CIDER 101

[mr hoppy]

Ok, I've learnt a lot from this cider making business and I think the stuff I've made is more or less drinkable (including the spontaneously fermented stuff) but I've 2 questions:

1 - how is the French cider in M&S 2%? Seriously is this the famous keeving or just industrial tricks?

2 - how is it the Longueville House cider up in Mallow is amber coloured whereas my one is pilsner pale, and how do the get it little bit sweet, whereas mine seems as dry as it can be?

[Ciderhead]

Ok, I've learnt a lot from this cider making business and I think the stuff I've made is more or less drinkable (including the spontaneously fermented stuff) but I've 2 questions:

1 - how is the French cider in M&S 2%? Seriously is this the famous keeving or just industrial tricks?

2 - how is it the Longueville House cider up in Mallow is amber coloured whereas my one is pilsner pale, and how do the get it little bit sweet, whereas mine seems as dry as it can be?

1 water is cheapest method
2 apple variety and back sweetened

[Ciderhead]

Ok, I've learnt a lot from this cider making business and I think the stuff I've made is more or less drinkable (including the spontaneously fermented stuff) but I've 2 questions:

1 - how is the French cider in M&S 2%? Seriously is this the famous keeving or just industrial tricks?

2 - how is it the Longueville House cider up in Mallow is amber coloured whereas my one is pilsner pale, and how do the get it little bit sweet, whereas mine seems as dry as it can be?

1 water and pasteurised apple juice is cheapest method
2 apple variety and back sweetened

[mr hoppy]

I'd read variety makes a huge difference alright.

We used:

50% Dabinette ( a well know cider apple godd flavour and good for Tannin )
25% Bramley ( fav. cooker - good for acidity )
25% Cevaal ( also known as Red Windsor or Alkmene - good desert apple like a cox's pippin - sweet honeyed notes good  perfume )

and they used Dabinette and Michelin.

You don't think the yeast has anything to do with it, or that they are racking early or anything like that?

The M&S stuff is quite nice in a sort of, not quite apple juice, not quite cider way. It's quite sweet and has a bit of body but has a sort of cider (as in rotten apples rather than sharp) taste off it. So I could basically making something like that by blending cider, pasteurised apple juice and water and force carbonating?

[Will_D]

Just a heads up to all of us cider makers:

We have a little competioin coming up  : please register interest on this thread:

http://www.nationalhomebrewclub.com/forum/index.php/topic,5477.0.html

We have cats for ciders/perrys/meads/and even apple wine

We welcome ciders from the group buys, Turbos, Kits, or whatever.

We also welcome meads/perrys/piders/etc/etc

[MisterBurns]

So I've decided it's bottling time ..... pros/cons of PET bottles with expectation that I'm aiming for mid summer for drinking. I have some glass bottles but majority of my empties are PET. Should I buy some more flip tops ...... ??

[Bogwoppit]

So I've decided it's bottling time ..... pros/cons of PET bottles with expectation that I'm aiming for mid summer for drinking. I have some glass bottles but majority of my empties are PET. Should I buy some more flip tops ...... ??

Sorry for the late reply, I've only just seen this now. If you're storing them for that long I'd be putting them in glass. You could just go to the local and ask them to save some bottles for you instead of purchasing flip tops.

I racked my cider for the frst time over the weekend, both are under natural fermentation.

The juice is split into two carboys, one is at 1.004 and the other is at 1.010. I don't plan on bottling any myself until about June or July.

Bw

[Shanna]

Was wondering why cider had to be  pasteurised before adding sugar to taste.  Assumption is that the cider yeast converts all sugar to Co2& alcohol. Is there any way to prime like with beer for bittle conditioning?

Shanna

[Blueshed]

going to bottle some of my cider tonight from the group buy. have a burco boiler and plan on 70* for 15mins and prime with 50ml of AJ for every 500ml of cider.

anything else i need to do ?

[LordEoin]

why is everyone keen to pasteurise before priming? won't that just kill all the yeast and prevent carbonation? resulting in flat sweet cider.
I've only ever pasteurised after carbonation to stop carbonation and getting too dry

[Blueshed]

why is everyone keen to pasteurise before priming? won't that just kill all the yeast and prevent carbonation? resulting in flat sweet cider.
I've only ever pasteurised after carbonation to stop carbonation and getting too dry

Because Will D said so 

[Ciderhead]

Blue can you post exactly what you are doing as I read this as pasteurising the whole lot?!!

[Ciderhead]

What does he know   

[Blueshed]

i have put 12L of cider into my burco at 70* and added 1.2L of AJ to this. will keep it at 70* for 15mins then let cool before i bottle.

[Ciderhead]

Noo, ok lets walk through this.

You have maybe a small amount of yeast in suspension in the main part of your juice at the moment

Pasteurising everything you are killing everything.

Option 1
If you want more apple flavour you can pasteurise your smaller part B addition and put it in but to carbonate you need a sugar to feed your yeast to allow more fermentation and put c02 in the bottle.

Option 2
Just put fresh juice in the bottle with your fermented juice and yeast will gobble sugars in that, produce co2 but cider will finish dry as all the sugars are gone.

Option 3 for sweet or semi sweet
Is option 1 and or 2 by adding non fermenting artificial sweeteners such as splenda or similar to the bottle.

Whats you preferred flavour profile?