How to make Turbo Cider.

happydays · Aug 1, 2023

I've spotted a problem here.....

I live in a constant state of optimism

Justin Dean · Aug 1, 2023

happydays said:
I brewed just 4.5L of this and am stunned how good it turned out. I fermented Lidl Apple Juice with EC-1118 Champagne yeast plus tea made with apple juice and several teabags, no other ingredients. No temperature control on the fermentation as the fridge was already occupied so this was just at the ambient temperature of my workshop for 2 weeks in July, I'd guess up to 20C in the day and down to 15C overnight. Bottled one week ago with 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar per bottle. Drank one last night, cider is pleasingly dry, not offensively so. I honestly would not know that this was not a commercially produced cider - it is nicer than some I've bought. The fizz is satisfying to me but my wife would like more bubbles so I may try slightly more priming sugar next time.

Financials worked out at 58p per 500ml but next batch will be 50p per 500ml due to not paying postage on the yeast. When I start next batch I'll actually take SG and know what the ABV was! No complaints whatsoever and I will be back to Lidl at some point this week to get more started because this is some proper summer juice right here.

On the subject Lidl I have done same with the the tropical multi fruit juice with no added sugar as if so sweet. Was nice. Ferments like crazy with medium cider yeast

happydays · Aug 1, 2023

Justin Dean said:
On the subject Lidl I have done same with the the tropical multi fruit juice with no added sugar as if so sweet. Was nice. Ferments like crazy with medium cider yeast

I also have a batch that was 3L Apple Juice + 1.5L Tropical Juice, only thing is that I bottled it in 2L bottles so I'm gonna need help drinking that one... encouraging to hear that it was nice

scottydog. · Sep 26, 2023

Roddy said:
Afternoon all,

Negligent of me not to have put this up before now, but here's my take on a straightforward 25L Apple Turbo Cider...

Give me a shout if I'm missed any bits out or if anything isn't clear, I knocked it up quite quickly !

It doesn't paste that well into the new thread window, but there is a Word version of the below on OneDrive using the link below
Recipe for 25L cider.docx

Recipe for 25L Classic Apple TC (5.35% abv)

These are not hard and fast rules, but a bit of a guideline and what I have done before

Ingredient
20L Asda Smart price AJ (or any supermarket apple juice made from 100% Apple juice/apple juice from concentrate) so long as no other added ingredients)
1L strong tea (regular Tetley, 5 bags stewed for 15 mins)
5tsp Pectolase
325g sugar (ordinary tate & lyle granulated is fine) for priming
Yeast for 25L (I use cider yeast with sweetener E950 from ebay, but you can use any cider yeast, but without sweetener, may make the cider quite dry/sharp without back-sweetening

Kit

27/30L Fermenting vessel with stick on thermometer strip preferably
Second FV for priming (see priming section)
Long spoon
Hydrometer
Auto-siphon
Bottling wand, to connect to auto-siphon
Bottles (I use a mixture of 500ml PET plastic and glass swingtop bottles)

Method

Thoroughly clean and sanitise FV, spoons, and hydrometer
Pour in apple juice (best at room temp)
Pour in stewed tea (take out the bags ;-) )
Dissolve pectolase in ÃÂ½ cup warm water and tip this in
Top up with tap water to 25L
You want to aim for a starting temp around 20 degrees C, a little colder is OK, but will take a bit longer to get started. Warmer is OK up to about 25 degrees
Sprinkle yeast on top, put lid on (with airlock if thatÃ¢â¬â¢s the kind of FV youÃ¢â¬â¢re using)
Put in a warm place, ideal temp for fermentation is between 18-24 degrees

Day 10

At a temperature of around 22 degrees, your TC could be finished fermenting in as little as a week, but to make sure, give it at least 10 days before taking an SG reading

When finished fermenting, TC should have an SG reading of around 1.000 donÃ¢â¬â¢t move on to the next step if is above that

Priming and bottling (making it fizzy)

2 ways of doing this:-

Batch priming (My preferred method)

Although this needs a second sanitized FV to siphon (rack) the TC into and add priming solution, I find it much easier in the long run, and avoids extra time/mess trying to add a teaspoon of sugar (or coopers carb drops) into 50 bottles !

