Cider Recipes

[Verb77]

Hi All; I'm after starting to brew cider (Apple, Pear and maybe Rhubarb or anything else really)

Can anyone give me some advice on how to go about this. What do i need (ingredients) and how do i do it.

Thanks

 

[Tony]

Hi verb

what 'sort' of cider? If it's a Turbo Cider you're looking for (and you wish to be a traditionalist): Apple juice & yeast. Cider yeast is good, as is wine yeast, champagne yeast and as I plan to try next time - good old S-04.

You can add various things - extra sugar, honey, tannin etc.

:

 

[Verb77]

I'm not too sure really of what sort of Cider I'm looking at. I'm interested in learning what are my options and how to go about them, so I'm oper to any and all advice please.

 

[Tony]

Well .. if you have access to a shed load of apples - especially cider apples, then there are lots of cider recipes around .. but if you'll lookingh for something that tastes pretty decent and can be made in a flash (turbo!) then go for supermarket juice and yeast. Look for juice that is sans ****

 

[Grumpy Jack]

Lidl apple juice - 84p for 1.5 litre carton, x3 for a dj full; buy in bulk if it's on offer (it comes down to under 60p a carton then). Add sugar or maybe honey and yeast and maybe some yeast nutrient if you want - sorted in a week or so, bottle and prime, drink it fizzy in two weeks... or still almost immediately.

Add some dried ginger chunks at the outset for a really sharp, tangy version, or blackcurrant (Ribena) for a girly cider and black sweeter version (pretty good even if you aint a girly), or even add something like dried chillies, cinammon, other fruits (dried, fresh, pulped, whatever...).

It really is that easy! Get yourself a stock in, then you can spend time concentrating on something that'll take a bit longer... :thumb:

 

[Tony]

something like dried chillies

Nice .. hadn't thought of that!

:

 

[Verb77]

So in a Recap for myself:
All I need do is buy fresh juice (Apple or other) enough to fill the DJ
Add the yeast - How much would i use???

When would i add the sugar. Is it to the DJ or the bottles and how much would i add???

Do I need to shake the DJ up on a regular basis or not???

How long should it stay in the DJ before botteling and how long afer botteling before it is ready???

So many questions...

 

[Grumpy Jack]

OK Verb,

Here goes...

Add sugar with the apple juice, make sure the DJ aint otally full, 3 x 1.5 litre cartons are fine, gives you a bit of room at the neck; now, depending on how strong you want it you won't need to add that much sugar or honey, or you could add tonnes... your call really. Yeast, I add a teaspoon of cider yeast, which is about 1/3 sachet of Youngs cider yeast, you could add yeast nutrient, a teaspoonful, but you don't have to...

I tend to just agitate the bottle on day one and maybe two if it aint started going well already, then just let it sit and do it's stuff... 7 -10 days til it calms right down. You could rack it over to another dj to clear your sediment, but, I don't tend to worry and just very carefully syphon it so...

... get yer bottles ready, depending on how fizzy you want it I would add about 1/4 or 1/3 teaspoon sugar to each bottle, no more or it will go mad, then fill to the bottom of the neck, to give yerself a bit of room for the pressure, cap it and sit back and wait. One week will make it fizzy and drinkable, leave it longer if you can

Others are bound to say different and they will be just as valid in their comments because it's totally down to you and to the juice and the temperature and luck and... well, you get the picture I'm sure. :grin:

 

[Verb77]

Thank you very much everyone, think i will have a go this weekend.

Two last question... Is wine yeast okay to use and is it still only a teaspoon amount needed???

How much sugar should I look to add to use as a base line for any future Ciders I make. I dont want to make my first one overly silly with the alcohol content. Thats not to say I wont in the coming months. I just want to make one that is good as a starter, somewhere around the 5% - 6% maybe 7%.

Thanks

:drunk:

 

[tubby_shaw]

Do not add sugar to apple juice if you want to make cider :nono:
Normal value apple juice contains enough natural sugar to ferment to between 5 and 6% abv
Adding sugar will make instant hangover juice :sick:
Just my opinion

 

[artyb]

were pressing some apples at the weekend, :party:

i would like to make some still traditional cider,

any pointers....? :wha:
i was thinking along the lines of;



add 1 camden tablet per gallon, in warm water,as the apples are pressed,
gp yeast
pectolase,
add a percentage of cartoned apple juice,
nutrient
tannin


will be fermenting in gallon containers.....in around 20 deg,
any idea how long it will ferment for,weeks months,

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Do not add sugar to apple juice if you want to make cider :nono:
Normal value apple juice contains enough natural sugar to ferment to between 5 and 6% abv
Adding sugar will make instant hangover juice :sick:
Just my opinion

I was always under the impression that juice made cider; juice+sugar made wine.

 

[Grumpy Jack]

Do not add sugar to apple juice if you want to make cider :nono:
Normal value apple juice contains enough natural sugar to ferment to between 5 and 6% abv
Adding sugar will make instant hangover juice :sick:
Just my opinion

I was always under the impression that juice made cider; juice+sugar made wine.

:hmm: Can't say I'd noticed hangovers, I just add a couple of teaspoons for an extra flavour if it's a different sugar like muscovado, or honey, and to kick start it. Apologies, should've made it clear that I wasn't talking about beer brew quantities of sugar.

Made some good cyser with loads of honey, now that's another story... that's not wine, that's sweet liquid dynamite! :whistle:

 

[Rab]

fancied a go at this turbo cider malarkey so have got all the apple juice and yeast.

had a look at pear juice but it all seems to be 50% juice and water and other nonsense- not like the apple which is 100% juice. Is the pear ok to use or will i need to add sugar to compensate for the watered-down nature of the pear?

 

[John Apple]

My first cider was made 2 weeks ago with (5gallon) 1 qt honey 3 pds of brown sugar 1 pack of champayne yeast. I put this in the 5 gallons buckets and has been bubbling very well.I intend to put in a carboy next week for three more weeks before bottling.when do i check for alcohol volume.does this sound like it will be decent for xmas?

 

[chrisp]

About 18 months ago I made 7 gallons of cider with apples from the East Kent Research centre, lovely Cider :

Last weekend we decided to upgrade a little:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArAfJpSVXo0

270 gallons

Cant wait for the 1st cuckoo

Chrisp

 

[grumps]

I just watched that video and I must say it looked like great fun. Would have loved to be there helping, just for the experience.

 

[chrisp]

Grumps

It was brilliant fun, although absolutely knackering

All weekend to make 270 gallons

But fortunately I managed to have on hand 10 gallons of Homebrew bitter in the barn to give us sustenance

I cant wait for next year :

All 6 barrels are fermenting away very well now so its all looking good

If you fancy a weekend of it next year let me know

Chrisp

 

[evanvine]

How much sugar should I look to add

Heed what Tubby says.
100gms of sugar in 1ltr will add 36 gravity points.
For every 7.46 gravity points you ferment out you will get 1% ABV

 

[grumps]

Grumps

It was brilliant fun, although absolutely knackering

All weekend to make 270 gallons

But fortunately I managed to have on hand 10 gallons of Homebrew bitter in the barn to give us sustenance

I cant wait for next year :

All 6 barrels are fermenting away very well now so its all looking good

If you fancy a weekend of it next year let me know

Chrisp

Now that sounds like a great invitation thanks, I might very well take you up on that. I have my family in Kent as well, so I'd be able to see them at the same time, obviously keeping the weekend open for getting stuck in with the work.