Making cider from apple juice?

[Bob Monkhouse]

...and if you prefer a more "west country" style...

to your 23l of apple juice add:

5tsp pectolase
5tsp malic acid
5tsp wine tannin
5tsp yeast nutrient

and culture your yeast from a bottle of old rosie. That way you will get the wonderful lactic acid bacteria (lactobacilus mostly) that create those "farmyard" flavours.

You would then have to age, in bulk, for many months to make sure it happened otherwise you are left with very tart cider because malic acid really is sharp...

I've just worked out what it says on my yeast slope from Brewlab now that I've read your above post again, its'Lactobacillus'.(Alison from Brewlab is a Makim so I don't understand her writing too clearly) :rofl:

 

[Bob Monkhouse]

I've now put a couple of yeast starters on using two different types of yeast, one being lactobacillus(now I can read the writing on the slope container).I've used some dried malt extract in 1/2 liter of apple juice, basically to get the yeast working hard before I pitch it.I'm looking for cheapo apple juice at the moment, the cheapest so far is 62/litre at Morrisons.I'll keep you informed as to how its going. Where Blackcurrant is mentioned, what do you mean,cordial or blackcurrant juice drink?

 

[wilsoa1111]

i reckon they mean cordial-

having had a wee expt with a couple of types of TC i have found the yeast used surpisingly important- for a fruity cider pick a nice champagne yeast(similar strains to cider yeasts)-the more expensive ones seem best-wasnt v impressed with the youngs cider yeast vs their champagne yeast, the champagne yeast imparts a peachyness while the cider yeast is more neutral making it seem bland-i suspect this is why others recommend additional juices or cordials-or even lactobacillus (not keen on btw but each to their own)

i havent expt with tannin much but teabags are offered as cheap alternatives

the 5g of boring youngs cider yeast cider is much improved with a drop of raspberry syrup in the glass

also adding a gd bit of dermera sugar is great but the cider needs left a while before comsuming-think a year-then its fantastic

i also had issues sourcing cheap juice-i ended up 62p as well but at least its easy to aquire and needs no pectolase

 

[alank950]

i reckon they mean cordial-

having had a wee expt with a couple of types of TC i have found the yeast used surpisingly important- for a fruity cider pick a nice champagne yeast(similar strains to cider yeasts)-the more expensive ones seem best-wasnt v impressed with the youngs cider yeast vs their champagne yeast, the champagne yeast imparts a peachyness while the cider yeast is more neutral making it seem bland-i suspect this is why others recommend additional juices or cordials-or even lactobacillus (not keen on btw but each to their own)

i havent expt with tannin much but teabags are offered as cheap alternatives

the 5g of boring youngs cider yeast cider is much improved with a drop of raspberry syrup in the glass

also adding a gd bit of dermera sugar is great but the cider needs left a while before comsuming-think a year-then its fantastic

i also had issues sourcing cheap juice-i ended up 62p as well but at least its easy to aquire and needs no pectolase

What yeasts do you recommend...i have a package of nottingham ale yeast?
Also do you think the TC will taste ok with just tannin and no added citric or tartaric acid..

 

[LeedsBrewer]

Think it's fine with just the tannin. That's what i'll be doing later this week. 2 DJ's of:

3.5L AJ
.5L Cranberry
mug of strong black tea
.5 sachet of youngs cider yeast.

 

[alank950]

Has anyone ever added Honey to TC?...

 

[LeedsBrewer]

wouldn't that make it a cyser?

It's something i'll be looking into making in the next year. It's on my ever expanding list!

 

[alank950]

wouldn't that make it a cyser?

It's something i'll be looking into making in the next year. It's on my ever expanding list!

I was thinking more on the lines of just adding say 454g of honey for flavour..