Dissolve 325g sugar in some hot tap water (just enough to get it to dissolve and be pourable
Siphon cider from primary FV to secondary, add priming sugar
Give it a good swirl/stir to mix in the sugar solution
Move FV to somewhere suitable for bottling (FV should be above the height of where you are bottling)
Attach the bottling wand to the autosiphon tube and immediately bottle your cider
Put bottled cider somewhere warm (ca 20deg) for at least a week to clear, and carb up. Tip. Using at least some plastic (PET) bottles will allow you to feel how the card process is going by squeezing the bottles, the y will get firmer as the co2 is produced.
Once they bottles have completely cleared, they will be pretty much ready to drink, so chill one and try it out
They will get better with a few more weeks in a cooler storage place, to condition a little.

Bottle priming

Using the autosiphon and bottling wand, fill each of your bottles with cider
Add a heaped teaspoonful of sugar to each 500ml bottle (or 2 x Coopers carb drops, get these on web or in home brew shop)
Put lid on and turn bottle upside down and back up again, to mix
Put bottled cider somewhere warm (ca 20deg) for at least a week to clear, and carb up. Tip. Using at least some plastic (PET) bottles will allow you to feel how the card process is going by squeezing the bottles, the y will get firmer as the co2 is produced.
Once they bottles have completely cleared, they will be pretty much ready to drink, so chill one and try it out
They will get better with a few more weeks in a cooler storage place, to condition a little.

Chilling/Pouring

This stuff is definitely best served icy cold, so give it a good overnight in the fridge if you can. I also like my cider quite fizzy, so unchilled it will tend to fizz up when I open a bottle, but it doesnt do this when its cold

After clearing, there will be some sediment in the bottom of the bottle, so for a nice clear glass, you want to avoid glugging the cider when pouring. So pour it slowly keeping the bottle just above horizontal, and youll see when the cloudy sediment starts to make its way to the top of the bottle, at which point you can stop pouring and leave the remaining few ml of liquid to get chucked (or pour it all in if you like it cloudy !)

Hi Roddy I have a bottles of asda apple juice in the cupboard .According to the ingredients it is made from concentrate but also has citric acid would that make any difference to the brewing ?

Chippy_Tea · Sep 26, 2023

would that make any difference to the brewing ?

No, members have been using this juice for years.

scottydog. · Sep 26, 2023

Chippy_Tea said:
No, members have been using this juice for years.

Is it because it its rotten or doesn't ferment Chippy.

rbunsen · Sep 26, 2023

scottydog. said:
Is it because it its rotten or doesn't ferment Chippy.

Chippy is saying that you can use the juice. Citric acid is okay.

scottydog. · Sep 26, 2023

rbunsen said:
Chippy is saying that you can use the juice. Citric acid is okay.

Thank you for taking the time to answer much appreciated

Chippy_Tea · Sep 27, 2023

I have edited my earlier post to make it clearer

samthor. · Nov 10, 2023

Roddy said:
Afternoon all,

Negligent of me not to have put this up before now, but here's my take on a straightforward 25L Apple Turbo Cider...

Give me a shout if I'm missed any bits out or if anything isn't clear, I knocked it up quite quickly !

It doesn't paste that well into the new thread window, but there is a Word version of the below on OneDrive using the link below
Recipe for 25L cider.docx

Recipe for 25L Classic Apple TC (5.35% abv)

These are not hard and fast rules, but a bit of a guideline and what I have done before

Ingredient
20L Asda Smart price AJ (or any supermarket apple juice made from 100% Apple juice/apple juice from concentrate) so long as no other added ingredients)
1L strong tea (regular Tetley, 5 bags stewed for 15 mins)
5tsp Pectolase
325g sugar (ordinary tate & lyle granulated is fine) for priming
Yeast for 25L (I use cider yeast with sweetener E950 from ebay, but you can use any cider yeast, but without sweetener, may make the cider quite dry/sharp without back-sweetening

Kit

27/30L Fermenting vessel with stick on thermometer strip preferably
Second FV for priming (see priming section)
Long spoon
Hydrometer
Auto-siphon
Bottling wand, to connect to auto-siphon
Bottles (I use a mixture of 500ml PET plastic and glass swingtop bottles)

Method

Thoroughly clean and sanitise FV, spoons, and hydrometer
Pour in apple juice (best at room temp)
Pour in stewed tea (take out the bags ;-) )
Dissolve pectolase in ÃÂ½ cup warm water and tip this in
Top up with tap water to 25L
You want to aim for a starting temp around 20 degrees C, a little colder is OK, but will take a bit longer to get started. Warmer is OK up to about 25 degrees
Sprinkle yeast on top, put lid on (with airlock if thatÃ¢â¬â¢s the kind of FV youÃ¢â¬â¢re using)
Put in a warm place, ideal temp for fermentation is between 18-24 degrees

