Decided to do a Ciderworks kit today

[treebeard]

So today with SWMBO away for the weekend I thought I would brew a cider and chose the Ciderworks kit as I had read some good reports about it. It looks a decent quality out of the box, the instructions are nice and clear so off I go. Sterilising and sanitising until even I squeaked when walking.


I reached the point where I was about to take an OG reading before pitching the yeast, then it happened.... I dropped the Hydrometer breaking it. I said many things, many many things. Lidded and sealed the FV and jumped in the car, drove 20 minutes to Wilco, no Hydrometers left, drove to Boyes none left there either. Bugger! Now I have no idea what the ABV will be.

Got back home, the temperature of the FV was still good so pitched the yeast and set it off. Now online and ordered two Hydrometers. Some pics below of what it looks like.

 

[thewelshwizard1]

I re fired a friends 14.7 ABV Cider the other day as I thought I am not drinking that drain cleaner lol.

So I put his 2L into 3L of good pure apple juice and added some good high pro cider yeast and it's going fantastic in the 2nd hand demijohn I bought the same day for £3.50 so to top it off I have made 5L I hope a good cider for £6.50 😃😃😃

 

[treebeard]

I re fired a friends 14.7 ABV Cider the other day as I thought I am not drinking that drain cleaner lol.

So I put his 2L into 3L of good pure apple juice and added some good high pro cider yeast and it's going fantastic in the 2nd hand demijohn I bought the same day for £3.50 so to top it off I have made 5L I hope a good cider for £6.50

14.7% thats hobo strength. After a couple of pints you would be on a park bench sharing colourful profanities with passers by and demanding **** :lol:

 

[treebeard]

Unbelievably; just under an hour later and the airlock is already starting to bubble. Having only ever brewed beer before it's a bit of a surprise, the instructions do suggest it ferments out in around 6-7 days, I thought yeah right more like 10 -14 but we'll see. I'm quite excited to do something a bit different.

 

[thewelshwizard1]

With a bit of luck by the end of the finished product I am hoping for around 7-8%ABV

 

[treebeard]

Ok folks. A quick update, fermentation had completed in 7 days, hydrometer reading had been stable for a further 3 days, so I left it for 13 days in the FV, racked to my bottling vessel. Batch primed and bottled this just now. Heres how it looked after racking and just before the bottling.

 

[treebeard]

Ok so here is the final update on this kit. It's a very nice cider indeed, clearing nicely after only two weeks in the bottle. Nicely carbonated, you get that fizz on the tongue and the apple flavour is very good. I used the entire sachet of sweetener, on reflection now I would probably only use half as the finish is a little too sweet for my tastes. I think half of the sweetener would give a drier feel to this.

Overall I am impressed and would make this kit again and will certainly try the Apple and Pear kit.