Finlandia Apple Pear Cider Review

Only reason I got this kit was because it was going out of date and was being sold at half price. £8 for over 40 pints was a risk worth taking. The first decision you have to make when starting off is whether to make 24, 20 or 16 litres and the quantity of sugar you want to add. There's a chart that shows what the different combinations will get you in relation to alcohol content and sweetness per litre. I went for 20 litres and 800 grammes of sugar. This should give me a 5% alcohol and a sweetness of 25g/l. Dissolved the sugar in boiling water and mixed in the contents of the tin. Topped up to 20 litres and poured in the rehydrated yeast. This kit doesn't come with a flavour pack, just apple/pear concentrate and yeast.

After 10 days the primary fermentation was complete and it was time to bottle. It was at this point that I decided to leave the instructions and to go my own way. It asks you to prime the bottles with sugar and then to ensure proper carbonation you can add 1-3 teaspoons of the yeast lees per bottle. I didn't fancy this so I racked it off and bottled with a teaspoon of sugar in each one. Left in a warm room for a week and then moved to the garage. Two weeks later and they've carbonated perfectly.

The taste is very good and is closer to a Bulmers than a dry cider. The apple completely overpowers the pear to the point that you only get the slightest pear aftertaste, so if you like pear cider then this isn't the kit for you. I bought two of these kits so I'll give it a try at 16 litres and see what difference it makes. Hasn't aged yet but first impressions would make me recommend it.

Just to follow up on this review. I made it again and this time I made it to 20 litres and used a full 1kg bag of brewing sugar. Made it the same way as my previous try and it has turned out really well. Of all the home brewing I've done to date, this is by far the best thing I've made. It tastes like a Bulmers/Magners only with a slightly stronger flavour.

hi barfly


I bought the same on the cheap done mine with 1 kg of brewing sugar left it in fv for 3 weeks as I like a dry cider carbonated with 1 tsp of suger per 500mltr bottles after 6 weeks it tastes far to sweet for me & no taste of pears at all

won't bother again :

ChrisRedWills said:

hi barfly


I bought the same on the cheap done mine with 1 kg of brewing sugar left it in fv for 3 weeks as I like a dry cider carbonated with 1 tsp of suger per 500mltr bottles after 6 weeks it tastes far to sweet for me & no taste of pears at all

won't bother again :

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As I said in the original review, the apple completely overpowers the pear so if you like a pear cider this isn't the kit for you. Also all the reviews for this that I've read states it's a sweet cider.

Might be an idea to read a review on something before you buy it next time. Might give you an idea of what it's like. :

I have one of these and it will soon go out of date.
Am thinking of adding some WGJ to the liquor - maybe 5 or 6 litres and taking it out to 25 litres in total. Aiming for maybe 7% max with a view to adding to a Stout type beer for a Guiness and Cider sort of taste.

Is this the wrong sort of cider kit to add WGJ?
Would it be better suited to a WOW type treatment at this sort of WGJ addition rate?
Is it likely to be overpoweringly sweet for an addition to a Stout beer?

Or I am I just barking mad to be trying for a G & C type drink in a home brewing situation?

Any comments will be gratefully received!

Cheers to all : - the WOW thread in particular is brilliant - if only I knew that stuff 25 or 30 years ago. :lol:

56th Finland Apple and Pear Cider 7/10/14. OG Was about 1042 I think. Pitched any 20 degrees after rehydrating the yeast as per instructions. Taste before pitch like a very sweet Apple juice as expected. Racked 16/10/14 to bottling bucket and bottled 17/10/14 with one teaspoon of sugar per 500ml bottle - 41 bottles. Taste at bottling, slightly sour, slightly fizzy apple juice. Final gravity reading 1009/10. So around 4.2%. Now in house for secondary.

Im a bit of a cider/perry snob, so dont really like concentrate kits.
I would strongly suggest looking up turbo cider, probably costs similar (or slightly more) but if you use 100% pressed juice, you would be as close to making the real tasting thing as you can!