First plunge into the world of homebrew....

[naked_brummell]

Hi all

So today i opened up my brew kit and set about my first attempt at cider.
The kit i have is only a very cheap 'wilko' which i assume is related to the wilkinson store brand?

this is the cider kit in question

following sanitising i added the first parts, boiling water, wort (thats the tin but right?) and the sugar it looked like so

then finally added the rest of the water and the yeast and it looks like so

Fingers crossed that's all done correctly If there is anything any wants to add. Hints and tips will help no end as this is my first time attempting to brew anything. if not i will wait for the specified 4-6 days, i think i will look on the 1st Jan as this will be 5days.

Thanks guys and girls as said any help, comments or criticisms would be appreciated

Simon :thumb:

 

[scott78]

looks ok to me, but dont worry if after 6 days its still fermenting, i find kit instructions work on a 'best case' timeline.
i dont know what comes in the wilko kit, do you have a second fermenter to rack your cider into once its finished?
hope it works well for you

 

[naked_brummell]

Cheers, i have a 23L pressurised plastic keg. also many swing top bottles to transfer to.

Interestingly the instructions say nothing about moving to a second fermenter rack. It just says exact quote

'syphon the cider, being careful not to disturb the sediment, into strong bottles or a pressure barrel. Add 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar per pint to each bottle (upto a max of 85g per pressure barrel) then stand them at room temperature for 2 days'

:wha:

 

[31bb3]

have yougot a hydrometer and did you take a starting reading ?

 

[naked_brummell]

1.030, does that sound about right?

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

We'll soon have you crossing over to the "Darkside".. :thumb:

Not brewed a kit for years so can't really comment but if you want cider try supermarket apple juice to make TC, tastes great :thumb:

BB

 

[Dieseljockey]

Use your hydro until you have a steady reading for about 3 days

then stand them at room temperature for 2 days'

Don't be fooled by this...leave it in a warm place for a min of a week...if not a little longer. Then out in the shed/ garage.

 

[artyb]

We'll soon have you crossing over to the "Darkside".. :thumb:

Not brewed a kit for years so can't really comment but if you want cider try supermarket apple juice to make TC, tastes great :thumb:

BB

hey up likkle kev ... :thumb:
how ya been love the siggy ...liver damage 45%... :rofl:

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

hey up likkle kev ... :thumb:
how ya been love the siggy ...liver damage 45%... :rofl:

Hi Arty,
Need to raise it, it's now around 55%

 

[naked_brummell]

Thanks guys, is the fact it seems to have skipped moving into a second fermenting container a concern or not?

I hope i will make cider differently, eventually. Well that is providing i can get the hang of it :pray:

 

[GeorgeSalt]

Thanks guys, is the fact it seems to have skipped moving into a second fermenting container a concern or not?

I hope i will make cider differently, eventually. Well that is providing i can get the hang of it :pray:

Making a turbo cider I don't usually rack, just bottle when fermentation has finished. Starting with whole apples I would rack as there's a lot more sediment thrown, but what you're doing is closer to a TC.

 

[LeedsBrewer]

I always rack to a secondary because it cuts down on the amount of sediment transferred to the bottles. Using just the one FV is ok though. (wilkinsons sell the individual buckets for £8.50 if you do decide you want a secondary)

 

[naked_brummell]

Transferred it into a the pressurised keg that is provided today.
As previously said the 4-6 days it claimed it would take was a bit off as today is day 8 :hmm:
But it is sat in its keg quite happily and i have added the sugar it has told me to in order to make it slightly carbonated.

My only question is, i have got down to about 5L in the bottom and the siphon doesn't want suck any more :wha:

would it be alright to attempt to scoop it out with a cup (whilst trying to avoid transferring as much sediment as possible)
I will be bottling most of it into glass swing top bottles after anyway? :wha:

Here is what i've bottled anyways :

 

[GeorgeSalt]

There's a couple of reasons why the syphon stops:

- The sediment trap (cup) on the end of the syphon tube is causing the syphon to break whilst there is still good liquid in the vessel, in which case you carefully tilt the vessel whilst syphoning to increase the depth at one point so you can syphon further.

- The liquid level in the vessel you're syphoning from has fallen close to the level in the vessel you're syphoning to, there's not enough head of pressure for the syphon to work. The solution is to raise the first vessel higher and/or lower the second.

 

[naked_brummell]

Managed to get approx 21L

Tasted pretty good even before it has conditioned, so i'm pretty confident it will be successful :thumb:
Although after doing a calculation on it, it appears to only be around the 4% but for a good tasting cider i'm happy for it to be slightly less alcohlic :