Ritchies On the Rocks, Mixed Berry Cider Review

[BigDDunc]

I purchased this kit and set it off this morning. I'm going for a 6+ month bulk age and open it late spring. The only thing I did differently is brewed it ever so slightly short (21L rather than 23L) and added 1.5Kg sugar rather than 1.3kg.

Can't wait for it!

 

[Archtronics]

It will probably be ready well before spring, I've just fermented out a new batch and tastes almost the same as my stuff from June. :thumb:

 

[ScottM]

Yeah there's no need to wait anywhere near that length of time with one of these kits. There aren't really any powerful flavours, other than the sachet thing... but that won't change even with time.

I'd ferment it out over 2 weeks, rack it to secondary for a month then bottle for a 2 week hot, 2 week cold prime.

Job done.

 

[alank950]

Yeah there's no need to wait anywhere near that length of time with one of these kits. There aren't really any powerful flavours, other than the sachet thing... but that won't change even with time.

I'd ferment it out over 2 weeks, rack it to secondary for a month then bottle for a 2 week hot, 2 week cold prime.

Job done.

You mean room temp for the 2 week hot and meby in an outside shead for the two week cold prime?

 

[BigDDunc]

Ok cheers for the advice, guess ill be drinking it earlier than i thought :)

 

[ScottM]

Yeah there's no need to wait anywhere near that length of time with one of these kits. There aren't really any powerful flavours, other than the sachet thing... but that won't change even with time.

I'd ferment it out over 2 weeks, rack it to secondary for a month then bottle for a 2 week hot, 2 week cold prime.

Job done.

You mean room temp for the 2 week hot and meby in an outside shead for the two week cold prime?

Yeah 2 weeks at 18-22 degrees. I'm Scottish.... that's HOT

 

[alank950]

During the second ferment after the flavour has been added would it be of any benefit to give the wort a stir ,say once a week or will i just leave it alone.

 

[ScottM]

I would just leave it alone. Opening and stirring is just asking for infection :)

 

[Archtronics]

Potential warning

I have made this kit twice at no more than 18 degrees and both times if I drink more than 2 pints I get a horrid headache the next day, has anyone else experienced this ?

 

[alank950]

Potential warning

I have made this kit twice at no more than 18 degrees and both times if I drink more than 2 pints I get a horrid headache the next day, has anyone else experienced this ?

Not with this kit but after a Bottle of Bushmills Whiskey!!..lol

 

[ScottM]

Potential warning

I have made this kit twice at no more than 18 degrees and both times if I drink more than 2 pints I get a horrid headache the next day, has anyone else experienced this ?

Nope, not had any issues with it.

Have you had this with any other drinks? Just wondering if you are taking a reaction to something in the drink, other than the alcohol of course lol.

 

[Archtronics]

Just these kits, I am starting to think it might be an allergy to the yeast.

 

[BigDDunc]

I racked mine into a secondary FV last night after an 8 day primary ferment. It was kept at a warm temperature 20-23 and the lid has stopped bulging after 2 days so I'm happy the primary fermentation has stopped - although I probably should have used my newly bought hydrometer to check.

I tasted 1) The cider before adding the flavour sachet 2) The cider after adding the flavour sachet 3) The flavour sachet neat and 4) The flavour sachet watered down

and my comments are as follows:
1) Un-flavoured cider - I thought it tasted pretty weak and wasn't impressed by it. It was by no means bad, just no-way near as flavourful as I expected.

2) Similar to #1 above, except with a very small hint of fruit. Difficult to ascertain which fruit it was supposed to be because it was again pretty weak tasting.

3) Very bitter, but it reminded me of something (can't quite pin down what yet). It was more runny than I had expected - I was under the impression it would have been a very concentrated fruit pulp/juice - which I woud expect to be more syrup-like but this wasn't the case. I'm assuming it's artificial rather than real fruit flavours.

4) Sorted out the bitterness by diluting, but tasted weak (similar to how it tasted in the cider).


Of course I only tried a tiny amount of the flavour sachet, so I'm extremely doubtful the few drops I tried would reduce the impact it was supposed to have on the final cider.

Again this may improve dramatically with age - which appears to be the general consensus so I'm still expecting good things.

Other things to note - I also had a slight sulphur smell upon racking my cider. It wasn't very strong and I could no longer smell it once the flavour sachet had been added to the secondary and stirred in.

I was also intrigued by the contents of the flavour sachet. I'd be very keen on trying to create my own from 100% fruit juice, although I realise a lot of this would get re-fermented because of the additional sugars. Maybe a raspberry/blueberry reduction would be great to add as a flavour mix for a TC.

I'm going to give it a minimum of 2 months outside in the brick shed (retains more heat than a wooden one) and re-*****. I'll post my comments after I've tried it again.

 

[Beanhead]

I would agree with the consensus that this does require conditioning. I also got a weird smell while the initial brew was fermenting, and also the bitter taste.

I fermented in July; one week FV and one week secondary to clear. I primed in 1 litre bottles and since the taste has changed dramatically; for the better.

While it is drinkable pretty quickly after bottling, I would wait and condition out for a while before enjoying!

 

[pollymorph]

this is on my to do list so really enjoyed this review, will grab one soon

 

[pollymorph]

got it in now, went in during the week so will leave till next weekend then move over and add the sachet

 

[mattrickl06]

What ABVs are people getting with this - mine started at 1.042 and is down to 0.996 after 5 days and still bubbling so about 6.3% but hoping it doesnt get any stronger or else it will be lethal :party:

Used 1.3kg dextrose and 80g of natural honey.

 

[ScottM]

I used 1.5kg of brewing sugar when I did that kit and I got just above 7% by the end of it all :)

 

[pollymorph]

well have just done the final hydrometer reading for mine before putting the syrup in and it came out with a reading equivalent to 6.9%. The cider on it's own was quite pleasant too, but the smell once the syrup went in was lovely. Am looking forward to giving this one a whirl.

 

[mattrickl06]

Had a few pre xmas samplers of these and they are great. My fg finished at 0.996 so is a bit dry but a level steaspoon of splenda in the glass finishes it off a treat. 6.2% and made me feel rather merry :