Day 10

At a temperature of around 22 degrees, your TC could be finished fermenting in as little as a week, but to make sure, give it at least 10 days before taking an SG reading

When finished fermenting, TC should have an SG reading of around 1.000 donÃ¢â¬â¢t move on to the next step if is above that

Priming and bottling (making it fizzy)

2 ways of doing this:-

Batch priming (My preferred method)

Although this needs a second sanitized FV to siphon (rack) the TC into and add priming solution, I find it much easier in the long run, and avoids extra time/mess trying to add a teaspoon of sugar (or coopers carb drops) into 50 bottles !

Dissolve 325g sugar in some hot tap water (just enough to get it to dissolve and be pourable
Siphon cider from primary FV to secondary, add priming sugar
Give it a good swirl/stir to mix in the sugar solution
Move FV to somewhere suitable for bottling (FV should be above the height of where you are bottling)
Attach the bottling wand to the autosiphon tube and immediately bottle your cider
Put bottled cider somewhere warm (ca 20deg) for at least a week to clear, and carb up. Tip. Using at least some plastic (PET) bottles will allow you to feel how the card process is going by squeezing the bottles, the y will get firmer as the co2 is produced.
Once they bottles have completely cleared, they will be pretty much ready to drink, so chill one and try it out
They will get better with a few more weeks in a cooler storage place, to condition a little.

Bottle priming

Using the autosiphon and bottling wand, fill each of your bottles with cider
Add a heaped teaspoonful of sugar to each 500ml bottle (or 2 x Coopers carb drops, get these on web or in home brew shop)
Put lid on and turn bottle upside down and back up again, to mix
Put bottled cider somewhere warm (ca 20deg) for at least a week to clear, and carb up. Tip. Using at least some plastic (PET) bottles will allow you to feel how the card process is going by squeezing the bottles, the y will get firmer as the co2 is produced.
Once they bottles have completely cleared, they will be pretty much ready to drink, so chill one and try it out
They will get better with a few more weeks in a cooler storage place, to condition a little.

Chilling/Pouring

This stuff is definitely best served icy cold, so give it a good overnight in the fridge if you can. I also like my cider quite fizzy, so unchilled it will tend to fizz up when I open a bottle, but it doesnt do this when its cold

After clearing, there will be some sediment in the bottom of the bottle, so for a nice clear glass, you want to avoid glugging the cider when pouring. So pour it slowly keeping the bottle just above horizontal, and youll see when the cloudy sediment starts to make its way to the top of the bottle, at which point you can stop pouring and leave the remaining few ml of liquid to get chucked (or pour it all in if you like it cloudy !)

Can I use turbo yeast with the apple juice?

Brewnaldo · Nov 10, 2023

samthor. said:
Can I use turbo yeast with the apple juice?

You could, but don't. It tastes like ass

obscure · Nov 10, 2023

samthor. said:
Can I use turbo yeast with the apple juice?

Maybe try on a couple of litres of apple juice but I wouldn’t risk a 23L batch.

Personally I use the CML Cider Yeast (£1.60 for a sachet with free postage) and it’s given me pretty good results.

https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/online-store/Wine-Cider-Mead-Seltzer-High-Alc-etc-p93773464

Flying_Fox · Nov 10, 2023

obscure said:
Maybe try on a couple of litres of apple juice but I wouldn’t risk a 23L batch.

Personally I use the CML Cider Yeast (£1.60 for a sachet with free postage) and it’s given me pretty good results.

https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/online-store/Wine-Cider-Mead-Seltzer-High-Alc-etc-p93773464

I’m on another group on Facebook and they said if you’re making Turbo only use half a sachet of yeast. I’m going to try a batch next Summer but so far haven’t been very successful

Lee Week · Oct 1, 2024

Good Evening

I know that this is opening up an old thread, I hope that it is okay?
If not, admin please move or remove.

As per my new member introduction, I am new to kit brewing & while I wait for my first kit to bottle condition I would like to get a turbo cider/s on the go.

I have looked at a lot of threads on here and on other forums ,regarding TC.
But are there any experienced brewers able to guide me on the right track?

