Party cider

[Jackofnotrades]

I'm pretty new to home brewing but have done a few different lagers and ales and am on my second dj of turbo cider. I have a plan to have a huge BBQ around August bank holiday time and am hoping to build a good stock of different brews to make the party go with a bang (already got 40 bottles of coopers cerveza, 40 bottles of coopers euro lager, 30 bottles of Pinot Grigio and 30 bottles of merlot on the go)

My plan is to make a extra special TC to put in a pressure barrel - nothing stupidly strong, just 5-6%, but would like to add something to make it a bit different,

Any advice or recipes ?

 

[RobWalker]

any juices at a rate of 20% will add a new edge. blueberry is nice, comes up a nice pink colour.

otherwise, have a look at the on the rocks kits, BBQ favourites :thumb:

 

[Jackofnotrades]

Like the idea of a nice pink colour,

How much blueberry would you add compared to AJ,

Would also like to get it pretty clear if possible. Is there a particular type of AJ which would help with this. I have been using the lidl cloudy stuff, and I don't think that will ever clear !

When should I start for a pukka batch by end of August ?

Sorry for all the questions at once

 

[chrig]

I have used 1L of blueberry with 3.5L of apple juice and it is nice.

I would also add a sweetener after fermenting if its for a BBQ, not many of my friends like the taste of TC at first unless its a bit sweeter.

 

[oldbloke]

I generally add half a litre of notApple to 4 (and a bit) of apple.
At that rate it doesn't taste of what it is, it just fills out the apple.
So at least a litre per gallon if you want to actually affect the taste.
Cranberry, Blueberry, Cherry - all seem to work

 

[RobWalker]

Questions are fine! Start it asap. Cider @ 6 months is awesome.

 

[Gayle]

Start the cider as soon as you can, it improves with age and should be drinkable aby the end of August. I use Lidl value apple juice, which clears just fine and I don't thinkit tastes any different from the cloudy stuff. If you want a different flavour to the cider, try the polish Lowicz syrups - the blackcurrant one is amazing in cider (half a bottle to the gallon), or adding a box of fruity teabags is another way of getting flavour in.