Strongbow Dry Cider Recipe??

[homebrewer79]

SWMBO asked me the other night to make her a dry cider like the Strongbow one. Anyone got some recipe's they wanna share?

Cheers, Matt

[drsmurto]

Dry cider is much easier to make then sweet cider.

berri preservative free apple juice
champagne yeast (or wyeast 4766 which produces a dry cider with a fantastic apple aroma) or go the oztops.

Its that easy. I have a keg of this waiting for a tap. My partner loves it!

[KEG]

what sort of ABV% would you expect using 100% apple juice with no additional concentrate/sugars?

[drsmurto]

OG 1.046, FG (depends on the yeast) 1.000 (6.0 % abv) - 1.010 (4.7% ABV).

the champers yeast will hit 1.000, possibly lower. The wyeast tends to stop anywhere between 1 and 1.010. First time i used it i got 1.010. the 2nd time i adding some nutrient and it bottomed out at 1.002.

[homebrewer79]

Forgive my ignorance , but, do you prime the bottles the same way or are the measurements different? Also is there a specific volume you need to make so as not to overpitch the yeast? Never made cider, or cared to really, untill SWMBO asked me to make it.

[drsmurto]

Priming is the same method but for ciders you generally prime higher. I go for 200-220g of dex per 23L (bulk priming) for ciders and ginger beers.

Yeast pitching is no different than beer except that a bit of nutrient helps as there is bugger all goodness (nitrogen from the proteins/amino acids) in juice for the yeasties to grow up big and strong... unlike malt.

I have used champers yeast in the past. 11.5g (or thereabouts) for a 23L batch just sprinkled on top as usual. Took longer to ferment out and you'll find very little krausen. Dont panic. As long as you keep the temps below 20C all is good. I let it sit in primary for 4 weeks.

now that i am using wyeast, ferment is done in less than 2 weeks with a pinch of DAP for the yeasts sex life.

[homebrewer79]

cool, I was just gonna make a 15 ltr batch so should work out well. Will the champas yeast work at lower temps like 14, I'm quite happy to wait a month or more for it to be done. Is it drinkable in the normal 3 - 4 weeks? When is best to crack open? I don't want the boss to think I've done a shitty job

[drsmurto]

I may be shot down for this but with drinks as simple as cider, fresh is good. I 'can' drink it straight out of the fermenter but find an extra few weeks allows the yeast to drop out by itself and makes it a cleaner, crisp dry cider. The longer i leave it in the keg, the more wine like it becomes (which isnt necessarily a bad thing, i dont mind a nice dry white wine like an adelaide hills chardonnay).

As for the temp range, it depends on what yeast your HBS has. the most common champers yeast is Lalvin EC-1118 and is the one i have used in the past.

Type: Wine
Form: Dry
Attenuation: 75.00 %
Min Temperature: 7.2 C
Max Temperature: 35.0 C
Flocculation: High

Best For: All types of wine and also cider.

Notes: Low production of foam, volatile acid and H2S. Ferments over a wide temperature range. High alcohol tolerance, compact lees and good flocculation. Relatively neutral flavour and aroma.

[Pom]

Priming is the same method but for ciders you generally prime higher. I go for 200-220g of dex per 23L (bulk priming) for ciders and ginger beers.

If you are not bulk priming can you still use carb drops? or should you use dex.

[drsmurto]

I have never used carb drops so cant comment on them. No problems with regular bottle priming using the 'thingy'.

[KEG]

Priming is the same method but for ciders you generally prime higher. I go for 200-220g of dex per 23L (bulk priming) for ciders and ginger beers.

If you are not bulk priming can you still use carb drops? or should you use dex.

they'll work just fine.

[Pom]

Thanks guys.
I take it you can only bulk prime if you are racking. Yes?

[KEG]

well, you kind of rack in a way when bulk priming - except with racking, you put it in a second container, and let it sit for some days/weeks/months to clear and improve. if you've got the equipment to bulk prime, you can rack, AND bulk prime.

e.g: ferment in #1.
rack to #2, clean #1.
Some time later, bulk prime in #1.

[drsmurto]

Had a few mates around last night and gave them all a taste of the cider. A few of them make ciders from kits that come out very sweet for my taste.

They all agreed this was a very dry cider, strong bow dry like but much better IMHO (and theirs). Good apple flavour and aroma. High carbonation.

Will be taking it, and 3 other kegs (APA, Landlord, Bo Pils) with us camping.

[Bizier]

I am going to be making a cider using 2 of the 3.3 L Berri Apple + a couple of bags of juiced apples.

2 Q:
1. Do I need to heat the fresh juice - I have a friend back home operating an old cider factory (for vinegar) and they just use the natural yeasts present - should I be trying to kill these, or let them happily co-exist? What if I washed the apples in hot water?
2. Is any of the following suitable: 1272, windsor, nottingham, 1187? OR - should I just go and get something else?

Cheers
Dan

[drsmurto]

Never used an ale yeast before in a cider but if it was me, i woudl use the lowest attenuator which is this case is probably windsor.

As for using fresh apples, leave the juice sit overnight in the fermenter with 1/2 crushed campden tablet (metabisulphite) and then add the bottled jice and away you go.

My partner and i had a few ciders after a hard day in the garden on Sunday. We decided its too 1- dimensional. The authentic breton cider (which IMO is the best cider gets) uses a combination of apples (bittersweet, bittersharp, acid) to get the depth it has.

With my next batch i am going to try a combo of eating and cooking apples and also try and stop the fermentation with metabisulphite at around 1.015. Either that or crash chill it to 3C and keep it at that temp.

[Bizier]

The authentic breton cider (which IMO is the best cider gets) uses a combination of apples (bittersweet, bittersharp, acid) to get the depth it has.

I am from Bilpin "Land of the Mountain Apple" - I might have a rummage around up there for crab apples and any obscure old varieties next time I am up there. I think we have a few trees of Granny Smiths and maybe even Jonos.

I will have to get my hands on some of that 4766.

[Bizier]

Sorry to make this an ordeal over the yeast, but can I quiz you Doc, on why you reccomend a low attenuator, but have used champagne yeast yourself? Did the champagne yeast simply go too dry, or is it flavour profile related?

[drsmurto]

Low attenuator is just me thinking out loud.

I would like to make a cider that finishes higher than 1.000.

I refuse to use lactose. Real cider doesnt contain lactose. I refuse to use artificial sweeteners. Same reasoning.

Just not sure a low attenuating ale yeast will work as this is simple sugars vs complex sugars you find in beer.

Its a work in progress!

Until Kev wants his 5L fermenter i will be playing around with the juicing machine and various apple varieties. I live in the apple growing region of SA so should be easy enough to source.

[Pollux]

My cider has recently come to a drinkable state.

Used the Brigalow cider kit, plus 1kg Coopers Dex, fermented at 26 for 6 days.

Bottled 48 330ml Stubbies with one Coopers Carb Drop each, tried one after two weeks as a tester, was flat and tasted funny.

Now at 3 weeks in the bottle it has carbed up to a nice level and according to the wife the taste is quite similar to either a Gaymers or Pipsqueak cider.

Best ones where the ones bottled in bottles that originally contained Three Oaks Cider, the rest went into old beer stubbies, they just didn't seem to have the same level of carbonation.