What Apple Juice?

[Shaffer1515]

Looking at doing some apple juice cider, typically do apple cider... so what brands are ok that people have used? Need to get 100% apple juice obviously and free of anything that will hurt my yeast or inhibit growth... any list anywhere that someone can point me to to save time?

 

[Brian77095]

I buy Treetop from Costco.

But any apple juice that is 100% apple juice with no additives except vitamin C. Just make sure it is pasteurized and does not use preservatives.

We could give you a long list but it would be better for you to just go to the store and see what they got. I look to make sure they have 1 gallon containers otherwise it is a pain getting 5 gallons worth. lol

 

[numba1brew]

I buy Treetop from Costco.

But any apple juice that is 100% apple juice with no additives except vitamin C. Just make sure it is pasteurized and does not use preservatives.

We could give you a long list but it would be better for you to just go to the store and see what they got. I look to make sure they have 1 gallon containers otherwise it is a pain getting 5 gallons worth. lol

You can never go wrong with Costco. I haven't tried it with Treetop but I want to go out and grab some now. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Evilgrin]

Costco sells Hay's Orchard cider in the refrigerated area. Nothing in it but apples. Its about $4.50 a gallon in my area.

 

[mkyl428]

Walmart Great Value Juice & Target Market Pantry Juice are both good for cider

 

[DurtyChemist]

A guy in my brew club uses Kirkland signature. I took his recipe and used langers from Winco.

 

[wahmbush]

Costco is great. $7 for 2 gallons of shelf juice, or like mentioned, $4.50 for fresh pressed cider.

View attachment 1445376578644.jpg

 

[z-bob]

Kirkland, Sam's Club, and Mott's are all good. Probably any brand that's 100+ calories per 8 ounces, and contains nothing but apples and vitamin C.

 

[dmtaylor]

Simply Apple

 

[JonM]

Got a good LHBS in the area? Call them and ask if they know of orchards that sell fresh preservative-free cider. I did that and they had some really great suggestions right away.

If not, then Mott's, Tree Top, etc are all fine.

 

[numba1brew]

Simply Apple

Do you mean this? http://www.simplyorangejuice.com/product/apple.jsp - How did it work?

 

[TimKennard]

My wife works at Tree Top, they make Costco's Kirkland brand juice just FYI. My favorite juice to use is Tree Top Fresh Pressed 3 Apple Blend which may not be available to a lot of people.

 

[EDF713]

Last cider I made I used Kroger brand apple juice. It was on sale for about 2 bucks a gallon. The cider turned out great, but when I bottle carbed with more juice I noticed the juice was from Chinese concentrate. I think it turned out fine, but check the label on the store brands if that sort of thing is important to you.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Pastuerised is good; Vitamin C is fine. Avoid potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate.

 

[seabrew8]

I have apple juice with added vitmain d, calcium and cinnamon flavour right now fermenting with no issues... so far! Only 0.5 - 1.5 gal are that kind of apple juice - the rest are basic 100%. 6 gallon batch.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Looking at doing some apple juice cider, typically do apple cider... so what brands are ok that people have used? Need to get 100% apple juice obviously and free of anything that will hurt my yeast or inhibit growth... any list anywhere that someone can point me to to save time?

I buy Treetop from Costco.

You can never go wrong with Costco. I haven't tried it with Treetop but I want to go out and grab some now.

I did two batches... TreeTop and Kirkland. From start to finish the wife and I noted two things - taste and color.

The color of the Kirkland was darker, but the Treetop tasted a tad bit sweeter. That's where the differences end. From then on out to the end of the seventh month they tasted identical. Now we just grab whichever one is cheaper.

 

[dmtaylor]

Do you mean this? http://www.simplyorangejuice.com/product/apple.jsp - How did it work?

I have never actually used it, as I am fortunate to live near numerous orchards and also press some of my own. However, out of all the commercially available juices in my local grocery store, this is the only one that contains no preservatives, and is cloudy with "stuff" on the bottom. So, if you can find this one in your local shop and don't have easy access to real orchard juice, it is one I can recommend.

The one called Hays looks similar and I'm sure would also work well. Anything cloudy and brown with no preservatives, that's what to look for.

 

[tmendick]

A guy in my brew club uses Kirkland signature. I took his recipe and used langers from Winco.

I use the Kirkland brand too. I received really good scores in BJCP comps with that basic yeast and a little yeast nutrient.

 

[z-bob]

The one called Hays looks similar and I'm sure would also work well. Anything cloudy and brown with no preservatives, that's what to look for.

Why do you want it unfiltered?

 

[wahmbush]

Filtering takes out the "character" of cider and leaves you with sweet juice. Kind of makes for a one note hard cider.

 

[tmendick]

I've seen no ill effects of using clear apple juice, just make sure that it is free of preservatives.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I've tried clear apple juice and unfiltered apple juice or cider. The only difference I have noticed is that there is much more sediment with the unfiltered/cider than there is with the clear apple juice. All three tend to clear out very well if/when given enough time.

As far as taste goes, both were very good, especially when given time to age a bit. I googled the difference between the two (apple juice and cider from the store), and it looks like the only major difference is the filtration.

Based on this, I'd say that yeast and aging make more difference than anything, as long as you start with an "acceptable" apple product that is 100% juice (or natural cider) that is free from preservatives and so forth as discussed above. Of course, different brands are made up of different blends, and that will also affect the final taste. It seems to me that it is mainly a factor of finding the combination of apples, yeast and aging that you like. From there, of course, you can experiment with carbing or not, as you prefer.

I would not call this a very scientific conclusion, but rather an observation that has led me to conclude that there are bigger things to worry about.

 

[dmtaylor]

Why do you want it unfiltered?

Same reasons I brew my beer with all-grain:

1) Flavor
2) Closer to nature
3) Closer to tradition

As the old adage goes, if you're going to brew something, you might as well brew it right. Or in this case, if you're going to leave some apple juice sitting around for months, it might as well be real apple juice from real orchards with minimum processing.

Personal preference. Can you make good beer from extract? Sure. Can you make good cider from filtered and processed juice? Sure. Personal preference.

EDIT: If you add more than about 8 lb sugar per carboy, it's not really cider anymore. It's apple wine, or it's also affectionately known as prison hooch.