my first cider

[kepal]

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

[Bum]

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).

[Oliver]

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

[kepal]

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