice concentrate. The priming with conc seems to have given it an excellent apple tang/sharpness but do be careful, the maths isn't as easy as it seems. I have drastically overprimed and have some very fizzy cider. I worked out the total sugar content of 6 x 250 mL packs to be 160 (odd, don't have my book with me) gramms, that into a 23L brew shouldn't have been as exciting as it was, I'd definately drop it down to maybe 3 of them and 60 odd gramms of sugar or Dex. Bulk priming obviously.


----------



## Rhodders

Hi Guys
I have just joined AussieBrewer. I am actually Welsh!! HaHa!!
I am new to home brewing. A mate introduced me to it and we started off a Belgian Ale together and it turned out pretty nice and got even better with age. I got down to my last six recently and had a craving for some more. Also being 'between jobs' felt like the right opportunity to do so.
On three consecutive days I started off a Belgian ale, a European lager (ready made packs from local homebrew shop) and a cider.
The comments on this blog I have found very useful, encouraging and inspiring.
I bottled the lager earlier this week - hydrometer reading indicate its about 4% at bottling so I am not overly happy with that (being a typical 5.2% drinker usually) but nevertheless hopefully be a refreshing beverage.
I bottled the ale today - hydro readings indicate around 6% and I am hoping it turns out like the previous brew - TASTY!!
Turning now to the cider.....
Ingredients:-12 litres apple and black currant juice (woolworths home brand)8 litres apple juice (woolworths home brand)Yeast - "W Yeast 2049 7g"
I started this off on the 30/11 and it had starting OG of 1.048. It took a day to start bubbling. By 4/12 OG was 1.024. It was quite sweet. A nice cloudy pink colour and was bubbling quite aggressively. By 13/12 it was 1.008 indicating a nice alc content. I racked it to secondary on 14/12. On 17/12 it had OG of 1.004. Still tastes nice - not too dry. Looks like it is going to be around 6% - nice for cider!!
I intend to take a further reading tomorrow and have pencilled in a bottling session early fri morning. I am ummming and ahhing about introducing lactose to add a bit of sweetener. I like medium / dry cider. I think the yeast I used is a champagne yeast - these bottles could be quite lively.... Being my first cider brew I do not want bottle bombs etc!
For previous ale / lager ones I have used carbonation drops and intend to use the same with the cider.
Is there anything else I could / should be doing?
Otherwise I will let you know how I go in due course!!
My next project is going to be:20 litres apple juice (woolworths home brand)Wyeast 4766 cider yeast - upon your recommendations250g LDME
THANKS
RHODDERS


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## negativesteve

Franko said:


> Here is my tried and tested cider recipe that has cider drinkers quaffing for more
> 
> 12 Litres 100% Apple juice no added flavours or preservatives (Bought from Aldi)
> 8 Litres Apple & Pear juice no added flavours or preservatives (Woolworths)
> 250-300 grams LDME (light dried powdered malt)
> 3-4 Apples granny smiths or Pink ladys cut into quarters added to fermenter
> Wyeast 4766 Cider Yeast (this is imperative)
> 
> Ferment for 8-12 days then chill for 2 weeks at 2-3 degrees or cold filter
> Keg and enjoy
> 
> 
> Franko


Have just laid down the above for my first cider attempt, went about 2 litres over the quantity due to buying 2.4 litre containers and not noticing it. 
Only variation was around 200 mils of maple syrup. Here's hoping it all works out.


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