The Range (Make Your Own) Apple Cider kit

Ok here is my review... There are a few caveats I must state first so that everyone reading understands the context of this review.

• This was my first ever Kit (of anything, let alone just cider).[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

• I am very new to home brewing - having only previously brewed approximately 6-8 litres of cider before starting this kit.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

• I have since started fermenting a Ritchies On The Rocks - Mixed Berry kit.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

• I used tap water, which is very "hard" in Surrey, I am unsure if this has an impact on the drink at any state of the process for the better or worse.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

• I made the kit to the full 23L, despite only getting 40 x 500ml bottles as a finished result this is due to my fumbling with the siphon.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

The cider kit is made exclusively for The Range, a shop I think is usually relatively cheap for the products it sells. However it retains its own branding on the package "Make your own". http://www.makeyourowndrinks.co.uk

The Kit was contained within a large toughened/plastic type foil pouch. The dry packets were kept seperated from the wet by the nature of a small internal pouch which is only accessible when you cut the top off the main pouch. Inside there is a clear flavour pouch / add-back and a yeast/sweetener sachet.

The directions seem similar to the Ritchies On The Rocks (OTR) one I've recently done, so I'm guessing this is pretty standard with all kits. Empty the concentrate into a large fermenting vessel, add 3litres of boiling water, add sugar (can't remember amount whilst writing this review, but possibly 1Kg) and stir until all sugar is disolved (only a minute). Top up to the 23 Litre mark by adding cold water. Let ferment for 1 week at ~20 degrees Celsius. I started this kit on Sunday 16th September and let it ferment for 2 weeks. I siphoned into a 2nd FV so I could mix in the flavour sachet and stir thoroughly before bottling. I also took this opportunity to add 230g of sugar at this point to prime my bottles (5g = 1 teaspoon x 46 bottles - although in the end I actually only got 40 because I was a little too crap with the siphoning), and then siphoned into my bottles on Saturday 29th September.

I did not test this at the following stages:

• Prior to fermentation - so I can't comment if it retained it's concentrate flavour.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]
• After fermentation - so taste how dry it was, or how appley it was.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]
• Immediately after the flavour sachet was added - so I can't say if there was a strong artificial taste present.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

I shall update this thread as I taste bottles after various lengths of time.

• 1st Bottle - 3/10/12 - After only 4 days in the bottle, 1 and a half of which were outside in a cool environment the taste was very sweet. Probably due to the fact the secondary fermentation is only half-way through or there-abouts - so there was some sugar still in the liquid. I expect the sweetness to drop when trying future bottles. Carbonation levels were quite low, again due to the fact the 2nd fermentation hasn't finished yet. Flavour wise, I picked up the ever so slight artificial taste that I can normally detect when a liquid has sweetener in it. Whether or not this will increase (sugar levels masking it), or decrease (with maturity) or stay the same I can't tell yet. Still it's very, very subtle so doesn't detract from the drink at all. I get an apple flavour from the bottle and flavour-wise was similar to well known brands in the supermarkets. Nothing amazing, but better than the cheap ciders (like a very young TC, or Woodpeckers etc).[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

Positives:

• It's a kit, and as a beginner I felt reassured by the ease of making such quantities of cider with little to no experience with the instructions and materials provided.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]
• Tasted "nice" despite only a few days after fermentation, although a little too sweet for my own taste (this is explained in my comments above, and I do expect the sweetness to decrease).[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]
• Despite it being expensive (£20), it was still cheaper than 40-46 bottles at the supermarket.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

Negatives:

• Having now browsed a number of kits via Home Brew websites I note that this kit is particularly expensive at £20 compared to others Coopers Cider (£12) - Ritchies on the rocks (~£16). Although I can see this price point being acceptable if someone had a Range local to them, didn't have a local HBS and would have had to pay postage on any other kit.[/*:m:1vy5o6w1]

All in all;
I am waiting for the results of my OTR mixed berry to finish which will give me something to compare against, and pending the flavour of that will determine (in my mind) if this kit is value for money. I suspect not.
I also look forward to the increase in carbonation levels, and decrease in sweetness that will come with a few weeks in the bottle.

