Making Apple Cider - best kits in Aus ???

Yes, it may take a month or two to ferment cider. It's not quick like a regular beer.

Cider yeast is different from beer yeast, in that it can tolerate high levels of alcohol. Regular ale and lager yeasts might ferment to 8% or so, but then slow down to a halt, whereas cider yeasts may ferment up to 12 or

13%, depending on the strain. You may need to add yeast nutrients and/or yeast energizer to get the cider to ferment that much, since there isn't much nutrients in cider to help the yeast cells to multiply on their own.

You can use bread yeast to make beer, although I would advise against it. Your beer would taste and smell exactly like raw bread dough, which is not at all appealing, and not the nice clean taste you'd expect out of a beer.

-- Dave "Just a drink, a little drink, and I'll be feeling GOOooOOooOOooD!" -- Genesis, 1973-ish

G'day Bob / Gladys,

"best kit in Aus ???" - no kit. My best ciders have come from apples (juiced and fermented with wine yeast). Next to that, good quality apple juice. I don't know where you are, but if in Sydney or nearby, get yourself up to Bilpin (go through Richmond and up the Bell's Line of Road) and buy some juice from there. It's nicer juice than what is in the supermarkets. I've also tried a couple of kits, but the cider they made was pretty boring.

As to beer yeast vs cider yeast, I'd be surprised if the yeast in the Black Rock kit was something other than an ale yeast. Do you still have the sachet? What was written on it?

You can use any good brewing yeast (ale, cider, wine, even lager yeast in winter). Some people swear by bread yeast, most who have tried it swear AT it. Stick to brewing yeast. I use wine yeast, but I get a very dry cider (i.e. not much sweetness left). I like it like that, but you might not. Some suggest the a good liquid yeast is best, but I've never tried one yet. For beer, stick to ale and lager yeasts.

The kit you are using requires sugar to be added because it only has enough concentrate for half a fermenter (12L odd) of cider. Adding sugar just lifts the alcohol content of the end product, and does nothing for the flavour. I still use sugar for carbonating my cider though (or you can skip that step if you don't want bubbly cider).

cheers, Ross.

-- Ross McKay, WebAware Pty Ltd "Words can only hurt if you try to read them. Don't play their game" - Zoolander

: :"best kit in Aus ???" - no kit. My best ciders have come from apples :(juiced and fermented with wine yeast). Next to that, good quality apple :juice. I don't know where you are, but if in Sydney or nearby, get :yourself up to Bilpin (go through Richmond and up the Bell's Line of :Road) and buy some juice from there. It's nicer juice than what is in :the supermarkets. I've also tried a couple of kits, but the cider they :made was pretty boring. : I've also found a lot of strongbow boring, but Scrumpy jack, now that's a Cider !. the concentrate didn't taste too bad when I stuck my finger in to taste it, as you do of course. See how it goes. I have been to Bilpin many years a go as a kid, I'm on the Central Coast so it's well worth the effort I suppose, may father also has a few apple trees grwoing but I think the climate is a tad too warm for apples near Taree.

I just bottled a 'sampler' off the neeeeaaarrly fully fermented wort and stuck it in the freezer so I'll crack that open in about half an hour and try her out : -). They say wait two weeks but it's only gonna make for creamier carbonation and I'm dying to try it. IG 1040 FG 1005

Cheers, Bob. Thanks for your comments BTW.

:As to beer yeast vs cider yeast, I'd be surprised if the yeast in the :Black Rock kit was something other than an ale yeast. Do you still have :the sachet? What was written on it? : nothing just said Cider Yeast. :You can use any good brewing yeast (ale, cider, wine, even lager yeast :in winter). Some people swear by bread yeast, most who have tried it :swear AT it. Stick to brewing yeast. I use wine yeast, but I get a very :dry cider (i.e. not much sweetness left). I like it like that, but you :might not. Some suggest the a good liquid yeast is best, but I've never :tried one yet. For beer, stick to ale and lager yeasts. : :The kit you are using requires sugar to be added because it only has :enough concentrate for half a fermenter (12L odd) of cider. Adding sugar :just lifts the alcohol content of the end product, and does nothing for :the flavour. I still use sugar for carbonating my cider though (or you :can skip that step if you don't want bubbly cider).

In the bottles you mean ? : :cheers, :Ross. :-- :Ross McKay, WebAware Pty Ltd :"Words can only hurt if you try to read them. Don't play their game" - Zoolander

I hope you remembered to take it out of the freezer again! :) So, how was it?

I had a couple of ciders last night, from some that I made end Feb this year. Nice.

It would be interesting to know. I've used wine yeasts in mine, and they ferment out really dry (which is fine by me!). But I have to try the cider yeasts sometime, and apparently Wyeast sweet mead yeast does the trick very nicely too.

Pretty much. I tend to bulk-prime these days, which means transferring the beer or cider into another plastic barrel with tap, with some sugar solution (sugar boiled in water). You get better control over how carbonated you get it, especially if you mix bottle sizes (which I try not to do, but sometimes...)

Ross.

-- Ross McKay, WebAware Pty Ltd "Words can only hurt if you try to read them. Don't play their game" - Zoolander

Not too bad actually, not as bubbly as I thought it may have been but after bottling with a bit of sugar it should be alright in a couple of weeks. : :I had a couple of ciders last night, from some that I made end Feb this :year. Nice. : :>:As to beer yeast vs cider yeast, I'd be surprised if the yeast in the :>:Black Rock kit was something other than an ale yeast. Do you still have :>:the sachet? What was written on it? :>: :>nothing just said Cider Yeast. : :It would be interesting to know. I've used wine yeasts in mine, and they :ferment out really dry (which is fine by me!). But I have to try the :cider yeasts sometime, and apparently Wyeast sweet mead yeast does the :trick very nicely too. I'll ask the guy at the shop, what makes it different, he seems a knowledgable sorta bloke. i brefer dry ciders meself as well.

: :>:the flavour. I still use sugar for carbonating my cider though (or you :>:can skip that step if you don't want bubbly cider). :>

:>In the bottles you mean ? : :Pretty much. I tend to bulk-prime these days, which means transferring :the beer or cider into another plastic barrel with tap, with some sugar :solution (sugar boiled in water). You get better control over how :carbonated you get it, especially if you mix bottle sizes (which I try :not to do, but sometimes...)

makes sense, thanks for the info. I noticed I wasn't precise with a couple of the beers I bottled and some came out more gassy than others. : :

: : :Ross. :-- :Ross McKay, WebAware Pty Ltd :"Words can only hurt if you try to read them. Don't play their game" - Zoolander