New to cider homebrew and in need of help.

[oovavu]

Hi there, I'm Ryan, long time cider drinker first time brewer, and I'm looking for a little help getting going, I've got myself a starter kit from Content deleted in accordance with forum rules. and I'm going with the youngs cider kit for a trial, I've heard this can be pretty dry and not too umm appley if thats a word, is there anyway of ammending this such as using apple juice instead of water? and I'd also like to produce a strong cider 9%+ not because I'm a tramp but as I'd like to make a kind of winesque cider would by adding extra yest help this?, If you could provide any help of links to get me started that would be great.

Thanks again

Ryan

[Chumsky]

Hi Ryan, when you get round to bottling your cider, use apple juice instead of sugar. The Sugar from the juice will work just as well and it'll be more appley.

Regarding a srong cider - Use a different type of yeast, that would be your best bet, champagne I'd go for. Should knock your socks off!

Of look up ways of making Turbo Cider. Theres loads of things on the forum.

[oovavu]

Cheers Chumsky, I should have started with TC But I've bought the kit now so I'll give it a go. Does the Youngs cider kit itself come with all the different ingredients or is it an all in one kind of product? I should have looked this up before but oh well, Can I use apple juice(or other flavourings) at stages through the actual pruduction as I'd be interested in making something abit different, thanks again.

[Chumsky]

Cheers Chumsky, I should have started with TC But I've bought the kit now so I'll give it a go. Does the Youngs cider kit itself come with all the different ingredients or is it an all in one kind of product? I should have looked this up before but oh well, Can I use apple juice(or other flavourings) at stages through the actual pruduction as I'd be interested in making something abit different, thanks again.

I assume the cider kit has everything you use. Not had the youngs one myself as it happens.

I would only add it either during the initial startup of adding sugar or when bottling at the end, anything else and they'll be crazy amounts of sugar and things will start to explode.

[Adam]

Hey, THC (Turbo Hybrid Cider) where you add apple juice to kit instead of water can up the apple-y-ness. Sugar can up the percentage but will also thin the brew. If you add less water or more apple juice to kit you can get to 9%

Cider Kit + 10 litres of Apple Juice come out 5-6% and is great to my taste. But i make it up to the 25 litre mark so either add higher amount of apple juice or reduce water added and the percentage will go up.

Hope this helped

smiles
adam

[sparky Paul]

The kits are okay, but I find they are best made up to 32 pints rather than 40... at 40 pints, they are a bit too wishy washy, but I normally make them up with sugar for simplicity, and at 32 pints they're much better.

If you don't like the dryness, you can add sorbitol (non-fermentable wine sweetener) to sweeten to taste before adding priming sugar and bottling, or serve with a little apple juice. I quite like the scrumpy-esque dryness of these kits, but most commercial ciders are artificially sweetened.

[oovavu]

Hello again, in need of some help, I started my youngs cider kit last weds (32 pints), I didn't take an sg measurement at the time but its now at 1.010 is this normal and what do you recomend I do thanks again.

[Marts]

1010 is OK. Did you make it up with water, or apple juice in the end? Add any extra sugar? Did you use the kit yeast or switch to a wine/champagne one? Are you using a bubbler airlock?
Do the kit instructions not suggest where it should FG?
The general rule is when you get two hydro readings, two days apart, that are the same then fermentation has ended.