Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

Cider recipes / kits / reviews

Options
  • 08-11-2012 1:28pm
    #1
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    I've only used 1 cider kit so far, though I have a second on the go.


    Review: Finlandia Apple and Pear

    I made it at the higher end of the alcohol scale at the cost of volume (of cider, not alcohol :)). It's well aged now at this stage (around 5-6 months in the bottle). It turned out pleasant but doesn't taste particularly apple-y or pear-y. An easy drink but I don't see myself buying it again.

    Overall 6.5/10.



    Recipe: Cloudy apple juice turbo cider
    A few people have PM'd me for this, so here's the standard cloudy apple juice turbo cider that I make. Recipe stolen from elsewhere. Input also from BeerNut (thanks).

    Lots of lidl or aldi cloudy apple juice (pic of the lidl one).
    Some raisins - sunmaid are best as they have no added oil. Not too many. Even a small amount can raise the OG considerably.
    Tea bags - I use 1 tea bag per 7-8L of apple juice.
    1 sachet yeast.

    Pour all the juice into your fermenting bucket. It helps speed things up considerably if you pierce a hole with a sanitised knife diagonally opposite the pouring hole.
    Simmer the tea bags until you have real tar. Don't use too much water here. It'll water down your cider.
    Add the raisins to the boil mix a few minutes before you're finished boiling.
    Remove the tea bags.
    I use a blending wand to make a mess out of the raisins at this point to expose the sugars to the yeast. I'm not overly aggressive. Just enough to make chunks of raisin.
    Dump the tea and raisin mix into your apple juice.
    Sprinkle yeast on top.
    Wait about 2 weeks.
    Prime, bottle.
    Absolute minimum of 2 weeks in the bottle. Tastes legend after 2 months.


    I made a pear cider from eating pears before that I picked up for next to nothing in Aldi on their "super 6" one week. It is absolutely delicious. I'll dig out the details for that and post it again.

    I have a pear cider kit on the go at the moment. I'll post up a review of that once it's been in the bottle a while.

    If anyone else has tried other kits / turbo's stick up a review or recipe.


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Spike78
    Registered Users Posts: 25 ✭Spike78


    Great recipe Khannie.
    When you say a few raisins how many?
    What FG do you normally end up with?

    I have been making demijohn tc batches for the past 6 months and have found adding 1ltr of another juice, grape, pineapple, cranberry really rounds off the taste.
    I have just started my first batch with added malic acid which requires long conditioning for malic fermentation to occur, supposed to be very nice.

    Just started a brewferm cider kit on Sunday, so far no fermentation so will add a rehydrated champagne yeast tonight, ever had this problem?


  • Options
    #3
    Khannie
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 37,485 Mod ✭✭✭✭Khannie


    Spike78 wrote: »
    Great recipe Khannie.

    Thanks. Really just borrowed.
    Spike78 wrote: »
    When you say a few raisins how many?

    Depends how much apple juice really. I used about a cup full with my current batch of 36L of apple juice.
    Spike78 wrote: »
    What FG do you normally end up with?

    Always spot on 1.000
    Spike78 wrote: »
    I have been making demijohn tc batches for the past 6 months and have found adding 1ltr of another juice, grape, pineapple, cranberry really rounds off the taste.

    Nice one. I have some grape juice in the fridge that I was considering using for priming.
    Spike78 wrote: »
    I have just started my first batch with added malic acid which requires long conditioning for malic fermentation to occur, supposed to be very nice.

    Nice one. Definitely going to investigate that. Let us know how your one works out.
    Spike78 wrote: »
    Just started a brewferm cider kit on Sunday, so far no fermentation so will add a rehydrated champagne yeast tonight, ever had this problem?

    I've never had trouble with fermentation starting thankfully. Is it warm enough? My pear kit that I have on the go was down to 12 degrees under the stairs. It was still fermenting away, but very slowly so I moved it into the kitchen to finish. Kits can look inactive though and if you're relying on a bubbler, there may be an air leak somewhere. Maybe have a listen to it.


Advertisement