First cider recipe questions

[langaandy]

Hi all,

Just bottled my GB and I'm thinking cider is up next. I don't mind a drier cider but I would prefer something a bit sweeter.

I have an apple and a pear kit and I was wondering if anyone has done a half half brew with the kits. I could just use half of each then whack the rest in the freezer until next use couldn't I.

If so the recipe would most likely be as follows:
Half half mix of the apple and pear kits
6 litres of apple juice and 2 litres pear juice
1.5 kg of raw suger or dex( or possibly a mix)
Whatever yeast I have on hand.

Should I use more juice and what is the thinking on my sugar/dex choice.

Also I have a bag of country brewer light booster( 250g light malt, 250g maltodex) should I add this as well as the sugar/dex of as a substitute for some of it.

[Oliver]

Hi and welcome, langaandy.

Without knowing exactly what is in the apple and pear kits it's difficult to give specific advice.

However, you have said that you like something sweeter, so here is what I would do:
* Half pear kit and half apple kit (as you said, freeze the rest).
* 6 litres of apple juice and 2 litres pear juice
* Country Brewer light booster (250g light malt, 250g maltodex).
* 500g lactose.
* Safale US-05 yeast.

So sort of what you suggested, but with no dex or sugar, and a different yeast.

Here's the reasoning, which others may seem fit to tear down:
* US-05 yeast is a beer yeast and will not ferment out as fully as some other yeasts so will leave a little more sweetness. It's also a fairly clean yeast so won't contribute too much to the flavour.
* The booster will add a bit of sweetness whereas the dex/sugar will add alcohol but no body/sweetness, so omit it.
* The lactose will add a bit of sweetness. But lactose isn't particularly sweet so 500g should be OK.

As I say, the caveat is that I know nothing about the pear and apple kit that you have.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Oliver

[langaandy]

Cheers that helps. The kits are just standard k&k's but with the adding of the juice and the booster bag I probably won't need to add a whole kilo of fermentable, probably 500-750g as I don't want it to be to alco to start off with

[bullfrog]

If your pear kit is one for a pear cider then it's already going to be apple and pear. 100% pear is called perry.

Just use your pear kit and save the apple one for your next brew.

I'd keep the brew booster for a beer and make the kit with 1kg of raw sugar. The kits are designed to be made with sugar so are already adequately sweetened.

I would also be using US-05 as Oliver suggested, because it won't attenuate as much as most cider yeasts, so it leaves a bit more residual sweetness behind.

[langaandy]

Cheers for the advice, I just put it down.

The kit is a Mangrove jack british pear cider.

The recipe is as follows
Kit
6ltrs of aldi brand apple juice
1kg raw suger
Us-05

I remember the guy saying it was fairly sweet normally so I figured I'd go without lactose and see how it turns out, I can always back sweeten

[Oliver]

I would definitely look at doing a brew sans kit next time. They are generally artificially sweetened so have a bit of a dicey flavour to them. If you're investing in apple juice you might as well forget about the kit and do an all-juice (with, possibly, lactose) and the US-05.

Oliver

[langaandy]

Just too second reading today, 48 hours after first because I forgot yesterday (oops) and its sitting at 1006 down from 1061.

It's as clear as a frosted pane of glass but that might settle with age but it is very like wine at the moment. A harsh alcoy type taste. I added the bag of pear flavoring/sweetener and it already smells better I will just have to wait and see about taste.

Is this normal, just because it is fresh and needs to age

[Oliver]

Hi langaandy,

What was the first reading?

What temperature have you been fermenting at?

If the temp has been low it's to be expected that you might have a bit of cloudiness because the yeast hasn't yet settled out. Or it's still fermenting, in which case continue taking readings.

Once fermentation is complete the yeast should drop out of suspension and the cider will clear.

Oliver

[langaandy]

The OG was 1061 and it stopped bubbling the day before I first tested it. That was the second test and they were bothe the same fg 48 hours apart.

The temp was mostly 22c it got up to 25 for a day but otherwise It was pretty good. It's a bit clearer today so I think I will bottle tomorrow.

[Oliver]

The same reading two days apart indicates it's finished fermenting and you're wise to wait a few days for it to settle.

If you can, next time keep the temps down. You'll get the best results in the 18-20 range with that yeast or even a touch lower. If you use a champagne or cider yeast you can go even lower and it will result in a clean, crisp cider.

Cheers,

Oliver