 

[zakswfc]

hi guys,
Fetched a demijohn today and I have set up a very simple turbo cider.
4litre of cheap Tesco apple juice with a little extra sugar added with goings cider yeast.
for the first I figured I would do a very simple one.
the gravity before pitching the yeast was 1.060, I have no idea what the Fg is roughly for cider. can some one let me know or alternatively let me know roughly what my ABV may be?
cheers guyss!!!

 

[Bob Monkhouse]

i reckon they mean cordial-

having had a wee expt with a couple of types of TC i have found the yeast used surpisingly important- for a fruity cider pick a nice champagne yeast(similar strains to cider yeasts)-the more expensive ones seem best-wasnt v impressed with the youngs cider yeast vs their champagne yeast, the champagne yeast imparts a peachyness while the cider yeast is more neutral making it seem bland-i suspect this is why others recommend additional juices or cordials-or even lactobacillus (not keen on btw but each to their own)

i havent expt with tannin much but teabags are offered as cheap alternatives

the 5g of boring youngs cider yeast cider is much improved with a drop of raspberry syrup in the glass

also adding a gd bit of dermera sugar is great but the cider needs left a while before comsuming-think a year-then its fantastic

i also had issues sourcing cheap juice-i ended up 62p as well but at least its easy to aquire and needs no pectolase

What yeasts do you recommend...i have a package of nottingham ale yeast?
Also do you think the TC will taste ok with just tannin and no added citric or tartaric acid..

The yeast I'm using came from Brewlab-www.Brewlab.co.uk. I only pitched it monday and I had a good rocky yeast head by tuesday night, vey impressed. If you phone them ask for Alison, she's very helpful. Incidentally, we started making our first homebrew from grain last year and used dried yeast, we had a sample of the lager we did the other day and, compared to using Brewlabs yeast slopes, the beer was sweet and a bit insipid, we have made the same lager using the slopes and the difference is quite substantial.

 

[graysalchemy]

hi guys,
Fetched a demijohn today and I have set up a very simple turbo cider.
4litre of cheap Tesco apple juice with a little extra sugar added with goings cider yeast.
for the first I figured I would do a very simple one.
the gravity before pitching the yeast was 1.060, I have no idea what the Fg is roughly for cider. can some one let me know or alternatively let me know roughly what my ABV may be?
cheers guyss!!!

Yes you will end up with a very simple cider which will be incredibly insipid. Cider doesn't need sugar all you do by adding sugar and increasing the alcohol is dilute the flavour. Cider has very little flavour without diluting it further especially if you don't add any tannin and malic acid.

If you use the forum calculator top left, you can work out your abv using the OG and the FG which will be 1.000 so giving you an 8% 'cider'.

 

[alank950]

hi guys,
Fetched a demijohn today and I have set up a very simple turbo cider.
4litre of cheap Tesco apple juice with a little extra sugar added with goings cider yeast.
for the first I figured I would do a very simple one.
the gravity before pitching the yeast was 1.060, I have no idea what the Fg is roughly for cider. can some one let me know or alternatively let me know roughly what my ABV may be?
cheers guyss!!!

Yes you will end up with a very simple cider which will be incredibly insipid. Cider doesn't need sugar all you do by adding sugar and increasing the alcohol is dilute the flavour. Cider has very little flavour without diluting it further especially if you don't add any tannin and malic acid.

If you use the forum calculator top left, you can work out your abv using the OG and the FG which will be 1.000 so giving you an 8% 'cider'.

Gray,i have 25ltrs of TC fermenting at the moment which i have added malic acid and tannin.I plan to store this for 6months before bottling..If i were to make another batch for quicker consumption and just add 5tsp of tannin would this taste ok,,i have some tartaric acid also i could add instead of the malic if this would enable me to drink this within a few weeks..

 

[graysalchemy]

Gray,i have 25ltrs of TC fermenting at the moment which i have added malic acid and tannin.I plan to store this for 6months before bottling..If i were to make another batch for quicker consumption and just add 5tsp of tannin would this taste ok,,i have some tartaric acid also i could add instead of the malic if this would enable me to drink this within a few weeks..

