which juice for a tc?

[terrier]

I am going to make a turbo cider for the first time and wondered what was the best apple juice to use?Can it be a own brand,"from concentrate", or does it have to be a well known "not from concentrate" brand.Also whats the best ,totally idiot proof,way of making it .Thanks

[Geezah]

Any apple juice from concentrate (it normally says 100% apple juice) just be sure you dont use 'apple drink' or anything that contains sulphites.
I use the cheapest juice I can get from Lidl - Vitafit 1.5l for 84p (I bought 50 cartons a while back when it was 2 for a quid offer.)

As for method...

Simple.
Add 3 litres of apple juice to sanitised demijohn and a cup of strong black tea (3 tea bags steeped for 10-20 minutes)
Heat 1/5 a litre of apple juice up and add a small jar of cheap honey and add to demijohn when cool.
Give it a good old shake to get some air in to it and add yeast.
After initial violent fermentation period (24-36hrs) and the foaming has subdued top up demijohn with more juice.
Wait a week-10 days
Bottle (add 5-8g of sugar per bottle if you want it fizzy)
Drink after a week or 2 in the bottle.

[terrier]

Thanks for that Geezah.I am wanting to do 20 litres.How much honey and yeast(which type) will i need?.

[Geezah]

For a 20l brew, i'd add 4 jars of 'morrisons value honey' (about 62p a jar) and up the black tea to 2-3 mugs worth with 2-3 bags in each. (this adds tannin, but you could use a tsp of wine tannin if you have it)
Any old wine yeast will do - I use Youngs Super Wine Yeast. 1 heaped teaspoon full for 1-5 gallons
If you have some yeast nutrient, throw in a tsp of that too to help feed the yeasties.

Just make sure you only do 15-17 litres, then top up after 24-36 hrs otherwise it might bubble over during the initial ferment like this...

[Mitchamitri]

With cider the fermentation temperature is cooler rather than warmer.

[terrier]

How much TC can i ferment in a 18.5 litre office type water dispenser with out it fermenting over the top?.Will 15 litres be ok?

[danbrew]

How much TC can i ferment in a 18.5 litre office type water dispenser with out it fermenting over the top?.Will 15 litres be ok?

Yep, reckon you'll manage fine with that.

[Geezah]

You should be ok with 3l headspace.
Even if it does foam up and out the airlock, just wipe up the mess with a sanitised cloth (I use 1 5% thin bleach solution for all my steralising) and fit a clean sanitised airlock and all is good.

Enought chatting, get the brew on and lets see some pics

[ron]

Hi terrier, I just made my first batch of tc, I used Aldi apple juice first 3 lt, 56p a lt, and topped it up with a lt of Morrisons, same price.
It seems to be OK, not ready to try yet though.
See my thread, I'll post results of tasting next week.

[jason123]

You only need to add extra sugar or honey for an extra kick. If you make it with out any extras it should still turn in a respectable 5% or thereabouts. But that would make you a big girls blouse.

Get the hydrometer out and add enough sugar as required to get the strength you want. The abv calculators are easily findable ont tinternet and the FG will usually get down to around 996 - 998.

[terrier]

Its done!!!!
I went to lidl this morning and bought 10 1.5l 100% apple juice cartons.I then went to wilko`s for some youngs wine yeast and a new air lock.Then to morrisons for 3 jars of value honey and 3 large bramley apples

I sterilised everything with Milton liquid first.I then put 1 litre of juice in a pan with the 3 jars of honey and warmed it up a bit.I peeled the bramleys and put most of it in the blender and chopped a few bits,into large chunks,by hand.I put 12 litres of juice,including the litre mixed with honey ,into the water carrier with the apples and 1 cup of tea made with 3 tea bags.I then put in 3 heaped teaspoons of yeast,it said 1 per gallon,and gave it a shake.I have now got 3 litres of juice left to add after the initial fermentation.

.
Let me know if i have done owt wrong anywhere.Thanks

[Geezah]

Sounds good to me mate!
Have you got another carboy or bucket handy?
You'll want to strain off the brew in to a fresh FV once its fermented out and remove the apple and allow it to clear.

[terrier]

My plan is to syphon it off into the top tap king keg.I plan to add a bit of brewing sugar in the keg for a slight fizz?.What do you think?

[Geezah]

Sounds good.
I give mine 7-10 days in the FV then its bottled with 1 tsp sugar per bottle.
Clears crystal by day 14 ( but it might be slower in bulk)

I'm acctually drinking a still, cloudy, pint of it now and its lush!

[terrier]

Sorry to be a knobber with all the questions but when should it start to ferment? ie when should i see bubbles in the air lock?