Hi, can you help a new guy to make a cider?

[jimblob]

Hi could anyone direct me or show me a way to make a cider similar to Henry westons vintage herefordshire cider? I’d like to replace everything I drink to something like this (don’t like water, coffee, or liquid other than).

I know, really I do, but if I can make a decent 8% cider I’ll be a happy man.

:

 

[Mark1964]

Hi and welcome ,you could try turbo cider. Its just basically apple juice sugar and yeast. Lots of recipes around the forum just choose one you like

 

[alanywiseman.]

If you are looking for more of a scrumpy type cider go for AJ, cider yeast, tannins 1 tsp/gallon, malic acid 1tsp/gallon, yeast nutrient.

This does require a long bulk aging though (3-4 months minimum) and it is best if you can make a yeast starter from some old rosie as your yeast. Sounds complicated but very simple.

Personelly i would avoid adding sugar and water as these will dilute the brew.

 

[Sideboard]

I think I drank a gallon of turbo/c yesterday. started way too early, about 3pm. going to wait till 4oclock today.
Mine was 19ltrs value AJ from asda, 400g sugar. 50g golden syrup, all poured straight on top of the yeast cake from the batch before. youngs ale yeast if I remember right, doesnt get too strong as with wine yeast. 6.7%. I think champagne yeast will get it above 10%. dry as a bone though and tasteless.

 

[graysalchemy]

If you follow Alans suggestion and age it you will end up with a very nice cider akin to a decent West country cider. It should end up about 5.5%. If you add sugar, miss out tannin and malic acid then you are making tramp juice and no need to age it just drink staright from the DJ. :lol: :lol:

 

[Sideboard]

tramp juice

cheers.

I can see me now. pushing a grubby handled shopping trolley with a **** rinsed out 5 gallon oil drum from behind the chippy, squeak farting out rank asda value apple co2 through a pinholed condom. Don't think i would bother with the golden syrup though, my tramp mates would laugh.

 

[graysalchemy]

Sorry didn't mean to cause offence. TC gets a bad reputation because people don't give it time and attention it deserves. You can make a very very acceptable west country scrumpy style cider out of shop bought apple juice. :thumb:

 

[Sideboard]

cause offence

You didn't don't worry. The image just made me laugh and thought to share it.

 

[ScottM]

How do cider makers get above 6% without using sugar?

I've always added sugar to my ciders and I wouldn't have referred to any of them as tramp juice.

 

[graysalchemy]

With just juice you will get 5.5-6%. I find that strong enough. There are ways but I don't want to mention them as they may be confused with something that we are not allowed to talk about even though it isn't.

Personally I find 5.5 -6% just fine. :thumb:

 

[oldbloke]

How do cider makers get above 6% without using sugar?

I've always added sugar to my ciders and I wouldn't have referred to any of them as tramp juice.

Use a more concentrated juice than the normal shop stuff. You'll get more apple flavour in it too.

 

[ScottM]

How do cider makers get above 6% without using sugar?

I've always added sugar to my ciders and I wouldn't have referred to any of them as tramp juice.

Use a more concentrated juice than the normal shop stuff. You'll get more apple flavour in it too.

On no I understand that, I was thinking more of commercial brewers. Do they reduce the squeezed juice to make higher alcohol ciders? Westons etc are all 6+

 

[Sideboard]

Use a more concentrated juice than the normal shop stuff

How do you get more concentrated than asda value 62p 1ltr "Apple Juice from Concentrate (100%)" ?

Personally I find 5.5 -6% just fine

Me too, I think I worked mine out at 6.7% wrong as the hoped for FG of 1006 only got down to 1011. so 5.9% is what I get and yes its strong enough for me. maybe if I used champagne yeast with no sugar it would get stripped down to a dry as a bone thin tasteless brew. I like an apple taste personally.

 

[GeorgeSalt]

How do you get more concentrated than asda value 62p 1ltr "Apple Juice from Concentrate (100%)" ?

The same apple juice reduced to a syrupy consistence by being placed on a pan on top of the aga/woodburner for several hours. At least that's one of my planned Autumn TC experiments. Drive off some of the water that's been added back into the concentrate.

 

[graysalchemy]

Using heat would probably caramalize it which might not be the flavour profile you want in a cider.

 

[RobWalker]

Gray's got a good guide on harvesting Old Rosie yeast which is "proper somerset." You might want to think about ageing on oak chips too, maybe that would add the vintage flair you are after!

Ciders are pretty hard to clone, they rely on apple varieties rather than beer which uses malt/hop recipes so getting closer to a style you like can be difficult.

If you want the alcohol to come from apples and nothing else, you will need to track down some apple concentrate and add that to apple juice :thumb: