Hi,
I usually brew AG beer, well I say usually as not done any in about 3 yrs since moving house, I have a busy life as have a 4yr old and also studying towards a Diploma as well as working full time. Price of shop brought alcohol makes quaffing ale expensive, kits are also expensive esp considering AG costs, so I'm looking for some cheep, quick good tasting alternitives to tie me over until I get the brewery rebuilt and have been looking at ginger beer made from root rather than plant and also TC and have a few questions.
How nice is it? I've read about having to sweetners to glass to make it drinkable/back sweeten?
For TC is it pure apple juice or can you use from concentrate?
How cheap is it?
If Pure AJ then how much should I be looking to pay per L as just a quick look on tesco website the pure stuff is like 2l for £2.50 so to make 25L be talking £32 which for that price I might as well get a good beer kit. I don't have a lidle I have an Aldi close by but even their pure juices from memory was expensive is it seen to be cheap as it's small amounts at a time?
Also could you just add sugar and yeast to squash juice to make like a "vinto" wine?
What yeast bread, cider, wine, champagne or general purpose?
As I don't have any deminjohns anymore skipped over 40 when moving house! could I ferment/condition a smal amount in 25l buckets or is headspace an issue (as would the case be in beer) and would need something smaller like the plastic 5l water bottle containers?
Does adding fruit really make a different I read the argument of not TC but I guess does it come down to what you making it for ie paint stripper to get innebreated or some decent nice drink? I'm after a nice drink!
Other than Mead, ginger beer and TC what other nice quick/easy drinks are there that I can do?
Thanks sorry for all the questions!
TC Help
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oldbloke
- Under the Table
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Re: TC Help
I've made about 20 2 gallon batches now (I split a yeast sachet across 2 demijohns), some better than others but all very drinkable.
I like my cider dry, so I don't back-sweeten. If you want it sweet AND fizzy you'll have to. Canderel or something doesn't ferment away. Or some people serve over a bit of fresh AJ, whcih sweetens it a bit.
A few people say pure juice is better than concentrate, most people reckon the 'from concentrate' juices are just as good, or they don't care coz it's good enough anyway.
It's very cheap, typically well under 50p/500ml bottle. Use the cheapest from-concentrate AJ you can get your hands on locally. Where I am, sometimes that's Lidl, sometimes it's Morrison's. Even my fancy ones made with Suma concentrate are under 75p/bottle.
You can make vimto (or other squash) wine, but you have to boil out the preservatives. There are recipes around.
Yeast: A proper cider yeast will give a clean crisp flavour, maybe a bit sharp when it's young. I tried Munton's gold ale yeast and it was slightly fuller, slightly less sharp (when young). Some wine yeasts give a funkier flavour. Just about any yeast works and will give a pleasant drink.
It needs tannin - make .5l (per gallon) very strong tea and lob it in. It benefits a lot from adding 0.5l/gallon of some other juice to round out the flavour - I like cranberry, and my recent pomegranite one is clearly going to be good even though only just bottled. Just avoid anything with sorbates in it. People who can spare 6months for maturation like to add malic acid and try for a malolactic fermentation, but (a) I don't want to wait that long (b) it;s good enough anyway (c) I prefer the clean taste to the 'farmyard' taste
In demis, it needs a good bit of headspace for the first 3 or 4 days. Pretty much like beer, really - use similar procedures. You can use 5l water bottles to ferment it and/or condition it. I condition 2weeks warm/2weeks cool. It gets better if you can leave it a bit longer before drinking
My 'fancy' one uses 0.5l Suma AJ concentrate +0.5l cheapo AJ + 0.5l other-juice + 0.5l tea, and is more appley, a bit better alla round, but sadly (?) a bit stronger - straight AJ gives about 5%
Don't forget the nutrient.
Mead isn't quick, in my experience - up to 4 months to ferment, up to another year to become a nice drink!
I like my cider dry, so I don't back-sweeten. If you want it sweet AND fizzy you'll have to. Canderel or something doesn't ferment away. Or some people serve over a bit of fresh AJ, whcih sweetens it a bit.
A few people say pure juice is better than concentrate, most people reckon the 'from concentrate' juices are just as good, or they don't care coz it's good enough anyway.
It's very cheap, typically well under 50p/500ml bottle. Use the cheapest from-concentrate AJ you can get your hands on locally. Where I am, sometimes that's Lidl, sometimes it's Morrison's. Even my fancy ones made with Suma concentrate are under 75p/bottle.
You can make vimto (or other squash) wine, but you have to boil out the preservatives. There are recipes around.
Yeast: A proper cider yeast will give a clean crisp flavour, maybe a bit sharp when it's young. I tried Munton's gold ale yeast and it was slightly fuller, slightly less sharp (when young). Some wine yeasts give a funkier flavour. Just about any yeast works and will give a pleasant drink.
It needs tannin - make .5l (per gallon) very strong tea and lob it in. It benefits a lot from adding 0.5l/gallon of some other juice to round out the flavour - I like cranberry, and my recent pomegranite one is clearly going to be good even though only just bottled. Just avoid anything with sorbates in it. People who can spare 6months for maturation like to add malic acid and try for a malolactic fermentation, but (a) I don't want to wait that long (b) it;s good enough anyway (c) I prefer the clean taste to the 'farmyard' taste
In demis, it needs a good bit of headspace for the first 3 or 4 days. Pretty much like beer, really - use similar procedures. You can use 5l water bottles to ferment it and/or condition it. I condition 2weeks warm/2weeks cool. It gets better if you can leave it a bit longer before drinking
My 'fancy' one uses 0.5l Suma AJ concentrate +0.5l cheapo AJ + 0.5l other-juice + 0.5l tea, and is more appley, a bit better alla round, but sadly (?) a bit stronger - straight AJ gives about 5%
Don't forget the nutrient.
Mead isn't quick, in my experience - up to 4 months to ferment, up to another year to become a nice drink!
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Greatcthulhu
Re: TC Help
I started making TC for a bit of a laugh and wasn't expecting much, but I now see the error of my ways. The results are pretty good actually. Personally, I like to make 4.5lts at a time, which means that I can make a few different varieties, instead of one large batch all the same. Also, because I use bottled water for beer, it means I have a use for all the 5lt bottles I end up with. The basic recipe I use is 4ltrs cheapest AJ, a jar of honey, cup of very strong tea, Youngs wine yeast, nutrient. I then replace one of the cartons of AJ with something else eg Blueberry, Cranberry etc to vary the end product.
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oldbloke
- Under the Table
- Posts: 1375
- Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:29 am
- Location: Todmorden, Wet Yorks
Re: TC Help
If you're buying that yeast in sachets, one will split across 2 4.5l vessels quite happily. That's what I do, and I make one just a tiny bit different to the other, just to see.