HomebrewandBeer.com forum

Hello all, I wish I had found this site before I started, now I know my first cider is going to be junk and my 2nd not much better, I have read lots of the posts on here and realise a cider kit is basically useless, I did look for juice to put in it and couldnt find anything with no additives, I ended up putting 4 large peeled, cored and sliced apples in and a can of pear juice, hope its going to be ok Also lots of ppl talk about lactose, I havent searched my local hb but havent noticed it anywhere, I dont like dry cider so need to find a recipe that is sweet, why cant it just be like beer and not have to add all these things to make it drinkable

With a bit of experience under their belts most brewers suggest the beer kits can be improved with a bunch of extras so ciders are no different, really.

Lots of people say bad things about the cider kits but I brewed a Black Rock Cider kit (with some extra apple juice) some time ago and it turned out better than many commercial ciders. But the best, easiest way to turn out a good cider is just to use nothing but shop-bought apple juice and a decent yeast from your LHBS (and some lactose if you decide to go that way). Any preservative free longlife juice will do the job - not many say "preservative free" on the front but if the ingredients on the back isn't just a bunch of numbers then you're good to go).

Hi Kepal,

I don't think you'll find anything wrong at all with your latest cider. It should be fairly tasty, but could be a bit on the dry side for your liking.

Adding the peeled, cored apples will certainly add to the apple flavour.

Cheers,

Oliver

thanks to all for your answers, appreciate every piece of advice