Excellent review :clap: :hat:

Update 6/10/12:
I shared 2 bottles with my brother, this was the first time I'd tried one of my home-brews properly chilled. It had only been in the fridge for 7 or 8 hours, so not enough time for it to clear anymore - assuming it would. That being said it is still pretty darn clear to start with.

I was very happy with my carbonation levels, since it was chilled it didn't play jack in the box when opening. But a satisfying tsssss sound when opening them and a slight head formed in the neck of the bottle. None escaped.

Poured into pint glasses to leave the sediment unsettled, although it was still a bift soft and a tiny amount of if mixed with the cider being poured towards the end of the bottle. Nothing major, and still worth having that part of the cider rather than leaving it in the bottle and not getting the sediment with it.

The sweetness had dropped since I tried the 1st bottle, although I still think expect it to drop a tiny bit more. It was a very nice drink, with hints of a pear finish. Bubbles and dryness gave it a champagne-esque flavour to it which was very nice.

12/10/12 - I gave a bottle to my neighbour for his feedback a few days prior. I asked him for it to be "brutally honest". He told me a few hours ago he drunk the bottle last night. He started with "Bugger me, it was bloody level, I want the recipe!" I responded by telling him I wish I could claim all the credit but it was a kit cider. He went on to say it had sweetness, but not too much, he generally doesn't like sweet cider but this stuff hit the spot. It was extremely refreshing, and his wife, who isn't much of a drinker tried it and loved it (and also didn't believe I made it and he had to convince her otherwise!). His comments were similar to mine, it has a lovely champagne style bubble to it, that remained sparkling well over 30 minutes after having been poured.

Next chance he gets he'll be going to The Range to pick a one of the kits up. As I said above it's not cheap for a kit @ £20, but in his eyes it's worth it for 23L of what he tasted. I'll let him try the OTR mixed berry kit I have going to see if likes that when it's ready to drink in a few weeks or so.

I've also stuck 2 in the fridge for when I finish work this evening, which I'll add to here in a day or so.

(I'll also update my original review to keep all the info there about the additional tastings).

I contacted the makers of this kit yesterday and thought it would be worth adding some information which may or may not justify the additional price in some people's eyes to remain accurate and give an honest review.

A normal kit appears to have 1.8Kg of liquid concentrate when this kit has 2.4Kg of the liquid concentrate. A cynic may say this could be a more watered down concentrate to make up the extra volume, but I highly doubt that's the case.

In addition to that they use apparently the best cider yeast strain available, although they don't actually specify what that is (I've asked for clarification).

In addition, we also used the very best cider yeast strain available worldwide, The specialist cider strain in our kits makes exceptionally high quality cider, but does cost substantially more than the yeast strains most typically used in home cider kits. To complement the best yeast strain, we also utilise the latest nutritional technology to ensure the cleanest possible fermented cider, having done extensive research and development in this area.

Click to expand...

Further updates.

I received another email from the manufacturer, and they wouldn't clarify what strain is being used as it is part of what makes this kit taste so good.

I've since offered samples to 10+ colleagues, and had a few more bottles myself. I do like it, it's a good cider, but it is a little too sweet if I could pick my ideal sweetness. I'm not sure if the concentrate or the sweetner is to blame but I picked up a few hints of pear in the mix.

Conclusion, a nice drink and people with a sweeter taste than I think it's fantastic. I can see myself potentially buying this again in the future once I've tried other kits. I can't see it being my regular kit to make given it's price though.

Hopefully someone soon can chip in with their thoughts.

taste is of course entirely subjective, but you've provided a very insightful review of the kit and cider it produces, so well done :

Very good review, i didnt know The Range did home brew stuff and i was in the Cardiff branch a few days ago.
I normally keep my head down when im with the wife in case she wants me to look at wall art or towels lol
I havnt made cider from a kit in 20 odd years and it was undrinkable but i,ll give this a go
: :thumb:

Great review, nice work, I am tempted...everytime I go in the Range I do walk past their homebrew section for a looksee, one of these days I will buy something I'm sure!

