My first Turbo Cider - A little how to.

[Mathius]

I don't think any of the great T's juices use sorbate as a preservative. they've got three for £2.50 on at the moment on their ambient stuff too...

 

[kRooGa]

Just bought 5 litres of Ribena AJ from Quality Save. On offer @ 49ppl, and upon checking the ingredients, it contains Malic Acid Going back for 15 more litres for a 5 gallon batch of Cranberry TC. Going to age it in bulk for my birthday bash next year. Should be lovely by the end of June :

 

[neddy]

Ive not had chance to do the 5 gallons yet but ive been told that if i use malic acid it will be next year before im able to drink it as it takes time. Is this true??
If so can i do the brew without it as i was hoping to have it ready for christmas

 

[ScottM]

Ive not had chance to do the 5 gallons yet but ive been told that if i use malic acid it will be next year before im able to drink it as it takes time. Is this true??
If so can i do the brew without it as i was hoping to have it ready for christmas

Malolactic fermentation takes months.

 

[neddy]

Will it matter if i dont add the malic

 

[ScottM]

Will it matter if i dont add the malic

Yeah, it'll be much better without it when the malolactic fermentation doesn't take place.

 

[neddy]

Thanks. Just gotta wait for my woodfordes wherry to get out of fv and then ill get it started

 

[weepete]

Would you not need to inoculate a TC with Lactic Acid Bacteria to undergo MLF, if you are using an off the shelf fruit juice?

 

[Stanleythecat]

Would you not need to inoculate a TC with Lactic Acid Bacteria to undergo MLF, if you are using an off the shelf fruit juice?

I won't happen if you don't. Mine didn't so I bought a culture and popped it in. However, I'm sure like yeast there are many strains and I probably got the wrong one!!!!! MLF is happenning but I'm not getting 'cidery' or 'farm yardy' smells yet. The cider was started in June and the liquid MLC was added 2-3 weeks ago.

Leo

 

[Mathius]

I topped my TC up with cooled boiled water and now the bubbling has stopped almost completely. I mean one bubble every one and a half minutes...

Should I siphon into a secondary with some sugar now? Then bottle it? And do you bottle it straight after the sugar has dissolved into the cider?

 

[ScottM]

I topped my TC up with cooled boiled water and now the bubbling has stopped almost completely. I mean one bubble every one and a half minutes...

Should I siphon into a secondary with some sugar now? Then bottle it? And do you bottle it straight after the sugar has dissolved into the cider?

Rack it into secondary but you don't bottle it till 4 weeks before you want to first drink it. Always better to bulk mature. The sugar doesn't get added till you are bottling, so just rack it into a secondary and store it away under airlock. If this is the Christmas batch then you can store it fairly cool, if it's the long term malolactic batch then try to store it around 15 degrees.

 

[Mathius]

Brilliant. I'll secondary it this evening then put it in the cellar for another while. I'll be aiming to drink it for New Years so I'll bottle it in about a month.

 

[graysalchemy]

If this is the Christmas batch then you can store it fairly cool, if it's the long term malolactic batch then try to store it around 15 degrees.

It will mature equally well at much lower temps mine matured all winter in near freezing conditions and the next batch is doing so as well. Traditionally cider was fermented in the autumn and left out in the cold over winter for MLF to take place.

Even if you are not going to bulk mature TC matures in the bottle and is a totally different drink after 3-4 months in the bottle, and also if you do bulk mature and allow MLF it continues to mature.

The key to TC is to remember it isn't a quick fix to get cheap alcohol given time it is a wonderful drink but it does need time.

:thumb:

 

[ScottM]

If this is the Christmas batch then you can store it fairly cool, if it's the long term malolactic batch then try to store it around 15 degrees.

It will mature equally well at much lower temps mine matured all winter in near freezing conditions and the next batch is doing so as well. Traditionally cider was fermented in the autumn and left out in the cold over winter for MLF to take place.

Even if you are not going to bulk mature TC matures in the bottle and is a totally different drink after 3-4 months in the bottle, and also if you do bulk mature and allow MLF it continues to mature.

The key to TC is to remember it isn't a quick fix to get cheap alcohol given time it is a wonderful drink but it does need time.

:thumb:

Really? Reading around the net it was suggested that 15 degrees was the ideal temp for malolactic fermentation to take place, as this is the temperature that the bacteria is most active.

 

[graysalchemy]

Mine was fine over wintered last year and I have lovely cider, my workshop is rarely over 15c after September when I brewed it. :thumb:

 

[hoofy]

I'm thinking of giving this one a go a the weekend.

I bought some Young's dried active yeast last week for a WOW. Will that be ok for a TC?

 

[ScottM]

I'm thinking of giving this one a go a the weekend.

I bought some Young's dried active yeast last week for a WOW. Will that be ok for a TC?

That'll be fine. Not a great chance of malolactic fermentation without using a good strain that's already infected though. The only fairly reliable way of doing it is to use something like Old Rosie leftovers.

 

[hoofy]

So are you saying that adding malic acid to the brew won't necessarily give you a malolatic fermentation, you have to have the right type of yeast as well?

 

[graysalchemy]

No malolactic fermentation occours due to natural infection by lactobacillus, so the likely hood is that it will occour naturally. However using a used taken from a bottle of old rosie gives you virtually a 100% sucess rate as the cider in the bottle is infected with the bacteria and so will the yeast sample you collect.

 

[ScottM]

No malolactic fermentation occours due to natural infection by lactobacillus, so the likely hood is that it will occour naturally. However using a used taken from a bottle of old rosie gives you virtually a 100% sucess rate as the cider in the bottle is infected with the bacteria and so will the yeast sample you collect.

I've not had it yet after 8 tries so I'm giving the old rosie a spin to see what I get.

I'm maybe too clean with my sterilising lol.