Hello!

[MATTYASAURUS]

Hello,

My name is Matt and I am 27 years old. Im relatively new to brewing. I gained an interest in homebrew as a boy helping my dad out in the kitchen. Sadly my father passed away in the month of March, 2012 and I felt it was time to follow in his foot steps.. My first brew was a pear cider kit around a year and a half ago and it turned out to be a disaster, since then I sucessfully completed 4 brews from kits which were... 2 x Premium Lager, 1 x Red Wine and I currently have a 'Wilko' Forest Fruit Cider and a Cooper Australian Lager on the go. Looking forward to seeing how they both turn out. After those Im thinking of trying a Hard Cider and maybe some ginger beer.​

Cheers!!!! :
​

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[FatCol]

Greetings and welcome Matt :

FatCol

 

[mitch]

Hello Matt,
I am also new. Great reasons to start your journey methinx. Im only really interested in cider though as i am not a big drinker. Brrewing for pleasure and giveaways. Not a huge lager or beer drinker. I hardly ever drink at home. I think i only ever drink wine at Xmas lol.

However i do like an apple or 2!

 

[MATTYASAURUS]

Thanks all for the welcome. Sounds like a good reason you have yourself mitch. Looks like we can be "newbies" together lol. The missus is a cider fan and me I like just about anything lol. There is also nothing wrong with an apple or 2, I'm chomping on one now :)

 

[mitch]

:

I will be shortly. Early breakfast!

Second DJ TC started last night. Doubled up the sugar and used wilko beer yeast. 4grms. Slower starting. Yeast hasnt woken up yet.

We will see!

Thanks all for the welcome. Sounds like a good reason you have yourself mitch. Looks like we can be "newbies" together lol. The missus is a cider fan and me I like just about anything lol. There is also nothing wrong with an apple or 2, I'm chomping on one now :)

 

[MATTYASAURUS]

:

I will be shortly. Early breakfast!

Second DJ TC started last night. Doubled up the sugar and used wilko beer yeast. 4grms. Slower starting. Yeast hasnt woken up yet.

We will see!

Haha! It will soon be time for a tipple or two for me :drink:
"DJ TC" IS THAT Demijohn Turbo Cider, or am I just been silly? lol... I have some Coopers Australian Lager bubbling away at the minute since Thursday. Also have my Forest Fruit Cider in the ol' pressure barrel! Things are looking good. :

 

[Brewharhar]

Hi, sorry to hear about your dad. My dad also inspired me, but more as a result of stealing his stout when he wasn't looking. Im also new to brewing, on my 3rd beer & feeling the obsession rise.

 

[MATTYASAURUS]

Hi, sorry to hear about your dad. My dad also inspired me, but more as a result of stealing his stout when he wasn't looking. Im also new to brewing, on my 3rd beer & feeling the obsession rise.

Hey, thanks! Yeah I remember my older brother stealing my dads brews... Both my sisters too in fact... I just stole all the spirits, as you do lol.Yeah I also feel the obsession rising and have plenty of ideas for the future. Always wanted a hobby, just didn't realise it had been staring me in the face for so long..

 

[Brewharhar]

That's how I feel, why on earth did I not think of this earlier. Lol.

 

[MATTYASAURUS]

I know the feeling well...! Lol. :)

 

[mitch]

Hi Matty

Yes your assumptions are correct!

DJ2 went mental overnight, blew up through the airlock a bit. Ive noticed now then that using ale yeast promotes a slower start. Its now on day 3 and its bubbling well. I will have to clean up a bit in a day or 2 and top off.

Even though I dont drink much lager etc I may have a go as I can always give it to friends..or enemies..

Ive been advised where to get some free apples from so im now thinking i may press some juice around end sept ish. Plus a friend has promised me pears from her tree.

All depends on how the 1st 2 experimental batches go i guess.

DJ one looks to be clearing nicely now.

However im unsure if i should add finings? Would this prevent a secondary bottle ferment as i want bottled sparking cider?

Haha! It will soon be time for a tipple or two for me :drink:
"DJ TC" IS THAT Demijohn Turbo Cider, or am I just been silly? lol... I have some Coopers Australian Lager bubbling away at the minute since Thursday. Also have my Forest Fruit Cider in the ol' pressure barrel! Things are looking good. :

 

[MATTYASAURUS]

Hi Matty

Yes your assumptions are correct!

DJ2 went mental overnight, blew up through the airlock a bit. Ive noticed now then that using ale yeast promotes a slower start. Its now on day 3 and its bubbling well. I will have to clean up a bit in a day or 2 and top off.

Even though I dont drink much lager etc I may have a go as I can always give it to friends..or enemies..

Ive been advised where to get some free apples from so im now thinking i may press some juice around end sept ish. Plus a friend has promised me pears from her tree.

All depends on how the 1st 2 experimental batches go i guess.

DJ one looks to be clearing nicely now.

However im unsure if i should add finings? Would this prevent a secondary bottle ferment as i want bottled sparking cider?

Hey Mitch!
Haha. been hoping that was right. Since making that post I thought it must have been correct as I did a little research on Turbo Cider. :grin:

I will have to keep that in mind about the yeast.. Yeah you could just bottle some lager up for Christmas and hand it out to friends and family. I was thinking about doing the same. Might be next year that for me though. Depending how things go.

I think it would be a good experience to complete a batch from fresh apples or pears. Reckon my lady would enjoy that too as she is mainly a cider fan.

On to the finings question... Me personally, I think I would give it a miss... Although with me been a newbie I don't know if you should follow my advice just yet haha. :hmm:Maybe open a thread so the more experienced members of the forum can have a say too :)

 

[mitch]

Ha! Yes i did that, opened a new thread. I'm not making it in huge quantities as I'm not a big drinker. So its more for pleasure and give aways.

I've read up some say do it some say don't but i cant distinguish whether they mean for still or sparking cider. I want sparkling and non cloudy!

I might decant the DJ into 2? Maybe test it on half and half? Or wait for some bigger boys to advise me :p

 

[MATTYASAURUS]

Ha! Yes i did that, opened a new thread. I'm not making it in huge quantities as I'm not a big drinker. So its more for pleasure and give aways.

I've read up some say do it some say don't but i cant distinguish whether they mean for still or sparking cider. I want sparkling and non cloudy!

I might decant the DJ into 2? Maybe test it on half and half? Or wait for some bigger boys to advise me :p

Yeah I did a little reading online for you earlier and I found that someone had stated "It won't clear cloudy apple juice, but I think it would still carbonate, but it would take a very long time as the yeast needs to multiply to work." on another forum. Maybe your idea of testing half and half would be best though. That way you won't lose a full batch. I guess then it would be a personal experiment to you also which is also part of the fun in my opinion :)