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crab apples for cider?.

  • 24-09-2020 6:14pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 6,537 ✭✭✭


    hey guys very new to all this home brewing,but ive seen a few crab apple trees in my area and watched a few videos on youtube on how to make cider.

    question is can you use crab apples ?.


Comments

  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,761 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    Yep. Apples is apples.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,537 ✭✭✭bassy


    BeerNut wrote: »
    Yep. Apples is apples.

    would i need to add sugar to them,i mean when i first crush them then press them would i need to add sugar at some stage?.

    also i take it i deffo need a cider yeast to help with fermatation.

    or do i need sugar at all?.

    also how can i add fizz aka gas to the cider?.

    for for the questions but im new to all this.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,761 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    bassy wrote: »
    would i need to add sugar to them,i mean when i first crush them then press them would i need to add sugar at some stage?
    Only for carbonation (see below). Any sugar you add during fermentation will just increase the strength as the yeast will convert it into alcohol. If you want to add sweetness, the best way to do that is at serving: have some apple juice on the side and add it to the finished cider to taste.
    bassy wrote: »
    also i take it i deffo need a cider yeast to help with fermatation.
    Chances are there's enough natural yeast on the apples that it'll ferment without adding any, but you can use cider yeast, or beer yeast, if you want to be sure. Yeast nutrient will help too but isn't essential.
    bassy wrote: »
    also how can i add fizz aka gas to the cider?
    Ferment the juice out completely, making sure the gravity is stable, and then bottle it. When you bottle, add a small amount of sugar, about half a teaspoon per half litre bottle. That will start a new fermentation in the bottle which will create the gas for carbonation. After two weeks stored at room temperature the cider in the bottles will be carbonated.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,537 ✭✭✭bassy


    how long should the cider be given from pressing before consumption lol :D


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,761 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    In my experience cider, isn't really drinkable for the first three months after bottling, and is best after six. But it depends on your own taste and patience.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 6,537 ✭✭✭bassy


    BeerNut wrote: »
    In my experience cider, isn't really drinkable for the first three months after bottling, and is best after six. But it depends on your own taste and patience.

    thank you for all your help and advice................


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,761 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    No worries. Good luck with it. I've never made cider from scratch but I've heard that pulping and juicing the apples is harder work than it seems. Allow yourself plenty of time for that part.


  • Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭sharingan


    Another tip is to forego the use of sugar, and use something like cheap apple juice (e.g. Lidl/aldi) instead. It doesnt have to be fancy, the from concentrate stuff is fine.

    You will get your main flavour from the pressed apples, and the juice will add something at least (sugar will add nothing).

    Also dont underestimate the amount of apples you need, and how much work will go into pressing them.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,537 ✭✭✭bassy


    sharingan wrote: »
    Another tip is to forego the use of sugar, and use something like cheap apple juice (e.g. Lidl/aldi) instead. It doesnt have to be fancy, the from concentrate stuff is fine.

    You will get your main flavour from the pressed apples, and the juice will add something at least (sugar will add nothing).

    Also dont underestimate the amount of apples you need, and how much work will go into pressing them.

    Forgetting about the sugar and just adding Aldi applejuice will that give me that gassy fizzy taste when it's ready to be consumed?.

    Also as soon as the fermenting has finished I presume I then pour it in to sealed air tight bottles and allow to sit for a few mths.


  • Registered Users Posts: 911 ✭✭✭sharingan


    bassy wrote: »
    Forgetting about the sugar and just adding Aldi applejuice will that give me that gassy fizzy taste when it's ready to be consumed?.

    Also as soon as the fermenting has finished I presume I then pour it in to sealed air tight bottles and allow to sit for a few mths.

    I was not talking about adding carbonation to the finished cider.

    For carbonation add whatever sugar you want.


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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 47,975 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    Also dont underestimate the amount of apples you need, and how much work will go into pressing them.

    i juiced a load of apples using a domestic centrifugal juicer the other day, and yes, it's tedious work. also not as efficient as pressing them (especially with windfalls which have lost some firmness); but does anyone hire out or otherwise make available pressing equipment?

    i usually turn down offers of apples each year and a lot of that is down to time constraints on juicing.



  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,761 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    I'd say your local homebrew club would be where you'd find that out. Someone may have pressing gear they could lend you.



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 47,975 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    cheers - a quick google suggests swords might be the nearest one to me...



  • Registered Users Posts: 720 ✭✭✭Timfy


    Crab apples can make a delicious, very dry Cider. You will need to sweeten the brew as pure crab apple will turn your head inside out with its sourness! Most cider makers would use lactose (milk sugar) after fermentation has finished. This will sweeten your batch without fermenting. You will still need to add sugar to each bottle for carbonation.

    If you wash your fruit, add Cider yeast. When fermentation comes to and end, if your SG is low then add some brewing sugar and yeast and give it a few more days.

    As an aside, you will need a metric f*ckton of crab apples... they hold nowhere near the juice of a "real" apple and are a git to press as windfalls stay very firm for a long time. Don't let that put you off though, a dry cider is absolutely delicious and knocks all the sweet fizzy muck that's widely available into a cocked hat!

    No trees were harmed in the posting of this message, however a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.



  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 47,975 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    nowt to do with crab apples, but my cider is ready; i used a sachet of wine yeast because that's the only one i had to hand (i've had mixed results letting wild yeasts take hold); the apple which formed the bulk of the juice came from a cooking apple called belvedere house, which i bought off irish seed savers. it's actually somewhere between a cooking apple and a dessert apple, but the juice has a lovely colour and some of it made it through to the final product. it's really light tasting, the lightest tasting cider i've made, almost verging on bland if i was being over-critical. this is an apple from the tree - the juice looks like ribena.




  • Registered Users Posts: 5,278 ✭✭✭mordeith


    That's a delicious looking apple it has to be said.



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