Cider advice

[buddsy]

I moved to brew all grain beer to get rid of the homebrew taste.

Im working on my wine brewing the kits which come out pretty decent although I have been looking at brewing from grapes.

I want to do a cider.

In the distant past Ive done a kit cider. I dont remember how it turned out. I think it was ok but not didnt taste much different to a kit larger IIRC?

My question is are the cider kits better than the beer kits in so much as not having a homebrew taste or do I need to make from juice or apples?

How does the turbo cider turn out?

Basically I want to make a decent brew.

Any advice would be moth welcomed.

buddsy

 

[Brewed_Force]

I am looking to brew a cider too, but wonder if, because the basic ingredients are simpler than beer, it is harder to produce anything that is different from the stuff on the supermarket shelves? Anyone tried using hops or adjuncts in cider?

 

[Twogunrocky]

Hopped cider is fabulous, I have some Lemondrop hopped cider that's exceptional...... search 'Big Secue' on youtube, he started me off years back, hope he's still around as he was great!

 

[Twogunrocky]

Here's the big fella Hopped Cider he did some great videos back in the day

 

[Chippy_Tea]

How does the turbo cider turn out?

Pretty well i guess as this thread is huge -

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-to-make-turbo-cider.69059/

 

[MrRook]

Hopped cider is fabulous, I have some Lemondrop hopped cider that's exceptional...... search 'Big Secue' on youtube, he started me off years back, hope he's still around as he was great!

My last cider wss dry hopped with azacca.

 

[An Ankoù]

I moved to brew all grain beer to get rid of the homebrew taste.

Im working on my wine brewing the kits which come out pretty decent although I have been looking at brewing from grapes.

I want to do a cider.

In the distant past Ive done a kit cider. I dont remember how it turned out. I think it was ok but not didnt taste much different to a kit larger IIRC?

My question is are the cider kits better than the beer kits in so much as not having a homebrew taste or do I need to make from juice or apples?

How does the turbo cider turn out?

Basically I want to make a decent brew.

Any advice would be moth welcomed.

buddsy

I moved to brew all grain beer to get rid of the homebrew taste.

Im working on my wine brewing the kits which come out pretty decent although I have been looking at brewing from grapes.

I want to do a cider.

In the distant past Ive done a kit cider. I dont remember how it turned out. I think it was ok but not didnt taste much different to a kit larger IIRC?

My question is are the cider kits better than the beer kits in so much as not having a homebrew taste or do I need to make from juice or apples?

How does the turbo cider turn out?

Basically I want to make a decent brew.

Any advice would be moth welcomed.

buddsy

It depends on what you like, @buddsy .
Me, I like West Country cider, sparkling or still, or Welsh cider made with proper cider apples like gwynt y ddraig. I don't like the decent Eastern ciders like Aspels very much, same for the likes of Magners and Strongbow, but I'd drink it if there was nothing else. French cidre bouché doesn't cut it for me. I wouldn't drink Diamond White and the like. Recorderlig and similar make me want to vomit at the very thought.
But all these styles have people who swear by them. Tell us which one you're after and we'll sort you out. I make my own cider from pressed apples. It's very OK, but not as good as some of the best West Country ciders as I can't source the right apples.

 

[buddsy]

Pretty well i guess as this thread is huge -

18 pages hahah I guess I was hoping someone could tell me if its any good or not! lol

But all these styles have people who swear by them. Tell us which one you're after and we'll sort you out.

Cheers good point! I like Henry Westons reserve best although I dont mind Aldi's vintage reserve too.

Old Rosie I quite like but as its still just seems to knock me out.

I like the rough scrumpy Ive bought when in Gloucestershire/Devon.

buddsy

 

[An Ankoù]

I have a dozen (less a few) of Henry Westons VR in my garage as we speak. I love it and every time someone goes across the Big Ditch, I ask them to bring me some back. A bit strong for a session though.
I really think you'd be best served by making your cider from scratch, that is- from apples, but it's too late for this season. I'd start sourcing some apple trees think about making or buying a scratter (a repurposed garden mulcher is good) and building a press. I don't think you can get anything even near the taste of proper cider from kits or turbo-cider. That's not say they're not a decent drink; just not cider!

 

[buddsy]

Im in no hurry so will prob do as you say and wait for next autumn.

buddsy

 

[Cwrw666]

Im in no hurry so will prob do as you say and wait for next autumn.

buddsy

If you want a trial run just make some turbo cider. I use Tesco's apple juice, usually a mixture of the cheap stuff plus the ordinary stuff. Tip it in a sanitised fermenting bin, chuck in some cider yeast and a couple of weeks later you've got cider.
So what's it like? Well it doesn't taste like bought cider as they add in apple juice after fermentation and pasteurisation to sweeten it. I rather like it though - dry as a bone. Improves considerably with keeping.
I also make cider from my own apple trees but I'm not sure it's any better than the turbo.
I expect I'll be shot down in flames...

