Making cider

[Evo]

OK, long story, but...

I'm talking my old man into getting back into brewing his own beer. We gave it a bash back in the "can and kilo of sugar" days (circa 1984) and had the expected results (some of them drinkable). Anyhoo, after sampling my brews whenever he comes to visit, he is keen to put the brew hat back on. Not being afraid of the amber, this should save him some $'s which is good for a pensioner. The problem being my mother who thinks she doesn't have space for another fridge etc etc.

To get the idea into the good books with her I was thinking of brewing a cider, which she drinks, although nowhere near the volumes that my old man drinks beer (which I'm sure I've inherited the gene for).

So, my question is, how the hell do I make a decent cider ? Actually, can that. How do I make a cider similar to Strongbow dry (with a can and brewing sugar) ? Having hardly drunk the stuff (except for one fatefull xmas), and never having brewed it I wouldn't have a clue. Not really much info on the web about it either.

[Pyssedas Heavy Industrial]

hi evo, i can tell you how i make my apple cider from a can - but cannot vouch that it is anything like strongbow - in fact i can't stand commercial ciders and suspect that mine taste quite different - probably sweeter - certainly applier if such a word exists

for what it is worth my mum gave this the thumbs up on christmas eve - and she barely drinks at all - this may, however, have been due to the crayfish which i had taken her as an early christmas gift

i leave it to your good judgement to choose your favorite can makers - most of them quite good - but i would suggest two cans and no extra fermentables in approx 30l fermenter

extra apple juice [should be real juice not concentrate] will add an even more authentic taste

not exactly a cheap cheap way to brew but the results are good

alternatively soak the labels off some strongbow and tell her that its homebrew...

[Dogger Dan]

Evo,

Get rid of the can man. Buy yourself some apple cider (soft rather than hard right, with no preservitives. I am speaking English kind of no )

Ok get some chmpagne yeast and a bit of dex. Look at the unfermentables and figuring it will drop to 0.998 or so boost it to what you need with dex. Simple no?. Ferment, rack, and carbonate

(Sorry Mano first day with a new key board and it isn't working to good.) No Boiling, no worries, no sweat and Dad is happy and so is Mom.


Dogger

[gregb]

A few years back we started with a box of apples (granny smiths), the juice extractor, a kilo of dextrose and a satchel of Ale yeast.

After 12 weeks in bucket and then 16 weeks in the bottle we had a truly outstanding cider. Brewed right out, just took its own time doing it. I have since heard you can get yeast nutrients and or special yeasts for Ciders.

All we did was wash the apples in hot water and ran the juice straight out of the extractor into the bucket topped it up with tap water to 23 litrs and pitched the yeast.

Last year I got a tin of Blackrock Cider and a bag of dextrose, much less fooling around.

cheers,

Greg.

[grabman]

I've had a couple of attempts at ciders lately. Best result was with BlackRock Cider kit, 500gm dextrose, 500gm light malt, 250gm lactose, 3 litres 100% cloudy apple juice. Madde up to 23 LItres and pitched the cider yeast from the kit. Took about 12 days to brew out, FG was 1006, sat in bottles for 4 weeks before first crack, have to say was a good drop!

Was popular with the wife as well, she's even having a go at her own brew now!! (Have I created a monster???)

[Evo]

Yeah, I have to try and sell it to her as simple and cheap so the Blackrock can and kilo of dextrose seems to be the go. Maybe chuck in some light DME to give it some flavour, and a dash of lactose for some sweetness. I like the idea of the all juice brew though. Might give that one a bash for myself. Although I'm not big on the stuff, I'm sure if I don't drink it someone will .

So Greg, did the blackrock and kilo compare with the granny smith cider ? And Grab, how sweet was your cider with 250gms of lactose (compared to say Strongbow dry) ?

...and is the cider kit yeast just an ale yeast or something different. I'm hoping to brew a cider and an ale in my fridge for a homebrew warming gift (geez I'm a good son).

[Oliver]

I can vouch for the Black Rock Cider. It's a ripper. In my opinion you do need the lactose, as suggested above, otherwise you end up with a very, very dry (almost unpalatable) cider.

See my recipe for No.35 Black Rock Cider.

You'll note that I also added some peeled, cored apples to give extra apple taste. Put them in a stocking before you add them to the fermenter so you can just pull the whole lot out before bottling.

This brew was a hit with the wife. She's a huge Strongbow fan, but said this was better.

Cheers,

Oliver

[grabman]

Evo,
Was slightly sweeter than a strongbow dry, although I must confess I'm not a big strongbow fan. If buying cider I always try for the Mercury cider, much better and generally cheaper as well.

On a side note I had a cider batch that was way to dry and the wife got round that by mixing it with the Natural Beverage Companies apple drink. You knw the mob that makes the Natural Confectionary Company lollies, well they are now into soft drinks as well. If you can find them in supermarket it might save a dry batch from a lonely life in the fridge

[gregb]

The granny smith cider was really outstanding. Well worth the effort if you can be bothered, spare the fermenter for 3 monhts and get the apples at the right price.

I've put a bottle of the blackrock in the fridge and I'll get back to you later with an attempted objective assessment. Alas the granny cider went very fast, noone believed me when I said they wouldn't like it and I'd better drink it all.

Cheers,

Greg.

[Evo]

Excellent. Well cheers for the advice guys. Seems I've decided on a recipe. Blackrock, kilo dextrose, 500g DME, 125g lactose and maybe some apples or apple juice. Should come out better than my first beer brew. Will post how it goes (and whether it gets my old man the permission he needs to brew). Hahahah whopkssshhh (whipped).

[gregb]

Just back from the tasting bench. Ratting thru the cellar found a bottle of an all apple cider Dad did in Feb 02 (not the ones I referred to in my other post).

Heresey coming up...

Yep the blackrock kit is close enough (equal?) in taste that if you need to brew a cider, I wouldn't muck around with the Sunbeam.

But if you need to get rid of a box of apples, or just plain want to, give the all juice thing a go.

cheers,

Greg