What abv %

[Petei1507]

Just a quick question -

I'm going to start my 1st ever brew of cider at the weekend. Just a basic one, nothing too fancy.

I'm just wondering what sort of % I'd be looking at woth the following recipe -

4.5 litres Apple Juice
Cup of strong tea (2 tea bags)
250g sugar

Is that too much? Too little? I'm hoping to achieve somewhere between 6 & 7 %

Is that too ambitious with the above?

Thanks

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Without knowing how much sugar is in the cartons it is impossible to say, get yourself a hydrometer and trial jar make your cider up then take a reading and then again when it seems to have slowed right down, there is a calculator here that will tell you the %ABV.

Hydrometer - http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-acces...o-hydrometer-loose-wine-and-beer/invt/0022575

Trial jar - http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/wilko-plastic-jar/invt/0022576

 

[Petei1507]

Thanks. I'll invest in them aswell then. The AJ i was thinking of using is the Smartprice stuff at 55p a liter. Does that make any difference at all?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Price doesn't matter its the amount of sugar in each carton that is important, i am sure cider makers here will be able to advise.

 

[Roddy]

Hey Pete,

asda smart price AJ has about 11.4g of sugar per 100ml

I put an abv calculator thread up on here yesterday funnily enough, sticking your quantity into that tells me that assuming you can put a full 5l into a DJ (I do mine in 25l batches!), and you put 4.65l of AJ and a mug of tea (0.35ml) in, you will get 5.53% abv with no added sugar

Each 100g of sugar you add on that will add about 1.04% ABV

so adding 100g will get you 6.58%, 200g 7.62% and 250g 8.14% - a little over your target

Here's your version, in case you're interested (and can work MS Excel :) )
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9214IswqPyMb3RmYWZjMHh6cVU
(update cell C33 with sugar content, and see how it affects the ABV figure in cell B22)

 

[Petei1507]

Thanks for the help guys. Will be buying all my kit later and starting to brew it this weekend. Will let you know how it turns out ☺

 

[Petei1507]

Just wanted to clarify the process for a simple brew too.
Ive got it as follows -

Clean all equipment etc
Add 4l of AJ to demijohn, 1 cup of strong tea (cooled), 250g sugar, 5g of wine yeast.
Stir/mix
Leave for 5/6 days
Add extra 1l of AJ, leave for 5/6 days
Prime bottles with sugar and add in cider from demijohn.
Once bottled leave to another 5/6 days and then place in fridge until ready to drink?

 

[Toredan]

When I do a cider (just maturing a nice mulled cider for Christmas) I use the Lidl stuff. It's 0.49p per litre and has so much sugar in it my hydrometer reads 1.050 straight out the carton, so I don't bother adding anymore!

 

[Roddy]

Just wanted to clarify the process for a simple brew too.
Ive got it as follows -

Clean all equipment etc
Add 4l of AJ to demijohn, 1 cup of strong tea (cooled), 250g sugar, 5g of wine yeast.
Stir/mix
Leave for 5/6 days
Add extra 1l of AJ, leave for 5/6 days
Prime bottles with sugar and add in cider from demijohn.
Once bottled leave to another 5/6 days and then place in fridge until ready to drink?

yeh sounds good mate

for conditioning I'd say at least a week (until crystal clear), before chilling, maybe more

 

[Roddy]

ps.. I suppose wine yeast will work OK, but there is cider yeast out there....

 

[Petei1507]

Is there any difference in using a wine yeast compared to cider? Is it a case of taste? Quality? Strength?

 

[brumbrew]

All of the above. My local store sells gv13 cider yeast at 75p a pack. Likewise for wine yeasts.

I'd say wine yeast wouldn't give the desired flavour your after. Would ferment dry and high and i would think it would be a lot more gassy too.

But I am only just experimenting with yeast strains myself. Got a lot of different ones for 25p

Anyway I'm just doing my first cider from pressed Apple's with the gv13 (1 week in) I'll let you know how it tastes :-)

 

[Petei1507]

I am due to start this off tonight now since i've got some spare time.

When I bought my original equipment, I got myself some of this >> http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessories+equipment/express-wine-yeast-compound-50g/invt/0351556

Is this ok to use as the Yeast for the brew or have I bought the wrong stuff? In my confusion, I also bought myself some Youngs Super Wine Yeast of eBay. Is it best to wait until that gets delivered or will the Wilkos stuff do the job just fine?

 

[Roddy]

it's still not cider yeast but will ferment OK I guess, I haven't tried wine yeast on cider so far !

 

[Petei1507]

So put all this together a few hours ago.

AJ - Strong Tea - Sugar - swilled around - Yeast - Air lock in and a small swill again.

Now it dont know if I'm just being impatient, but nothing seems to be happening at all. Alls i can see is the yeast floating about and a buildup of what looks like the sugar at the bottom of the DJ.

Probably am being impatient arent i?

 

[ManseMasher]

In a word, yes! Temperature plays an important part as well as patience though - what temperature is it at at the moment?

 

[Petei1507]

I didnt measure the temp in the DJ, but everything that was put in was room temp at the time. Dial on the wall is showing 23oc. So I'm guessing somewhere close to that. Does it need to be warmer/cooler?

 

[ManseMasher]

I wouldn't let it get much higher - I try to keep mine around 20°c. When it starts fermenting, be prepared for the possibility of a lot of action!

 

[Petei1507]

Best to turn the thermostat in the house down then? When you say alot of action, are you referring to it bubbling and possibly escaping or just a case of the fermentation happening without any issues?

 

[ManseMasher]

Bubbling and escaping. If it's not already, I would stand it on a tray....