 

[An Ankoù]

I expect I'll be shot down in flames..

Not at all cwrw. I've never tried that, so, while I'm sceptical, I'll give it a try out of curiosity. Nothing ventured nothing gained as Snow White said to Grumpy.

 

[user 44889]

Im with CWRW, try a TC. I make it all the time and not had a bad bat h yet
5 ltrs 100% Apple juice
100 grams sugar
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient
1 tsp citric acid
11 /2 (1.5) tsps pectolase
1 mug strong black tea
1/2 pkt gervin GV13 cider yeast
1 DJ etc
SG 1.052 FG 1.001 6.68%
Started my latest batch 16/11 and ready to bottle now.
I rack off into a clean DJ with 10 drops of Applied nutrition Apple natural flavour. ( just enhances it a bit )
Comes out quite dry so i also add 6 Tsps Richies Sweetner ( still fairly dry but very nice)
Then bottle immediately using 1 carbonating drop per 250ml bottle or 1.5 drops for a 330ml bottle.
Ready to drink in 3 to 4 weeks if kept in warm place.
When you first add juice only put in 4ltrs then wait a couple of days till it quietens down then top up to neck.

Recipe 2
As Above but only 3 ltrs Apple juice
1ltr Pineapple juice
450 grams frozen Raspberries ( boil down in 500ml water, seive and add juice

My son has always beeb very critical of my brews ( told me my Lager tasted of burnt rubber and was horrible... which was true lol ) but everyone loves my Cider so give it a go .
Apple drops available on Amazon, i know the purests will say it's a cheat but it makes it very nice but don't add to many drops 8 to 10 max.
Hope this helps

 

[user 44889]

 

[user 41945]

I make turbo cider, made a few batches now. Just using juice, usually Lidl or Aldi, I find it works but it's a bit bland. I usually add a couple of Bramley or Granny Smith apples to the initial ferment (gallon) , chopped, frozen then liquidised, with some pectolase (when I remember), plus a mug of strong black tea to boost the flavour and bite. I don't add sugar.
While I happily drink the real stuff bone dry, I prefer to prime TC with a little sugar and bottle it for a couple of months, I find the added fizz gives it a boost.
Only made one kit, a 23L dark berries version from the Range. It was OK, improved with time, but doubt I'll bother with it again.

 

[Dazzelknight]

Iv done turbo cider a few times and been happy with the results. I use the cheapest apple juice I can get, add pectolase, black tea and back sweeten with Erythritol. I tend to upend the bottles before pouring to mix the sediment and make it cloudy,, I find doing this gives the cider a stronger apple taste.

 

[obscure]

I’ve taking to making Turbo cider fairly regularly, four litres of basic apple juice (make sure it is juice not an apple drink) a cup of strong black tea and a sachet of yeast (I use the one from Crossmyloof) I leave it to ferment for a couple of weeks final gravity is typically around 1.000 and then bottle with some priming sugar and leave for another three to four weeks before serving ice cold. This does produce a very dry cider at around about 5.5%. I personally like my cider dry but you can certainly use sweetener if you prefer although as I don’t do so myself I can’t advice on how much or what to use.

But yes it’s easy to make and actually gives pretty good results it‘s closer to commercial fizzy ciders than to the more traditional styles but especially in the Summer it makes for a nice cold refreshing cider that sometimes is just what I want. At the end of the day if you don’t like it you will be down maybe £5 and if like me you find you enjoy it then even better.

 

[damienair]

I’ve only done 1 Cider Kit so far. It was a Festival Oaked Apple Cider. I only added half the sweetener apple flavouring but made it up as per instructions and it turned out great. Although it was very strong, turned out somewhere around 8.5%. I lost the use of my legs a couple of times whilst drinking it . As a result it took me about a year to get through the batch.

I’m going to try the Mangrove Jacks Elderflower and Lime Cider next so as I have a batch ready for the summer.

 

[Wulfserc]

If you want a trial run just make some turbo cider. I use Tesco's apple juice, usually a mixture of the cheap stuff plus the ordinary stuff. Tip it in a sanitised fermenting bin, chuck in some cider yeast and a couple of weeks later you've got cider.
So what's it like? Well it doesn't taste like bought cider as they add in apple juice after fermentation and pasteurisation to sweeten it. I rather like it though - dry as a bone. Improves considerably with keeping.
I also make cider from my own apple trees but I'm not sure it's any better than the turbo.
I expect I'll be shot down in flames...

I'm with you on this, I've made a few ciders using my basket press and apples from a local community orchard, I left it for a year to age (I let it wild ferment too, nothing added to the juice) and I was pretty underwhelmed, it tasted like turbo cider, in fact I've made better turbo ciders, if you're using desert apples then it's pretty much store bought apple juice anyway but a lot more effort!

 

[user 41945]

Having the right apples is important for decent cider. I'm told the best cider apples are not that great to eat.