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Anyone know what the SG of pure apple juice is? Would like to make a cider from scratch now that i have the GB covered and plan on using fresh apples put thru the juicer.

Question to all the experienced cider makers out there - the best yeast for cider is what?

My aim is to make something that tastes like alcoholic, fizzy apple juice. Cant stand Strongbow, Bulmers is OK but its the breton stuff i love the most but they make it from pressed apples and wild yeast in wooden barrels.

Could i make a cider from only apple juice? Is there enough sugar? Need a yeast that will leave some of the sugars behind? Comments?

Cheers
DrSmurto

The amount of sugar in the apple juice will vary from orchard to orchard, season to season. Best way would be to juice one and drop the hydometer into the juice. Different types of apple will give different flavours to the end product. Exactly which etc is beyond my knowledge/experience.

Cheers,
Greg

the amount of particle left in the juice would alter it's mass as well.

Good point.

Try a refractometer, the sample is a few drops and can therefore be picked up without the lumpy bits.

Cheers,
Greg

but the lumpy bits would still contain fermentables - so you could find out the SG of the liquid for sure, but you couldn't calculate alcohol levels from it.

Cheers for the info

Dont really need to be super accurate, just wanted to test the water before i get to involved with achieving my goal for this year - to make a Breton cider.

I am going to either source bulk pressed apple juice minus all the crap that goes into commercial apple juice (preservatives/ vitamins etc) or put apples thru my juicing machine.

To get an idea of what i am trying to do here is a run down on the process...
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/cider_1.htm

Long term idea stemming from my time living in Bretagne a few years ago....

Any ideas/help/suggestions/warnings will be greatly appreciated

Cheers and beers
DrSmurto

ah bretagne. lucky bugger. did you try the muscadet? only wine i like.

Indubitably! The beer on tap was pretty ordinary in most pubs except those with leffe, hoegarden etc. Kronebourg is piss. So i drank loads of wine as you do when in france..... and plenty of the cider which goes sensationaly with galettes! Altho muscadet does an equally good job

Kronenburg isn't the best, but at least their national beer isn't Fosters! (To every tourist anyway)

I put down a 100% Apple Juice Cider recently. I got an OG 1040.

chris. wrote:I put down a 100% Apple Juice Cider recently. I got an OG 1040.

Not a very strong alc% then?

Where did you get the juice form and what yeast etc did you use? Comments on taste etc?

drsmurto wrote:

chris. wrote:I put down a 100% Apple Juice Cider recently. I got an OG 1040.

Not a very strong alc% then?

Where did you get the juice form and what yeast etc did you use? Comments on taste etc?

The juice was just from the fridge at Woolworths. Berri Australian Fresh.

Can't comment on the FG or taste as yet as I haven't bottled it. I will add comments after tasting.

I just used the brewcraft dry cider yeast.

we have done a couple of batches of cider and can say that the best one so far has been with fresh apple juice , it tasted alot more better than anything made from bottled juices
here is our recipe 1 x can Blackrock , #15 brew booster , 500g lactose ,500g - 1kg dex(depends on how much juice ya add) & 2lts of fresh apple juice , that will give ya bout 8% alcohol

smallbatch, not really 100% juice if you added a few litres to a kit plus a heap of sugars/malt!!!

Am avoiding kits for cider or ginger beer as they are bursting with artificial sweeteners....... lets not go down that road again.....

500g lactose - how sweet is that? Sounds like a lot?

Cheers
DrSmurto

drsmurto wrote:500g lactose - how sweet is that? Sounds like a lot?
DrSmurto

Not for me its not.

drsmurto didnt say that it was a 100% juice cider , i was saying that the flavours of fresh apple juice compared to bottled were alot different mate .
as for the lactose or sweetness havent had no complaints , would rather it be sweet than dry like beer after all its cider

Smallbatch wrote:i was saying that the flavours of fresh apple juice compared to bottled were alot different mate .

I'd be surprised if you could taste the difference with all the other #### in there

Smallbatch, not trying to give you grief mate, just that the point of this thread was all juice cider.

As i am mentioned in other posts (search for 'Breton'), i am trying to formulate a recipe to make a traditional cider in the Breton style which requires nothing but apples and some wild and funky yeast. Being a scientist, am not keen on the idea of a yeast i know nothing about so want to add a yeast to apple juice and see if i can make something similar.

So what i was really trying to find out is whether anyone has make cider starting with apples and if so, what variety, how much, yeast? and etc etc etc.

Cheers
DrSmurto

Too much time on my hands this arvo.

Took a small slice of the Granny Smith that I was enjoying and squeezed it between two teaspoons, the clear juice dropping onto the window of the refractometer.

Reading was 12 Brix. About 1048 OG.

Ate the rest of the apple, it was quite nice.

Cheers,
Greg

No grief taken drsmurto its all good , Chris i bet your are easily suprised then lmao great forum