Depends how you like your cider but to be truthful there is no easy quick cider unless you are trying to clone a 'white cider' were taste is not an issue :lol: :lol:.

If you want flavour whether you go down the MLF or not it still needs time, even a month in the bottle makes a whole heap of difference.

I don't know how the tartaric acid would work apart from making it tart. You may well want to add it to it once the fermentation has finished and then you can add until you get the desired results. Add 5 tsp of tanin would be about right but add this at the beginning.

Sorry but I am not a fan or advocate of quick cider :thumb: :thumb:

 

[alank950]

Gray,i have 25ltrs of TC fermenting at the moment which i have added malic acid and tannin.I plan to store this for 6months before bottling..If i were to make another batch for quicker consumption and just add 5tsp of tannin would this taste ok,,i have some tartaric acid also i could add instead of the malic if this would enable me to drink this within a few weeks..

Depends how you like your cider but to be truthful there is no easy quick cider unless you are trying to clone a 'white cider' were taste is not an issue :lol: :lol:.

If you want flavour whether you go down the MLF or not it still needs time, even a month in the bottle makes a whole heap of difference.

I don't know how the tartaric acid would work apart from making it tart. You may well want to add it to it once the fermentation has finished and then you can add until you get the desired results. Add 5 tsp of tanin would be about right but add this at the beginning.

Sorry but I am not a fan or advocate of quick cider :thumb: :thumb:

From what you are saying i think it will be worth the wait.. :thumb:
Is there a desired temperature for malolactic fermentation to take place while in the 6 month storage..i was just going to store it in the shead where its pretty cold although i could leave it in the house?.Also i just used a cider yeast with sweetener numbers on the package are 30019.......01VIN213.. .... .....106801..whatever they mean

 

[graysalchemy]

My last lot of cider I got going in july and it got MLF going within a month of fermentation finishing. However it is probably sluggish now temps have dipped to 10c. I have fermented cider later in the year, autumn time and got the MLF going. I don't plan on bottling until the spring though.

Most people who have had success with MLF have done so because they used a yeast sample from a bottle of old rossie which has the lactobacillus responsible for the MLF in it.

If anyone is going to the spring thing I have pledge 25L of my aged cider, if Vossy kegs it for me. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[alank950]

My last lot of cider I got going in july and it got MLF going within a month of fermentation finishing. However it is probably sluggish now temps have dipped to 10c. I have fermented cider later in the year, autumn time and got the MLF going. I don't plan on bottling until the spring though.

Most people who have had success with MLF have done so because they used a yeast sample from a bottle of old rossie which has the lactobacillus responsible for the MLF in it.

If anyone is going to the spring thing I have pledge 25L of my aged cider, if Vossy kegs it for me. :thumb: :thumb:

So storage in the house is recommended..above 10c....
What signs do i look for as an indication that the MLF process is underway, if atol.. :pray:

 

[graysalchemy]

You get a white or beige coloured film which gets progressively thicker and almost dry, it folds up on itself and may have bubbles in it. There was a good picture courtesy of Tazuk that I used to use but it appears he has moved it off photobucket.

 

[ryanshelton]

Not sure if to make a new thread or not but just wondered what would make better cider? Making it from apple juice or using a kit?

 

[graysalchemy]

Apple Juice. If you want the whole West country style cider follow my advice if you don't follow old blokes recipe.

 

[G-Force]

I’ve made cider from apple juice a few times in 5L DJs. I’m about to start 2x 5 gallon batches for my 10 gallon keg.
I generally just go for AJ, General beer yeast, 1tsp of pectilase, 1tsp of yeast nutrient per 5L. Turns out quite nice, but I’m going to add a cup of strong tea to each 5 gallon batch for some added tannin.
I read somewhere that some lemon juice added to the FV can add some citric acid that will help with the flavour. Has anyone had and experience of that?
Any other tips anyone has?