Great review.. :thumb:
But for cider have you tried supermarket apple concentrate with Young's cider yeast?

Thats my next project.
I spend a fortune on ready made still cider like Westons and the offrings from my local cider an perry makers Gwynt y Ddraig , it would be cheaper to up sticks and move to Somerset lol.
Id like a WOW recipe that give the same feel and taste. :hat:

Phil Aberaman said:

Thats my next project.
I spend a fortune on ready made still cider like Westons and the offrings from my local cider an perry makers Gwynt y Ddraig , it would be cheaper to up sticks and move to Somerset lol.
Id like a WOW recipe that give the same feel and taste. :hat:

Click to expand...

WOW is a great drink to make with loads of variations, as is the apple concentrate with Vimto cordial added. :thumb:

BB :drink:

My lad is a cider drinker. I did an "On The Rocks" berry kit for him late last year which was well received. At first I thought it was horrible - to artificial taste, you know a sort of what food technologists think berries should taste like kind of flavour. Over time it improved and although it would never be my kind of drink it was perfectly acceptable stuff and he liked it so happy days..

Anyway his favorite is pear cider and I happened to be in The Range this week (don't ask) and saw their kits. Although quite expensive they were there right in front of me, so I bought a pear cider.

I usually put my FV in a water bath but I already have a Fixby Gold in there and since I'm not going to be drinking it (terrible Dad!) I thought I'd risk just sticking the FV in the utility with a brew belt on.

Anyway I'll keep you informed on progress - it'll probably go on this weekend. It's easy to be sniffy about the chains efforts but at the end of the day it comes down to palate and if the punters like it then it's good. I'll be sticking to my ale however so if any one wants to recommend a good authentic IPA let me know.

When I read your (very helpful) review with the taste tests, I wanted to try the kit. Just so happens I was in The Range earlier as I was visiting my parents, and decided to try at myself to this kit as an early birthday present!

Going to get the kit on tomorrow. Would you say the cider has improved a lot with age? I mad a On The Rocks raspberry and lime cider back in Dec or Jan and it's still got a slightly off taste, however, I know that has to be left for a good few months to mellow out.

got my dad one of these kits but not made it up yet. might tweak it a little as we are not a fan of sweet cider.

To follow-up on my previous posts, I will be buying this kit again, whenever I next visit The Range - although that might not be for another month or two. I've since down a few more cider kits (On The Rocks Apple and Mixed Berry) and I do think this kit has a slightly stronger apple flavour but not massively so. I'll continue to do both OTR and The Range kits in the future.

Unfortunately I no longer have any bottles left of this as they all got emptied... :whistle:

Out of the kits I've tried this is the one that is acceptable to drink the earliest.

Thanks for the follow up reply. I've got a lot of stuff to do today but going to try and get out made up this evening!

have just purchased the Ranges pear cider i am happy enough to make the cider but unsure how it has to be bottled .. can i keep in in the fermentation bucket and syphon out as need it or if not what sort of bottles can i use ( can ne be plastic pop bottles with screw tops)
any advise greatly recieved
many thanks

You can bottle it with any pop bottles or glass ones (ask your local pub for their empties) as long as they are cleaned and sterilised, if you syphon off as you drink then the cider will only last a few days as it will become oxidised and taste :sick: over time.

If you can't be bothered with bottling (which to be fair is a bit of a hassle) you could look into buying a pressure keg which will mean the cider will last much longer and you can pour a glass as you need...

hi ive just fermented this cider and ive read your review very good by the way just one thing i need to get straight you said that you added the flavour sachet and then took this opp to add the 230 grams of sugar this is what i need to get straight did you then bottle straight away or did you do as the instructions that come with the kit state leave for a further 24 hours then bottle? again very good review thanks kev

I have the myo strawberry and lime cider kit and will be looking forward to getting it done.

Want to get a red wine in the large fv first though as I'm making turbo ciders in demijohns.