cider kits?

[chapesh]

does anyone know of any cider kits? i saw one for mr. beer today, and was curious if they sell any others. or can i get cider juice from some other sources. i live in missouri, i can get great apples to eat not too sure about apples for cider. what about grannysmith apples? anyone try them. thnx.

[MrNate]

I've made it with cider from the orchard - that's the best way, I think - and with cider from the grocery store. Applejuice is fine too, I think. Cider is just unfiltered applejuice. That and a tube of cider yeast, and voila...

Edit: Get the kind with no preservatives in any case. Also, I don't pasteurize the must. Just pour and pitch.

[chapesh]

well i should look first then ask. i found some kits at several spots. anyone tried a kit? if so how did it fair? thnx

[chapesh]

i have a very large apple orchard not far from me the question is are the apples very good for cider? the name is ekherts i dont think i spelled that right. they have great apples to eat but not sure if they will make good cider.

[cul8rv8]

more than likely they will be good. Check with the orchard, I know every apple orchard I have ever been to in Ohio, California, and here in Vegas, they all make their own apple juice. If they make their own, that's the best bet.

The key to making apple juice/cider is to use multiple varieties of apples, or so I've heard. Never made my own, I just went to the local orchard and bought 5 gallons of their heat pasturized juice, dumped it in my sanitized fermenting bucket, added some cider yeast, and put the lid on.

Only thing I wouldn't do the next time is adding sweetner. I was originally going to bottle it, so I added Splenda, but then ended up kegging it, so I could have used regular sugar, but to me, it was too sweet, so next time I'm not going to add any sweetner to it.

In fact, I may make some here soon. So much easier to make than beer, and beer is so easy to do. lol

[markaberrant]

Black Rock from NZ makes a cider kit. It sure isn't for me.

[JayShaw91]

Another one saying skip the kit and go buy an unpastuerized cider and a tube of yeast. Either use the champagne yeast of your choice or White Labs English Cider yeast.

Let it come to room temperature, put it in a fermenter, pitch the yeast and let er rip!

[Mad Scientist]

Should cider be held at an ale temp, or is a dark closet just fine too? Also, is the yeast vigorous and foamy or low key....

[JayShaw91]

Great questions! I've only done it once and did it at about 72 deg and it turned out tasty. Recommended temps that I see for Wyeasts strain are 60-75 deg, which is pretty wide. There isn't any info on what a lower temp vs higher temp does to fermentation, so I can't help here.

In my experience, the WL English Cider yeast was a MoFo. I pitched on a Friday, took off for the weekend, and had ooze all over the place. Again, this is one pitch and one batch, so YMMV, but I'd suggest a blowoff tube, at least for the first couple of days.

Also, it fermented steady for about 3 weeks with some extra bubbling for a few more days. And no, there was no infection or anything, it just ate the crap out of that cider for whatever reason.

I ended up with almost a sparkling apple wine. It was almost like a light bodied chardonnay. Fruity up front, crisp, with a very thin mouthfeel and a dry finish. The mouthfeel, for you wine drinkers, was a lot like a Pinot Noir. Very light, and just "there" with nothing heavy about it.

My plan this time is to ferment it out again, give it a month or two in secondary with a couple of cinnamon sticks, and if the mouthfeel is thin again I'll add some maltodextrine for body.

[zoom6zoom]

Kit? You don't need any steeenking kit!
It can be hard to find unpasteurized cider due to FDA regulations, but regular cider works well. Just make sure the ingredients just says "apples" and doesn't list any preservatives. Pottassium sorbate will inhibit fermentation!

I've had excellent results with Red Star Cotes de Rhone yeast. Some folks use champagne yeast but it will give you a very dry cider. I find my cider gets better the longer it sits. It's usually getting fabulous just as the keg kicks.

[btsager]

I would never use a kit, its so easy to make, try this Link, its for an Apfelwine with is pretty much a hard cidar, its a German version.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860&highlight=apfelwine

[Otis_The_Drunk]

I would never use a kit, its so easy to make, try this Link, its for an Apfelwine with is pretty much a hard cidar, its a German version.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=14860&highlight=apfelwine

I made that one too, It really don't have that Apple flavor that one would look for, more like a Champagne flavor if made sparkling.
Go easy on it if you make it. It's a nasty Hangover in a bottle.
@ 9.4% ABV it's not to be played with too much as it can fool you because you really don't taste the alcohol.
But you could make variations of it with different types of yeast.
I saw that one guy had tried it with a Hefe yeast and it had the apple flavor.

To answer Mad's question: Room Temperature, light does not effect it like it does beer.

[btsager]

When I make it I am going to use the wine yeast in one 5 gallon batch and then the Nottingham Yeast in another 5 gallon batch and see wich I like better. I probably won't do the extra 2 pounds of sugar either. Maybe just a little clover honey or brown sugar to add to the flavor.

[beerking]

When I make it I am going to use the wine yeast in one 5 gallon batch and then the Nottingham Yeast in another 5 gallon batch and see wich I like better. I probably won't do the extra 2 pounds of sugar either. Maybe just a little clover honey or brown sugar to add to the flavor.

Brown sugar will be very little different than "white sugar." The only real difference is brown sugar is white sugar with a little caramel added. In a fermented bevereage, you will not notice the difference.