Discussion Of Aussie Juices For Cider

[darkhydro]

Hi all,

I just signed up to this forum, looks like a great site!

Of late I have been trying to get a nice cider recipe happening.

My first batch of cider was 20L of woolworths home brand apple juice with some nottingham yeast and some yeast nutrient (this one http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=951)

fermented for 2 weeks, cold crashed and bottled. For some reason it was really quite smelly when the bottles where first opened, maybe carbon dioxide?

the cider was not very apple-y at all and it was fairly dry. This could be due to the poor quality juice? Had some the other night after it had aged for about a month in a fridge, it was respectable but i wouldn't recommend this recipe.

What are peoples opinions on juices? i'm trying to get a good cost/quality ratio.

Thanks!

 

[kalbarluke]

There are a few posts already on which are the best juices to use. Yeast choice is also important.

 

[stuchambers]

I too tried using woolworths juice to make a cider. Mine had a very distinct sulphur or fart smell I was told this was due to the lack of nutrient in the juice, I also added some lactose to give some sweetness. The lactose does not ferment so leaves the cider a little sweeter. It has been a few months now and the smell is all but gone however I would like it a little sweeter still, this is easily adjusted by adding more lactose.
I have just put on another brew that is almost ready to bottle, to this batch I added some cinnamon and half a vanilla bean. I am very keen on seeing how it will taste.
Hope this helps. There are many more experienced cider makers than I whom i'm sure can help.
Cheers Stu

 

[Greg.L]

Another way to reduce the sourness of cider is the Malo Lactic Fermentation. (MLF). By converting the malic acid to Lactic acid MLF makes cider much softer and more drinkable. Unfortunately the cost of the culture, around $40, makes this uneconomic for small batches. Natural MLF can happen if the cider is kept at 16C or above, and no camden added, this is free but unpredictable. MLF has an effect similar to adding a little sweetness.

 

[pk.sax]

If you want appley tastes out of cider made out of commercial juice,

Use cloudy apple juice
& forget about clear cider.

I can't tell you what beer yeast does to cider, but white wine yeast and wild yeasts work pretty well

 

[The Pope]

Pour it in a glass and mix it with apple juice. TOO EASY!!!
I have the same issue atm. Fully fermented it out so lost all the sweetness.
In future I will cold crash it earlier & keg it before it gets too dry. Might even add a 50/50 mix of apple & pear juice next time (or even blackberry)

 

[Bribie G]

As an old pommy scrumpy drinker I seem to remember that when the likes of Bulmers started pushing their wares in Australia in the 1970s, a lot of their juice came from overseas as true cider apples weren't available in Australia - if you have ever sunk your fangs into a real cider apple you will still wince as you remember the highly flavoured but quite hair raising flavour blast. A bit like chewing a true wine grape as opposed to a "Flame seedless" sweet dessert grape from Woolies. edit: and I don't meant wince from sourness or harshness - it's like suddenly you are hit by an apple tsunami

I know that true old-school cider apples are now grown in Tasmania and New Zealand by and for ciderists, spoke to one in Wellington last year - but this is why I really haven't explored HB cider myself due to lack of "authentic" ingredients. I wonder if there are kits available from the UK made on cider apples that you could use as a "backbone" and layer the Aussie juices on top of that?

edit: wiki linky

 

[Greg.L]

As an old pommy scrumpy drinker I seem to remember that when the likes of Bulmers started pushing their wares in Australia in the 1970s, a lot of their juice came from overseas as true cider apples weren't available in Australia - if you have ever sunk your fangs into a real cider apple you will still wince as you remember the highly flavoured but quite hair raising flavour blast. A bit like chewing a true wine grape as opposed to a "Flame seedless" sweet dessert grape from Woolies. edit: and I don't meant wince from sourness or harshness - it's like suddenly you are hit by an apple tsunami

I know that true old-school cider apples are now grown in Tasmania and New Zealand by and for ciderists, spoke to one in Wellington last year - but this is why I really haven't explored HB cider myself due to lack of "authentic" ingredients. I wonder if there are kits available from the UK made on cider apples that you could use as a "backbone" and layer the Aussie juices on top of that?

edit: wiki linky

To get a similar effect in Australia the best thing is to use crab apples. May not be quite the same quality as proper bittersweet cider apples, but can add a lot of body and tannin to cider. Of course you can't buy them, just have to find a tree in your district and press the juice, but I can say from experience it is well worth it.

 

[Airgead]

To get a similar effect in Australia the best thing is to use crab apples. May not be quite the same quality as proper bittersweet cider apples, but can add a lot of body and tannin to cider. Of course you can't buy them, just have to find a tree in your district and press the juice, but I can say from experience it is well worth it.

Yep. I find between 2.5 and 5% crab apple juice in a cider makes all the difference.

Cheers
Dave