cider help ?

[ralphstralph]

so my friend cant drink beer so i though i would make hime a cider not having any experience with cider i brought 23l of apple juice from coles tiped it in to the fermenter let it sit for 24 hours the pitched my yeast that i brought from my local home brew store looked kind of budget ....... ferment was done in 7 days left it to sit for 2 weeks then bottled it i tatsed it befor bottling it and it was extremly sour some im thinkinh it might be a failed batch ....... does any one know a cheap easy to drink cider recipe ??
thanks guys

 

[TimT]

'Kind of sour'? Sounds like it fermented nicely though. You may find when you taste the cider again in a few months it has come out beautifully. Cider needs time to age.

 

[H0U5ECAT]

what yeast? what juice?
tetra juice or any juice with preservatives isn't really good to make cider with.

 

[Rodolphe01]

supermarket juice + yeast makes cider, it is sour/dry though. I do it occasionally and back sweeten in the keg with a few litres un-fermented juice. Making it sweet and bottling is a pain.

Is there any particular reason you waited 24 hours before pitching yeast? I'd suggest pitching yeast straight away.

Search the forums and you will find tons of info.

 

[ralphstralph]

yeah it was just a coles brand apple juice with no preservatives and the yeast i brought just had cider yeast written on it .. i think next time ill use a wyeast .... has any one brought one of those cider kits containing apple juice concentrate + sweetner .... a mate told me to wait 24 to pitch i thought it was abit strange my self ..

 

[H0U5ECAT]

yeast will eat sugar even in the keg/bottle.
Most people also recommend yeast nutrient with their wine yeast. helps kick start it.
If you want to make it sweeter, try an artificial sweetener in the bottle/keg.

Have a read through this forum. I found heaps of tricks and ideas for my batch.

 

[ralphstralph]

yeah ive been having a read now finding some interesting stuff... basically just trying to find a easy cider tasty cider for my mate to drink with out too much effort as ag brewing takes up most of my time .......just a shame he is lazy :icon_drool2:

 

[H0U5ECAT]

apple juice, yeast, a few little tweaks and a month or two = a decent tasting cider.

I've put aside a few bottles from the batch I made and bottled.
I've tasted these ones over time to see how they have matured over time. Good to know how it settles.

I'm no expert, but learning fast!

 

[JDW81]

This is a common theme, and people are often disappointed with the results they get from their initial attempts at cider. The main reason people are disappointed is that rekorderlig/mercury/5 seeds etc are not what I would call fine examples of cider. They are IMHO overly sweet and aimed for the mass market, a market who would not drink traditional cider as it is too dry.

Ok so I'll get off my soap box now.

Commercial style cider is very difficult to replicate at home, especially if you bottle (you can back sweeten with juice in the keg, which you can't do in the bottle). Cider also isn't something that can be rushed, especially if you bottle. Cider should be fermented cool and slow, and then given a long maturation time. Traditionally it would have been fermented through the autumn, conditioned throughout the winter and drunk in spring/early summer.

My tips for HB cider are.
1: Use good quality juice and yeast (you can also add some cinnamon and cloves if you like)
2: ferment on the cooler side (between 15-18 degrees) for at least 3 weeks
3: bottle/keg to approximately 2.5 volumes of CO2.
4: Leave it in a cool place for at least 3 months then taste ONE bottle.
5: Leave it for another 3 months then start to drink.

JD.

 

[Waltzing Matilda]

This one cheap and nasty?
For people with no taste buds.
My ok' man reckons XXXX has no taste...
He also has three valves to his kidneys, so apparently according to his doctor is a piss drinking machine...