turbo cider newbie

[sam c]

im gonna brew up some tc tomorrow and had a couple of questions:

should i add tannin and pectolase to it, as you would for cider if you used apples?and if so should i add it at the start? in my cider book it says to add it a day before and leave it over night before adding the yeast. but maybe that was only neccesarry for real cider?

im planning on dissolving some honey in 1 litre of juice, letting it cool and then adding a further 3 litres to a glass demijon(5 litre).how much honey, or honey and sugar would i need to get a alcohol percentage of around 5-7%.

what sort of temp should it be brewed at and how long should it take to ferment?

is two teaspoons of yeast surficient for 4 litres? i have cider and chamgpagne yeast.

when fermentation has nearly finished should i rack it off into another demijon?

do you prime in the same way you would do with beer?

any answers woul be great.

[edit1now]

should i add tannin and pectolase to it, as you would for cider if you used apples?

You could add tannin if you're keen, and want that mouth-puckering scrumpy sensation. I haven't heard of anyone bothering to add pectolase to TC made with cartons of apple juice.

im planning on dissolving some honey in 1 litre of juice, letting it cool and then adding a further 3 litres to a glass demijon(5 litre).how much honey, or honey and sugar would i need to get a alcohol percentage of around 5-7%.

Straight AJ is about 1045 (Tesco's cheapo) - have a look at this thread. If it ferments right out you should get an FG about 4.5%. I can't remember where I saw the sugar content of typical honey - sorry. It should be possible to work out what the OG should be when adding sugar or honey.

what sort of temp should it be brewed at and how long should it take to ferment?

Room temperature seems to work very well - 19 to 22 C. About a week to ferment.

is two teaspoons of yeast surficient for 4 litres? i have cider and chamgpagne yeast.

I would make a starter by putting the yeast with half a litre of juice in a sanitised demijohn. When it starts really frothing then make it up to say three litres, and let that ferment for a day or two - if it goes mad then you've got the headroom in the demijohn. When it calms down a bit, top it up to 4 1/2 litres.

The champagne yeast will probably make a drier cider than the cider yeast - try whichever you fancy.

when fermentation has nearly finished should i rack it off into another demijon?

Only if you're keen. We bottle ours at the end of the week.

do you prime in the same way you would do with beer?

Yes - 1 level tsp of gran per 500ml bottle.

Have fun

[sam c]

fantastic reply, thank you very much. just cleaning my demijon now so with your advice i will be brewing shortly!!

[NWC]

As above - I have never encountered frothing yeast with any of the yeasts i've used champagne or cider, so you don't have to worry if it doesn't, as mine always turns out fine!

[Prozac]

I've done TC with honey before.... then I wondered what effect honey'd have on the yeast..... I'm sure honey is a mild antibiotic .... " Honey is a traditional topical treatment for infected wounds. It can be effective on antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria." Not something you'd want to put together with yeast.

Golden Syrup is probably better.

[sam c]

as its my first time i decided to go with just apple juice alone. took a og and it was 1053 so i did'nt even add any sugar. just waiting for it to reach the right temp.

[Benson_JV]

I've done TC with honey before.... then I wondered what effect honey'd have on the yeast..... I'm sure honey is a mild antibiotic .... " Honey is a traditional topical treatment for infected wounds. It can be effective on antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria." Not something you'd want to put together with yeast.

Golden Syrup is probably better.

But think Prozac, what about Mead? Thats pure honey, water and yeast more or less

[Prozac]

But think Prozac, what about Mead? Thats pure honey, water and yeast more or less

Good point, well made.

May account for why mead takes so long to brew though .......

[randomdave]

my TC was made just using AJ. forgot what the OG was late 40s i belive and it finished up 1.008. To prime it I used a fifth carton of AJ an bottled. a week later i cracked one open, very very nice with just enough fizz. not bad 10 bottles of cider for £3.80. Will be knocking some more up later.