Little cider problem!

[james747]

hi there, will my cider be ruined if i keep it in the fermenting bucket for longer then it says?? The kit says wait 7 days for it to finish fermenting ( it's been 8 days now) and then bottle it up, but my silly silly parents thought it would be a good idea to recycle a few bottles ( GRRRRRRRR!!!!) so now i have nothing and i don't really have the money to buy over priced beer bottles off the net or from shops.

james

[ohbeary]

Chill winston , your cider will be fine, does your bucket have a close fitting lid?, if not cover with it your mums clingfilm, if you use it all up! whatever! maybe next time she wont make your dad chuck out the bottles, or maybe next time you want to keep the bottles make sure the rest of the family is aware of your pressing need!, if it stays in the bucket more than 10-12 days you may need to feed it, add apple juice, if it contains preservatives you will need to heat it to drive them off, cool before adding, if you just feed with sugar you will increase the alcohol but ruin the balance, it will taste thin and would you believe watery!!!(even though it will knock your socks off), better to have balance, trust me I have made that watery rocket fuel! it was not nice to drink, no satisfaction and the worst hangovers ever, you chuck it down tasteing nothing so you dont notice, then your legs dont work and somebody.... has peed in your trousers,(not my experience ok)

[kevnsue]

Hi,i left mine 9 days then bottled it,it's now 2 weeks old and tastes like vinegar,dont know what went wrong.
Can anything be done to rescue it,cheers kev.

[burnie]

I make mine in a barrel and don't syphon it,the lees settle to the bottom and the tap is above the settling line(well it is after a few cloudy pints),tastes great,just a bit windy round here.

[janeyo]

I got my bottles from wilkos, they were quite reasonable, and I can re-use them. Last year we made 4 batches of cider from our own apples, and they turned out ok.

Am sure you could wait a bit longer before bottling as long as no air or beasties can get in.
Can you ask family and friends if they have any bottles? Or go down the recyling plant an hope to catch someone delivering empties?

[janeyo]

Hi,i left mine 9 days then bottled it,it's now 2 weeks old and tastes like vinegar,dont know what went wrong.
Can anything be done to rescue it,cheers kev.

I think homemade blended ciders are often more successful than using one type of apple. And waiting a few months before drinking may improve the flavour, 2 weeks sounds a bit short. I still have bottles from last summer.

[james747]

ive bottled them today but it doesnt smell to great!! I'll have to wait a few weeks to taste or do you recommend a month or so??

[burnie]

Kit cider won't really benefit from aging,try some and see what you think.

[james747]

I'll just leave it for a week extra as thats what it says on the instructions!!
How good (taste wise) are ciders made from shop bought apple juice?? Can i make pear cider the same way using pear juice from the shops??

[NOG]

my silly silly parents thought it would be a good idea to recycle a few bottles ( GRRRRRRRR!!!!) so now i have nothing and i don't really have the money to buy over priced beer bottles off the net or from shops.

james

Just go to the bottle bank and make a withdrawl... thats what I do.

Its still recycling.Give them a boil or a spin in the dish washer and off you go.

[kirsty b]

We had a crack at making cider a few years back. I remember doing the pressing/fermenting in October but we didn't touch it for about 7 months. It blew me away. A glass or two made my legs go a bit funny, but my trousers stayed dry......

[kirsty b]

We had a crack at making cider a few years back. I remember doing the pressing/fermenting in October but we didn't touch it for about 7 months. It blew me away! Tasted a bit rough, but I added a teaspoon of honey to each bottle as I filled it. Left another week or two, still very very strong, but nicer taste. A glass or two made my legs go a bit funny, but my trousers stayed dry......

Really must do it again

[ohbeary]

Cider, should be made from Cider Apples, usually a blend 1/3 sweet, 1/3 sharp and 1/3 bittersweet, you can include bittersharps, the blend is up to you, you will need to combine, sugar,acid and tannin, shop bought apple juice will not give you this! as it is made with blended eating apples!, you don't want to drink cider apple juice!, it will make your teeth curl!, as for varieties:- Kingston Black, Stoke Red and Dymock(not Charlie)Red are the only ones I can find, there are a lot more, apples are funny b*ggers they are highly susceptible to climate and there are probably more varieties than we know about, each area and Cornwall has a lot of different growing conditions!, has its own Cider apples, some of these have been rescued! ie "Heligan" has some that you cant find in books!, as for the vinegar taste!!!!!!!, it is never going to improve!, put it and what its in to one side and let it finish, you will have 5gallons of cider vinegar eventually if that is the size of your brew, especially if you leave the top off, which you might as well!, do not use this vessel again for brewing, unless you want more vinegar. In vast bulk!, over 50gal the brew seems to be safe! the vinegar/fruit fly is overwhelmed by alcohol before the little beggar falls literally into the drink!, the odd rat does, no probs a little protein never hurt anyone, th' old boys used to throw in a dead piglet if one was handy, it stopped the sow getting the idea that it was OK to eat her own( which she would have!!) and boosted the brew!.
There is a story/song about "Dead Dog Scrumpy"! ending with the line "y' can always recognise it by the haaaair of the dog!"
Don't know much about "Perry" as pear cider is properly known, but "Perry" it is!, very light and lethal!, remember the add? "Babycham the Champagne Perry"!!!!!, right we're on the same page, wild pears are the ones to get, live in Herefordshire? OK your in business, don't forget you ladder/ cherrypicker those trees can go 60'!, good luck. H.

[Hilary B]

If you can't get proper cider apples, next best thing is a few crab apples added to sweet apple juice. I think you would want the juice extracted from about 2lb crab apples, topped up to a gallon with 'cloudy' apple juice from the supermarket. It's not quite the same, but as close as you are likely to get outside of a cider-growing area.
To those only accustomed to the stuff sold under the name of 'cider' in supermarkets, the real thing can taste sour and harsh. That doesn't always mean there is anything wrong with it!
The stuff my OH likes tastes like paint stripper to me (OK, I'm imagining what paint stripper would taste like), whereas I enjoy the slightly sweeter version, which is still too harsh for a lot of people. The best known brands of cider are definitely not cidery enough for me!