Hello all, does anybody have any experience/hints/tips for brewing this kit?
I received it from homebrewwest yesterday although I ordered the Finlandia Cider Kit (they "upgraded" my order according to the invoice)
One thing I noticed on the instructions was the addition of cooled boiled water to the FV and not hot water???
For upgrade read "out of stock of the other" ? What was the price on this one ?
Finlandia was €15.22 and the Brewmaker was €16.45
Yeah I reckon they were outta stock, just a bit annoyed because a lot of people from this forum recommended the Finlandia. Sure I'll make do with what I've got and hopefully I can get some tips about the Brewmaker kit?
Quote from: fishjam45 on December 19, 2013, 11:19:44 AM
Finlandia was €15.22 and the Brewmaker was €16.45
Yeah I reckon they were outta stock, just a bit annoyed because a lot of people from this forum recommended the Finlandia. Sure I'll make do with what I've got and hopefully I can get some tips about the Brewmaker kit?
I know m8 but seeing the price difference now if the quality is better i would say you scored here ? Let us know how this one turns out.
Hopefully it turns out to be better!
Any reason why there's no hot water added to the FV at the beginning?
Quote from: fishjam45 on December 19, 2013, 11:39:29 AM
Hopefully it turns out to be better!
Any reason why there's no hot water added to the FV at the beginning?
So the pectin does not set and your cider remains clear.
Sent from my HTC One
Cheers Eoin!
Thanks for "clearing" that up ....
hey all . . . I got the ball rolling on this one on Dec 24th
The kit says that OG should be approx 1040, mine was 1.032. I forgot to check it before adding the yeast but I checked immediately after adding it, shouldn't make too much of a difference should it? oops on my behalf . . .
It started bubbling away on dec 25th and still bubbling away now (dec 27th), temp is 18 degrees. (pics to follow)
Kit instructions say it should be finished at below 1006 and should take between 4-8 days. Would I be better to leave it a little longer in the FV after its stopped bubbling and is reading below 1006?
Still bubbling away this morning ;)
Quote from: fishjam45 on December 28, 2013, 09:56:30 AM
Still bubbling away this morning ;)
Compared to other ciders you have done what does this one smell and taste like ? assuming you sampled it pre fermentation for quality control of course 8)
I haven't done other ciders yet but it smelled like malt and apple juice before it started fermenting. It now smells of fart everytime I walk by the FV :) :)
Took a reading just now, took one then gave it a swirl and took another reading. I reckon I'm ready to bottle???
Two different readings too?
nice camera.
loots good to go :)
spin your hydrometer look of the number of bubbles on your first pic, some of these are sticking.
Cheers guys.
I waited a while then gave it a good spin and here's the result.
I reckon I'll bottle it tomorrow evening?
Just to let you know cider can drop to 1 or below! :)
Bottled her up there this evenin ... Bought the bottles from Alpack in Sandyford, Caps from Homebrewwest and designed the label from a template off the internet.
I took the first photo as I was thinking "Ah Jaysis, I'm really not in the mood for this!"
As you can see by the end I was happy ....
You must have been really happy because all the pics are upside down m8 :P
Quote from: Greg2013 on January 04, 2014, 11:32:54 PM
You must have been really happy because all the pics are upside down m8 :P
damn iPhone!!! :P
They look great!
Good luck getting the labels off though :D
JohnRm had a great tip to use milk as the adhesive for labels. They just fall off later with a soak
I just used pritstick, comes with a dab of hot water . . . nice and easy :)
And it tastes great... ;D ;D
What's the deal with the bath and gloves?
Scene from Breaking Bad?
The bottles were soaking in the LIDL W5 solution . . . Gloves are to protect my most important tools :P
I'd be loaded if I could brew up what they were cooking in Breaking Bad rather than a Cider Kit, thats for sure!!!!
...and cleans the bath too, your missus must love you!
yeah, shes delighted that since I've started homebrewing I also clean the bat for her
Builders buckets, ya know them:), will fit twenty and half a teaspoon followed by an inch of water out of a kettle to activate and sort out the real crud at the bottom.
I cheat I use my keggle for the hot water.
then tap water to the brim and leave overnight.
Big wash with those bottles afterwards.
Much easier than washing body parts down the plug hole.
If any of your brews taste like TCP you'll know you haven't rinsed enough.
Now where could I buy a builders bucket? hmmmm .....
I made sure to give them a good rinse under the cold tap in the bath and after they got a good blast in the bottle rinser too with the water, bleach and vinegar solution.
Eh guvner those of us in the trade know water in the bath comes from the tank in the attic full of dead mice flies and bat shit as opposed the kitchen sink which should be straight from the mains ;)
Next meet I will educate you about the dark side, Starsan.
Ps do you know J Fraser! Small world, wait till I tell him you're brewing beer!
The joys of living in an apartment involves not having an attic but a big insulated cylinder in the hot press instead. At the least the cold water from there will be cleaner anyway.
Yep, I work with John. Do I know you?
Not Yet!
Talk soon :)
eh fair enough ::)
Beware, there's no candy in his van..
I couldn't get the ucker out ;)
Sampled a bottle tonite, seeing as it said "ready in 3 weeks"
on the original pack it would have been rude not to! :P
Well, it's not ready yet and it has been 3 weeks. I hope it's going to get a lot better with time and I'm wondering why would they say 3 weeks in the first place?
It has a dry taste and is not so sweet either. It does have a lot of potential though!
Watch this space I suppose, I'll try again towards the end end of February.
In the middle of sampling another bottle tonight.
1 - its definitely getting better with age, a lot more palatable now.
2 - The Bulmers 1ltr Bottles work. I chose one of these to see would the cider be properly carbed aswell as to see how the taste was or wasnt developing.
looking forward to your version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8GHpa-eZcc
haha!
I'll give you a bottle or two when you collect your Autumn Blush and you can give it a taste test yourself. My singing days are well over ;)
sure we might see you on the 20th ;)
jaysis ya might but my singing days are still over.