Novice needing advice - First cider

[Osprey_Pete]

Hi All,

Firstly, I want to mention that I am a complete novice at this (A week into of my first lager kit brew), so layman's terms may be needed for me lol

I want to brew a cider similar to a Magners or Stella Cidre (in readiness for the week of summer we usually get in my part of the world), and am just wondering the best way to go about it i.e. is there a kit out there that will produce similar flavour, or am I best off brewing from scratch as it were.

All and any help would be mightily appreciated. Thanks

 

[graysalchemy]

Very simple, just use supermarket carton apple juice from 100% and some wine or cider yeast. Ferment at 18-21c, and sweeten up with an artificial sweetener to taste. If you want to increase the alcohol just add sugar. That will make a rather insipid 'cider' just like m*gners. :lol: :lol:

However if you want to make a cider with some flavour or a west country cider then you need to add 1 Tsp of tanin powder per gallon ( this adds bite) and 1 tsp of malic acid. You also need to prefferably use a yeast cultured up from a bottle of Westons Old rosie cider (see here). Ferment it out then leave it for 2-3 months before bottling.

Don't be tempted to add sugar, sugar just dilutes the flavour of it. Following the above, will make you a rather nice west country cider with a bit of a twang and a hell of a lot more flavour than M*gners or St*ller.

 

[GeorgeSalt]

Not everybody likes their cider west country style.. :whistle:

 

[graysalchemy]

Yes George that is true and that is why I gave two recipes one to make a 'cider' like M*gners and one in the west country style

The choice is yours. :grin:

 

[Osprey_Pete]

Thanks Grays, might try a DJ of each and see what takes my fancy. Never really sampled a West Country style cider, so you may well convert me with this! :

How long would you recommend leaving it bottled before sampling? Also, is the 1 tsp of malic acid per gallon as well, or just 1 tsp? Sorry if it's a complete newbie question lol

 

[oldbloke]

If you do the shorter version, leave out or reduce the malic acid, and it will need something else to improve the flavour - replace 1/2l of the AJ with something like cranberry.

For the short version, 2WeeksWarm2WeeksCold is my standard conditioning regime. Gets a decent amount of carbonation. The longer you leave it after that the better it tastes.

 

[narmour]

[quote="Also, is the 1 tsp of malic acid per gallon as well, or just 1 tsp? Sorry if it's a complete newbie question lol[/quote]

1tsp per gallon.