Something easy to start with!

[Majik]

Hello,
I got a wine starter kit for Christmas and gave it a go. This has sparked an interest as there seems much more to brewing than this kit has let on. Any who, I decided to start as simple as poss and make a Supermarket Juice Cider.
All things sterilized. This is where I'm upto.

2 litres Apple and Blackcurrant Juice (No preservatives and from concentrate)
1 litre Apple Juice (No preservatives and from concentrate)
About 200g/1 Cup of brewing sugar (to give a potential alcohol reading of 10% on hydrometer)
1tsp Champagne yeast
1tsp Yeast Nutrient
1tsp Pectolase

In a one gallon demijon, its bubbling away nicely and I intend to add a further 1 litre of Apple Juice in a couple of days.

This is purely an experiment for a better personal understanding but any advice on weather or not to stabilise once fermented out or not, or other various pointers and tips would be more than welcome.

Cheers.

 

[Felixio]

Do you plan on bottling it still (like a wine) or carbed (like beer)?

If you want it to carb up in the bottle, then you can't stabilize it (that'll kill the yeast).

I'm sure you've read everything about how important sanitation is, so I'll not go over that in detail.

Just make sure to have fun!

 

[Majik]

Dunno, I'd like to carb it but I've only got wine bottles and corks, I'll probs go with still.

 

[TopherM]

I assume that you know that you will be making a dry, unsweet cider, not a American-style cider with residual sweetness, unless you employ a backsweetening procedure.

Most people have never tasted a dry, unsweet cider, and don't realize that's what you get if you just ferment juice. Most people don't like it, and think they made a mistake once they taste their finished dry cider.

 

[Majik]

I usually drink strongbow which isn't very sweet and I've never tried American cider so I've no idea on the sweetness of it.

 

[TopherM]

They make a "Strongbow Sweet" and a "Strongbow Dry" apparently, but I've never seen those in the US myself. The original Strongbow that they mass produce in the US is dry and slightly sweetened with artificial sweetener, per their website and a couple other sources I found.

Just an FYI. Just fermenting the juice, you will end up with a very dry, unsweetened cider resembling the traditional English style commerical examples. They even tend to have very little apple flavor at first, but the apple flavor actually gets more pronounced with age, so be patient with it if you think it isn't apple-y enough at first.

Good luck!

 

[TylerGuy]

if your new i suggest you get an ALE beer kit. its a kit that ferments fast and warm. then use 2liter pop bottles to carb t up for 1-2 weeks mabye 3 tops but you will have a very drinkable product and that may keep your interest in brewing. just remember beer isnt alwyas a bud light type drink. its anything made from fermenting a grain wash. many beers around the world taste different and here at Homebrewtalk, we like that!

 

[Majik]

I'm a Brit, so if it comes out like I'm used to (or anywhere near that)I'll be happy. I'm gonna do a couple of coopers kits soon but I just wanted to get the basics down on the cheap without risking messing up a kit. I hoping to eventually make a Brew of sorts completely from raw materials-with the help of you guys.

 

[Cyclman]

You can add artificial sweetener if you think it's too dry. Or just toss some honey or sugar in the serving glass. I made Ed Wort's apfelwein, very very dry but I think super delicious.

 

[Majik]

Thanks for the tips I'll be posting the results and wifeys opinion once it's done.