So I would like a mango TC to start with, medium sweet with some strength, say between 8-10 %!
I did google the yeast needed & came up with these two?

Safale S-04 English Ale Yeast 11.5g

Specifications

Attenuation: 78–82%
Sedimentation: Fast
Flocculation: High
Alcohol Tolerance approx.: 9-11%
Recommended Fermentation Temperature: 15-20°C

Or

LalBrew Nottingham - Ale Yeast 11g

Specifications

Attenuation: 78-84% (High)
Flocculation: High
Alcohol Tolerance: 14%
Optimal Temperature Range: 10-22°C

I was going to do two demijohns first to see/taste the outcome & then upscale to a 25L bucket?
Has anyone done a Perry cider similar to say lily's beesting but more stronger?

Sorry for all the question's, especially if they are pinned somewhere on here!

Regards Lee

Griff097 · Oct 1, 2024

Yhos is the yeast I used when doing turbo

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27409245...peEbt1UTAy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

22l of apple juice, 1tsb pectalase, 5 stewed teabags in 1 l boiling water, add bags of frozen fruit to it for a dark fruits style cider of wanted.

obscure · Oct 1, 2024

Attenuation rates are really only relevant for beer with cider it’s pretty much all simple sugars and you will be looking at close to 100% attenuation (so by default most cider will be very dry).

Hence Griff097’s suggestion of using a yeast with a non-fermentable sweetener in it (I like my cider bone dry so can’t really help you on that part), lactose is also often used in beer if you want to add sweetness as most yeasts cannot breakdown and ferment lactose, so could be a potential option.

Lee Week · Oct 2, 2024

Thank you for the advice so far.

I was going to try this yeast from my local hb shop:

https://www.home-brew-hopshop.co.uk/cider-yeast-finings/3995-bulldog-cider-yeast-sweet-10g.html

I did read on another forum that people are priming there bottles with more apple juice ( using the sugar in it for carbonation) & to give more of an apple flavour.
If I used mango juice instead of the apple juice for priming this should work with getting the flavour across or would I need to use say 2/3 apple juice & 1/3 mango juice at the start?
Or maybe a food flavouring?

Regarding bumping up the abv, find an online calculator to know how much dextrose to add?

I have looked at loads of articles on the net on the subject but it is quite overwhelming!

jof · Oct 2, 2024

At least you can make turbo cider whenever you want using supermarket juice. Try a demijohn & refine your process month after month.

It's not like cider from apples where you get 1 harvest a year.

Lee Week · Oct 2, 2024

jof said:
At least you can make turbo cider whenever you want using supermarket juice. Try a demijohn & refine your process month after month.

It's not like cider from apples where you get 1 harvest a year.

I totally understand, I was hoping that there would have been a tc recipe that someone had nailed that I could have used.
But I will try a couple of different recipes with different amounts of dextrose and see what the outcome is!

Graz · Oct 2, 2024

Lee Week said:
I totally understand, I was hoping that there would have been a tc recipe that someone had nailed that I could have used.
But I will try a couple of different recipes with different amounts of dextrose and see what the outcome is!

I think the "nailed" turbo cider recipe is in the first post on this thread. I've made it many a time and churned out some semi decent stuff. Main thing to remember is that this is making cider on the cheap so don't expect something amazing at the end.

My usual brew for a 19L keg is 18L of Lidl apple juice, half a litre of tea (4 bags, well stewed), 4tsp pectolase, and any old generic cider yeast. I don't use the one with artificial sweetener in it as I don't like polluting my body artificial cr*p. Once brewed I force carbonate it in a corny keg and then sweeten with a little sugar syrup to taste when serving. I sometimes buy the flavoured cocktail sugar syrups for a bit of flavouring, green apple goes well to sweeten without it no longer tasting like cider, but lately I've been using a rhubarb one which is nice.

You can bump the ABV by adding extra sugar before fermenting. I don't normally do this but I have on occasion chucked in a bottle of Lowciz syrup for flavour and as it has loads of sugar in it the ABV goes up as well.

Nicest one I ever made was Christmas themed, boiled up some of the juice with cinnamon and cloves, chucked that in along with a bottle of caramel syrup I had laying around. When I served it I added a good dash on Monin Winter Spice syrup. It didn't last long through Christmas

How to make Turbo Cider.

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Safale S-04 English Ale Yeast 11.5g

Specifications

LalBrew Nottingham - Ale Yeast 11g

Specifications