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

[Natdene]

Ok thanks for the tips, I thought boiling the strawberries would kill any nasties but now I will just mash them up and get some frozen ones as well.

Thanks again, will let you know how it turns out in a few weeks

 

[Nossil]

Hey guys,

Got 14L of Aldi apple juice and 2L of Aldi apple blackcurrent (thought i'd chuck it in there, why not!) and half a kilo of dex bubbling away in the fermenter.

Will transfer to keg this, or next, weekend.

Missus isn't fond at all on pear juice/cider so after reading some things on this forum the cider is going to come out really dry.

Any tips on what to add to the keg to make it taste along the same vein as rekorderlig mixed berry? Hopefully something on the shelves of woolworths will do the trick.
What about Cordial? Sounds weird but its just concentrated super sugar juice isnt it?

My keg fridge is pretty cold, so I'm not too worried about the yeasties eating up whatever sweetener I add to the keg.

 

[pk.sax]

Taste it first, if the blackcurrant is strong enough already just dissolve some sugar and rack the cider onto it in the keg. If it doesn't taste right yet, add more flavouring, like cordial. Obviously that takes care of the sugar too.

 

[The Village Idiot]

If only doing a 3 litre batch, I guess you don't need a full packet of yeast??

 

[manticle]

Hey guys,

Got 14L of Aldi apple juice and 2L of Aldi apple blackcurrent (thought i'd chuck it in there, why not!) and half a kilo of dex bubbling away in the fermenter.

Will transfer to keg this, or next, weekend.

Missus isn't fond at all on pear juice/cider so after reading some things on this forum the cider is going to come out really dry.

Any tips on what to add to the keg to make it taste along the same vein as rekorderlig mixed berry? Hopefully something on the shelves of woolworths will do the trick.
What about Cordial? Sounds weird but its just concentrated super sugar juice isnt it?

My keg fridge is pretty cold, so I'm not too worried about the yeasties eating up whatever sweetener I add to the keg.

The guide that begins this thread makes some suggestions as to sweeter cider, including getting something near that vile Rekordelig rubbish.

Hopefully people are reading the guide Dave put so much work into writing.

 

[Nossil]

^Yeah mate, was after something a bit more specific with some actual examples besides "just add sugar" or "just add cordial".

The guide is great, and many thanks to Dave for putting it together.

 

[bum]

Do you think it may just be a case of simply adding sugar or cordial to taste?

You don't think Rekorderlig pulp strawberries and zest limes, do you?

 

[manticle]

Get appropriately flavoured cordial (some kind of mixed berry type in your case).
Dose glass of cider bit by bit till it tastes right.
Dose whole keg proportionally or alternatively just add cordial to glass as you serve.

 

[Nossil]

Good idea, I'll get my hands on some mixed berry cordial and do some trial and error in a glass and add proportionality to the keg.

Thanks manticle for the constructive response.

 

[Airgead]

Since this gets asked so often, I'm trying to put together a specific guide to sweet cider. Haven't had time to finish it though.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Anthony.R.M]

Thanks for creating this guide. It really has sped up my confidence to move away from packs. My Cider #3 used store bought juice and Cider #4 used 23ltrs of freshly juiced apples.

Any chances of throwing up some of your recipies Dave?

 

[Airgead]

My recipe is pretty simple. About 15% granny smith. The rest a mix of pink lady and sundowner. This year I split the batch and did half with with CRU-005 and half with 71B. Not much fancy recipe formulation with cider. its like wine - Ingredients:grapes, yeast.

I'm planning to rack into kegs this weekend so I'll have a taste then and see how its doing. I might chuck in some malic acid if its a bit low. This year the grannies were very sweet and low in acid so I might need some extra.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Anthony.R.M]

Cheers.

My local farmers market had royal gala's on sale for $1/kg. I've juiced them and made up a batch ove the weekend along with some pear juice. I'm interested to see how it turns out.

 

[Airgead]

If you talk to the grower and ask for seconds and windfalls you can often get them really cheap. Like a few/kilo or free. Mostly they throw that stuff away so they are often happy to get rid of it.

Cheers
Dave

 

[eternaldrive]

Hey Dave great guide helped out with planning of cider number 3.
You may want add your views on the following question (a common one for new cider makers).
Help my fermenter smells of rhino farts/rotten eggs ect what's wrong?
Cheers
Nick.

 

[Airgead]

Good point. I'll add that to version 2...

Answer BTW - Thats sulphur. A lot of yeast strains give it off. Most of the time it will dissapate during conditioning but you can minimise it by making sure the yeast isn't stressed. Sulphur is often a sign that the yeast may not have enough nutrient. A little yeast nutrient and it should fix things up. If the cider has been throwing sulphur for a while then a good long cold conditioning time (before bottling) will let the cider dissapate. If you bottle it with the sulphur it will be trapped in the bottle.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Bartman]

Not sure if this is the right place BUT......
new brewer was wondering if I can do test brews in 500ml bottles to get a basic idea of what I put in to what comes out. Can I then just scale up the best brew, or does the smaller fermentation vessel size change the fermentation conditions and therefore the taste so it can't be reliably scaled up?

 

[Airgead]

Should scale up pretty well. Give it a go and see how it works.

I'd reccomend at least 1l as a batch size though. With a 500ml batch, by the time you have wastage to yeast sediment etc you will end up with a thimblefull to taste.

Cheers
Dave

I'm doing much the same thing right now - fermenting 50l as a test batch for 1000l next year.

 

[pk.sax]

Not sure if this is the right place BUT......
new brewer was wondering if I can do test brews in 500ml bottles to get a basic idea of what I put in to what comes out. Can I then just scale up the best brew, or does the smaller fermentation vessel size change the fermentation conditions and therefore the taste so it can't be reliably scaled up?

Take bottle of juice, pour out a cup, drink (optional), sprinkle in a quarter of a teaspoon yeast, cap loosely.
Sit in temp controlled fridge at 18ish or in a cool dark cupboard that is around the same.
Should be ready to carbonate in about 4-5 days, slightly sweet. Might take about 7-10 days to fully ferment out. I pour my cider still-ish.

 

[insane_rosenberg]

Just bottled my first cider:
-12L of Apple Juice. Home juiced with an auger juicer. 10% granny Smith and the balance Pink Lady.
-3 tea bags in 500mL water.
-Juice of one lemon.
Fermented for 4 weeks with Nottingham at 19ºC.
Out of the fermenter it is very cloudy, slightly bitter and tart, with noticeable alcohol warmth (1.056 down to 0.998). Not even sure how out of style these factors are?
1. Will it clear up in the bottle?
2. Should I strain the juice next time?
3. Any other obvious improvements?