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Jan 29, 2009 22:35:43 GMT
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Big bump for this. I've had plenty of excellent brews so far. However i'm now thinking of making ciders with more complicated flavours. On the back of shop bought cider there's always loads of ballax about hints of citrus and all that curse word. How do I go about adding these flavours? If I drop a chunk of orange into the first brew what will happen? Matt Thinking about it, I'm a cider purist. Want complicated flavours? Get your hands on some different apples and blend to taste! Think of apples as having three characteristics. Acid, sugar and tannin. Think of those characteristics as the points of an equilateral triangle and any given apple can be mapped at some point on the triangle to indicate its proportions of the three. So an eater like Golden Delicious will be somewhere near the sugar point of the triangle, a cooker like Bramley will be somewhere near the acid point and a bitter cider apple like Tremlett's Bitter will be near the tannic point of the triangle. The ideal West Country cider apple is about half-and-half sugar and tannin so a Dabinett for instance will be midway along the side of the triangle connecting the sugar and tannin points of the triangle. So you need to decide which ciders you like, and get your hands on the apples to give those flavours. Like Aspalls Eastern Counties cider? Get a mixture of cookers and eaters. Like very dry acid cider? Get cookers. Like "scrumpy"? Get bitter cider apples, leave the yeast in. Like a more balanced cider? Get half-and-half bitter-sweet apples. What I'm trying to say is that some of these flavours are lurking in the apples and a bit of experimentation can reveal them. |
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"Jeremy Clarkson, a man we motor enthusiasts need on our side like Lewis Hamilton's F1 car needs a towing ball and a Sprite Musketeer" My motor |
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,960
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Making my own beer.....stealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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Jan 30, 2009 20:35:09 GMT
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Cheers for the info. I think I just want to see what happens tbh, might give it a bash if it turns out wibblepoo then its only a couple of quid down the drain.
Matt
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bigrod
Posted a lot
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I have just started a kit of 'Dark Ale'. I'd frothing up a storm but I have a couple of questions for those in the know if you'll be kind enough to indulge me..................
1) I'm not intent on bottling mine, I've bought a big keg with a tap. How do I go about inducing the secondary fermentation? Is it just a case of disolving some sugar and adding it to the mix when I'm 'kegging' it up? If so how much?
2) As I've got a valve for a CO2 bottle on top of the keg, I assume this is to act as a propellant rather than make it fizzy. That being the case, can I use the bottle of 'Argomix' I've got in the garage rather than send any more money on inert gases?
Thanks in advance!
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If I have to explain, you won't understand.
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I have just started a kit of 'Dark Ale'. I'd frothing up a storm but I have a couple of questions for those in the know if you'll be kind enough to indulge me.................. 1) I'm not intent on bottling mine, I've bought a big keg with a tap. How do I go about inducing the secondary fermentation? Is it just a case of disolving some sugar and adding it to the mix when I'm 'kegging' it up? If so how much? 2) As I've got a valve for a CO2 bottle on top of the keg, I assume this is to act as a propellant rather than make it fizzy. That being the case, can I use the bottle of 'Argomix' I've got in the garage rather than send any more money on inert gases? Thanks in advance! Add a bit of sugar to induce secondary fermentation. The valve is for CO2. You're right it's not for fizz, it's to displace the air which makes your beer go off. The idea is if a pint of beer comes out of the bottom of the keg then a pint of CO2 has to go in the top because the alternative is a pint of air which makes your beer go off. Which gas? Don't be tempted to use anything but food(or better!) grade CO2. There are all sorts of nasty impurities in industrial gasses that don't matter in industrial processes but you wouldn't want in your beer. Often people use those little handheld CO2 cartridges for priming barrels rather than a cylinder. Hope this helps. |
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"Jeremy Clarkson, a man we motor enthusiasts need on our side like Lewis Hamilton's F1 car needs a towing ball and a Sprite Musketeer" My motor |
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Feb 10, 2009 10:12:09 GMT
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The CO2 bottles are a little expensive at first but if you get them refilled its pretty cheap, SWMBO's dad got one at Christmas, it was a soda stream style cylinder for about £12, refills are about £3 and we got through two kegs with a little left over. As for the sludge, some clever guys are using it to make fish food Full Article |
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myke
Part of things
Posts: 83
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Feb 11, 2009 13:09:33 GMT
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I'm keen to have a go at the cider, but have a question about yeast.
I know champagne yeast or similar would be ideal but can you use normal baking yeast? Is it better to use the balls or the fast action strands?
When you say half a packet in with 5l of apple juice, are you doing half of a sachet that you would use for a bread machine? ie 3-4grams, 1.5 teaspoons ish?
cheers
Also, for anyone interested that see's this in time, it sounds like they are going to do something similar on 'It's not easy being Green' tonight with Dick Strawbridge.
I think it's on bbc2 at 8pm or similar.
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,960
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Making my own beer.....stealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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Feb 11, 2009 14:00:27 GMT
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I've just been using normal bread yeast. Not sure how big the sachets are but I use half of one lol.
I've just started a brew with some proper wine yeast to see how it differs.
Matt
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bigrod
Posted a lot
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Feb 11, 2009 15:39:50 GMT
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I've just decanted my first lot of Dark Ale into the keg and am awaiting delivery of the CO2 bulbs and holder to save it from getting contaminated.
A sneaky we mouthful suggests it's definitely passable as beer if a little 'bicarb'y.
I was wondering about the baker's yeast thing last night as I was thinking my brew needed a bit of a help but decided against it and chucke din some more sugar and that had the desired effect.
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If I have to explain, you won't understand.
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Feb 12, 2009 16:37:01 GMT
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I'm keen to have a go at the cider, but have a question about yeast. I know champagne yeast or similar would be ideal but can you use normal baking yeast? Is it better to use the balls or the fast action strands? When you say half a packet in with 5l of apple juice, are you doing half of a sachet that you would use for a bread machine? ie 3-4grams, 1.5 teaspoons ish? cheers Yeasts are like horses or apples. You can ride a Shetland pony round Newmarket racecourse and you can make an apple pie with Golden Delicious but a proper racehorse and a Bramley will do those jobs so much better. Bakers yeast will work but it isn't bred for making alcohol, it's bred for making bubbles of CO2 to make your loaves rise. Used to make alcohol it won't make as much alcohol, it'll all be over too quickly and it may leave an unpleasant aftertaste in the resulting drink. The cost of a sachet of the right yeast from a mail order homebrew shop is so small compared to the increased quality of the result as to make any other yeast not worth it. |
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"Jeremy Clarkson, a man we motor enthusiasts need on our side like Lewis Hamilton's F1 car needs a towing ball and a Sprite Musketeer" My motor |
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tris
Part of things
Posts: 15
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Feb 19, 2009 14:09:28 GMT
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Nah homebrew aint for me ;D   Cider, ale, lager, draught, elderflower wine, shiraz and of course ginger beer  Party around mine anyone? ;D |
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GoPed or go home!
'72 fasty
'67 square
'65 razor
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,960
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Making my own beer.....stealthstylz
@stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member 174
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Feb 19, 2009 14:24:49 GMT
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Just finished a brew with wine yeast. Its a lot clearer straight out of the big bottle, lots fizzier, lots dryer and lots stronger going by the taste.
What is the "proper" yeast for cider? Me and my housemates are going down to a party in Somerset. Gonna try and make some really good stuff to take, in a kind of "coals to newcastle" style.
Matt
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