How to get started in Cider. The definitive(ish) guide to beginner&#39

[TimT]

Also I seem to remember last year the taste was much more intensely spirituous on bottling, and it was only in a few months that the full wine flavours seemed to come out.

 

[TimT]

Opened a bottle of scrumpy today. It seems to have matured and settled out, with a lovely apple fragrance - however it's not as rich or as complex or quite as wine-y as last year.I put that mostly down to the apples we had to work with (less, basically - it was a disappointing harvest; few apples to begin with; and we selected them quite late). Interesting though. I opened a bottle about a month or so ago, and the taste was quite neutral - a slightly uninspired wine. Nevertheless it's getting quite nice now - the acidity is now more noticeable again, but in a balanced way. It also has done that weird thing where it seems to become sweet again after a few months of being quite dry and not-sweet.

I'm heartened by the way this cider improves with age and who knows? By Christmas and New Year it could be a new wine again!

 

[Airgead]

That's one of the joys of cider.

 

[Middo]

Just finished reading all 14 pages over the last couple days at work and have made a number of purchases based on the feedback within. The only thing's I'm not sure on is whether my fermenter is too big, the amount of malic acid to use and whether to use a yeast nutrient with 71b.

Thanks everyone who has contributed thus far, I've been all grain brewing for a little over a year now and have all the equipment and kegerator ready for a cider. My goal is to make something this weekend and have it kegged for xmas / new years.

I'm also an apiarist with a few top bar hives on my property giving me a great supply of fresh natural honey. If anyone sees anything wrong or would change please advise. My goal is pretty simple really being my first cider and hopefully my sister who has been pestering me for a cider for a while will like it. I'm not wanting something too dry and can back sweeten with more honey or lactose to taste when kegging.

I was going to hop it a little with cascade and citra but figure I'll leave the experimental stuff for later on.

Here's the recipe and process I've put together using what I learnt from this thread and what I know from all grain.

18 litres Aldi apple juice (preservative free)
1.5 litre of water boiled with 4 organic black tea bags
Adding 800g honey to tea mix
Mixing all contents above into a 60 litre fermenter (I don't have anything smaller but can get it if required).
Adding ??g Malic acid to juice in fermenter.
Shake the contents rigorously to oxiginate pre yeast addition
Adding 10 grams Lavlin 71B to fermenter
Temp controlled fridge at 18 degrees ramping up to 22 over the first week and leaving at 22 for 2.5 weeks.
Cold crash for .5 week.
Force carb and serve at 4 degrees / 70 kpa pressure (same as my pale and ipa get served at).... just in time for xmas day.

I'm not sure if all malic acid is the same but I got 100g from here: http://www.ibrew.com.au/products/malic-acid

Cheers,
Middo

 

[Airgead]

Looks fine. I'd add the acid after fermentation if needed. If you add too much its really hard to take it out again. the flavour will change as it ferments so something that has just the right amount of acid before fermentation will be way too much once the sweetness ferments away.

Cheers
dave

 

[manticle]

Yes to nutrient.

 

[_HOME_BREW_WALLACE_]

i have just read the entire 14 pages of this thread, and WOW! you guys have inspired me to have another go at cider (after 3 failed attempts).
Im going to have a go at a mulberry cider (as the brother in law has 5 trees).

 

[Airgead]

Come... Join us....

 

[jsm]

Great beginners guide. I found it helpful. Has anyone used double cans of brigalow apple cider and 29 liters of apple juice before??? My first cider came out sweet and dry when i used an expensive kit I bought from the local brew shop. Just wondering if it is useful in aiding in sweetening?

 

[Airgead]

The cheap kits are often artificially sweetened so you, it will probably add sweetness. Mind you they are also designed to be added to water so using two kits plus apple juice is likely to give you something you could run your car off rather than something you would like to drink...

Sweet ciders are hard to do without a bunch of extra work. There is a thread on it here - http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/83751-sweet-cider-how-to-keep-things-sweet/

Easiest way it to add some apple juice to the glass when serving.

Cheers
Dave

 

[CCC]

This is my first post so excuse me if it seems a silly question. I made my first cider 2 weeks ago today - 18 litres of Woolworths Apple juice and 2.4 litres of Apple and pear. Pitched it at 21 and have kept it there. Used a cider (liquid) yeast in black packet (sorry used to beer yeasts so can't remember the name)
It was 1.050 and is now 1.008. In the tube though it still had quiet a lot of bubbles and tasted nice but was a bit carbonated. Should I keep it going or would it be ok to bottle? And do I use the same carbonation rates as I would for beer?

 

[LiquidGold]

Was that reading stable over several days? Most ciders usually get to 1.000 or sometimes even lower although the pear juice would have some unfermentables and could be attributed to the higher reading. Also make sure you knock all the bubbles off the hydrometer as they can give a false reading.

 

[manticle]

Leave it mate. Cider ferments right out.

 

[CCC]

Thanks for the answers. It was a reading for one day only so I'll keep checking ( are the rules the same as for beer- same reading for two days in a row is done?). It was reasonably fizzy to drink so will it lose that when it's ready and then carbonate normally?

 

[Sambrew]

Just picked, juiced and am currently fermenting about 50 l of cider, smells terrific and tastes like it will be a good drop. O.G. Approximately 1060, fermented with champagne yeast currently passing the 1040 range. Should be a ball tearer..

 

[Ciderman]

I was hell bent on making quality cider about 6 years ago. In the end I just couldn't get ahold of the heirloom varieties required to make perfectly balanced cider. Given that store bought Apple juice is made from the same boring varieties found in shops I don't know why I didn't think of using store bought juice before. Their juicing methods will likely be better than mine.

Now that I keg it certainly makes it easier as you can't back sweeten bottles. 18 Litres of Golden Circle Apple juice were purchased at $2.50 per 3L bottle. 15 Litres fermented with Craftbrewer cider yeast. OG was a surprisingly low 1042 and FG was 1000. Back sweetened with 3L.

Tastes pretty close to Napoleone Cider which is a favourite of the missus.

 

[flave_7]

Back sweetened with 3L.

Looking at doing a 20L batch with store juice. But the wife doesn't like dry ciders but hates Rekorderlig yet insists on me doing a cider, helpful I know <_< !

What did you back sweeten with?

 

[Ciderman]

Just more apple juice. I was happy with the 15:3 ratio. I never remeasured the gravity after adding more juice but I'd expect what I made was still a medium dry cider. Just ferment 14 litres and see how much fermented juice you need to get the taste right.

 

[flave_7]

Cheers will give it a go see what happens.

 

[TheBlackAdder]

Just more apple juice. I was happy with the 15:3 ratio. I never remeasured the gravity after adding more juice but I'd expect what I made was still a medium dry cider. Just ferment 14 litres and see how much fermented juice you need to get the taste right.

Im just curious why you are using a 15:3 ratio instead of a 5:1 ratio?