Making Cider at Home

[zigs]

I would rather have fresh cider from apples rather than what they have in stores. It's hard to find people who kniw how to make it fresh, but I'm not giving up. It's way better than store bought cider.

Do you have the 1 litre cartons of apple juice in the supermarkets out there? Our budget ones cost about 65p a litre.
You can make your own from those. I use 4 litres to the gallon and a kilo of unrefined sugar.

 

[Trellum]

I'm kinda ignorant when it comes to things like cider... I tried it once, but the taste was a little too much for me. I want to make a question, but it might sound kinda silly! Anyways, here I go... does the cider have alcohol? I have always thought it does, but some months ago I read something that suggested it doesn't.

 

[zigs]

In England it does.

 

[Annetteb]

Do you have the 1 litre cartons of apple juice in the supermarkets out there? Our budget ones cost about 65p a litre.
You can make your own from those. I use 4 litres to the gallon and a kilo of unrefined sugar.

I will try that and see how I like it. Will it taste like homemade? I do love my apple juice so I may drink it up before I can make cider out of it .

 

[zigs]

It tastes better than the fizzy rubbish they sell in the supermarkets. Have you got a demi john and air lock? You'll need to keep the flies out or you'll have a gallon of vinegar.

Or you could do what I do and buy a gallon of spring water & lob an air lock in that, cheaper than a glass demi john,

 

[Annetteb]

Hmmm I will have to look into that. I might be able to do that.

 

[headfullofbees]

Oh, I ought to point out that in England we call the alcoholic stuff Cider or Scrumpy.

The non alcoholic stuff is just called Apple Juice.

I expect a few Americans have been taken by surprise over here, Scrumpy Cider is usually 6% alcohol or more.

May I suggest that when you ferment, you use method champenoise?
Bit of faffing around, but gives me a wonderful dry crisp cider.

 

[headfullofbees]

Do you have the 1 litre cartons of apple juice in the supermarkets out there? Our budget ones cost about 65p a litre.
You can make your own from those. I use 4 litres to the gallon and a kilo of unrefined sugar.

That's not cider, that's rocket fuel!

 

[Kansas Terri]

I used a balloon over the top when I made wine. I just had to release the pressure when the balloon got too big.

Nobody liked my wine but me: I haven't made it in years!

 

[justusforus]

Ha...Well that is some Cider that can really warm up a body!

 

[zigs]

That's not cider, that's rocket fuel!

You should try my Pineapple wine

 

[zigs]

May I suggest that when you ferment, you use method champenoise?
Bit of faffing around, but gives me a wonderful dry crisp cider.

I did have some plastic Champagne corks with little release valves, you let the sediment settle with the bottles upside down, then give a little tug to eject the sediment, worked brilliant. Don't know if you can still get them, that was 25 years ago.

Made an Elderberry Champagne, had pink froth

 

[Annetteb]

You should try my Pineapple wine

I have never had pineapple wine before. It sounds tasty. I love pineapples so I would probably love that.

 

[Becky]

Zigs, you should get a distilling kit so that you can make Calvados too!

 

[zigs]

Need a license for that in the UK.

They do make it at Burrow Hill Cider farm

I can see that from my bedroom, Burrow Hill has a Walnut tree on top. At Christmas they put lights on it