first cider/tc

[durrie]

oreet chaps. thought i would have a go at a cider so today went asda and without thinking just picked up 5 ltrs of smart price apple juice
only just thought to read ingredients so here they are

apple juice from concentrate(50%) water. sugar. citric acid. flavouring.
my question is do i have to boil the juice first because of the acid and flavouring or will it be ok to use as is

many thanks
kev

[oldbloke]

It'll be fine as it is. Add a mug of very strong tea. And give the yeast a hand by adding some nutrient.

[durrie]

cheers oldbloke . yeh i've read about the tea and nutrient just had'nt come across owt about the other stuff
many thanks though
kev.

[oldbloke]

Citirc acid's OK, even though sometimes called a preservative - it may even partially sub for malic acid. My TCs generally have a 1/2litre of Morrison's cranberry in, and that has citric.
The flavourings won't interfere with the process.
It's mainly sorbates you need to boil off.
Interesting this juice has added sugar - may not be as appley as some? Or maybe they just want it sweeter. What's the total sugar listed on the pack?

[durrie]

hi oldbloke
all it says is sugar in the ingredients section and in the nutrition section it says carbohydrates 11.3g of which sugars 11.3g per 100ml (they are 1500ml cartons)
hope that helps.
cheers kev.

[oldbloke]

That's a fairly typical sugar amount for a value range juice.
113g/l is slightly over 5% ABV if fermented to dry, but if you stick some tea in it'll dilute it a bit to just about dead on 5%
The priming sugar only gives about 1/4 %
Seriously suggest next batch you put in half a litre of cranberry or Welch's whitegrape/apple/pear - rounds out the flavour nicely

[durrie]

Hi oldbloke
thank's very much for the info. cranberry hey? yeh will defo try that
will try keep you posted
thanks again
kev

[simon50]

is the cranberry used instead of the tea for the tanin?, thanks

[winka]

I use the cranberry 'aswell' as the 1/2l of strong tea. Just to round it off mainly.

Cheers

[oldbloke]

Yes, as well as. You want the tea, always, for its tannin. The non-apple juice is just to round out the flavour a bit, or to add specific flavour notes.
I happen to like cranberry - doesn't come through as cranberry, just fills out the flavour.
I've also had good resutls with Welch's whitegrape/apple/pear, but my local Morrison's no longer have it
I imagine white grape would work well
I think some people use raspberry
I fancy trying blueberry
I have one conditioning with mango but from the syphon taste when it was bottled I suspect it will prove to have been a mistake