conflicting opinions

[ViciousPenguin]

Hello,

i'm going to make a cider, at this juncture i am hope to use the black rock cider. naturaly i have a few questions.

i've not bought the kit yet and consequently i have not read their instructions.

first off what temperature is best for a cider?

should i use just sugar like i expect it will say in the instructions

and lastly what are the consequences or differences of putting the brew into a keg instead of bottles?

thanks

Greg

[Geezah]

1. What type of cider are you hoping to achieve?
Flat/sparkling/dry/sweet?

2.Temps of 21-24 are what I aim for, but it depends on the yeast you use.

3. If your using a kit, then plain old sugar will be fine.

4. Keg will not hold pressure as well as a bottle, so refer back to 1.
Keg will also take longer to clear than a bottle.

I would advise you make your kit as per instructions, but at the same time make a 1 gallon Turbo Cider alongside it so you have some comparison over kit brew vs cheapass brew.
You will be supprised

[ViciousPenguin]

well the type of cider i want to make, i'm not sure. What i had planned to do was to leave it in the FV for ten days. Then tranfer it into the barrel and leave it for a further week before i move it down into the depths of my cellar for what i expect to be upto three months.

i used demerara sugar for my last two brews was that a bad or good thing to do?

[jason123]

With regard to the sugar, imo, that all just down to personal taste. If it works for you to use a particular sugar then there's nowt wrong with that. For beers I never use ordinary sugar, always a demerera, muscovado, molasses or whatever I happen to have. generally though, I would go along the lines of a dark sugar for a dark brew like stout and a light sugar for a lighter colour ale. each sugar should give it's own flavour and it works for me.

I've just done a stout with 1.5kg of dark muscovado.