tc brewday

liamg1285 · Jan 16, 2013

after a failed attempt at brewing tc a couple of yrs ago have brushed the old gear off and get a demijohn on the go this afternoon.

used 4.5l coop apple juice from concentrate
a tea spoon of youngs yeast nutrient
a teaspoon of youngs yeast.
sg worked out at 1042 if i read it right
providing it all ferments out it should be about 5.6%

demijohn now sat in a bucket of water with a heater in as its very cold in the house at the moment.
plan is once fermented is prime and put into my new 5l easy keg to try
will let u no how it all goes its been awhile lol

LeedsBrewer · Jan 16, 2013

sounds good. :thumb:

Many people recommend adding tannin to a TC to give it a little more bite. (You can use a mug of strong black tea). Proper cider from apples would already have tannin in the skins i think??

Another suggestion that I followed was to add a little something else other than just AJ. AJ can be nice but a little dull on its own. I add 0.5L Cranberry juice to liven it up a little.

let us know how you get on.

liamg1285 · Jan 16, 2013

was tempted to grab some cranberry but didnt. will see how this goes and then try diff things.
im hoping to make something similar to the kopperberg mixed fruit cider if i can get close lol

st3w4rt · Jan 16, 2013

liamg1285,

I'm also doing a TC just now. It's in the fermentation fridge as we type. I'm not very happy with yeast activity, so I'm not really sure how it'll turn out. I'll go through the motions and hope to end up with something at the end (drinkable

)

What happened with your first attempt that took you a couple of years to try again?

liamg1285 · Jan 16, 2013

i rushed into it really without doing the research and got a very flat tc that was very nice. then due to housemove and stuff never got round to trying again untill today

oldbloke · Jan 16, 2013

Bit late to add tea (unless you've left some headroom for topping up after the yeast crust subsides), but if you have some powder tannin handy, chuck a teaspoon in, it makes a difference. Apples used for drinking juice have way less tannin than apples used for cider.

graysalchemy · Jan 16, 2013

Not having tannin in leads to a very insipid cider, it is usually the reason why people are put off it and brewing because it tastes of nothing. Unfortunately there are two many posting TC Video's on youtube who haven't got a clue about brewing.

liamg1285 · Jan 16, 2013

how strong of a tea would i need to add as still space as not really got going yet

graysalchemy · Jan 16, 2013

You need the tea to be so strong that it puckers your lips so a small cup and multiple tea bags should do the job. :thumb:

liamg1285 · Jan 16, 2013

ok thanks will add some once its cooled. also wat does the tannin actually do to the brew as not sure?

Abiruth · Jan 16, 2013

I keep seeing postings about TCs. What's the end product like? Is there any remaining sweetness or is it very dry?

:drink:

graysalchemy · Jan 16, 2013

Tanin adds bite. With regards to wether or not it will be dry, itwill be dry unless you either kill the yeast with potassium sorbate and have flat cider or if you want fizzy you need to add artificial sweetner which is nonfermentable.

oldbloke · Jan 16, 2013

Abiruth said:
I keep seeing postings about TCs. What's the end product like? Is there any remaining sweetness or is it very dry?

:drink:

On tasting my very first attempt at TC, which wasn't great compared to the ones I do now, my wife declared we needn't buy shop cider any more. And we don't, except for an occasional bottle of the better more expensive ones.

It's simpler to make it dry, as you just ferment it out to the end. My wife and I like it that way.
If you want it sweeter, the simplest way is to add a non-fermentable sweetener, such as Splenda. Then you don't have to worry about killing the yeast off.
I like it fairly fizzy, so prime bottles 1tsp/pint. If you like it flat, don't prime. Or choose somewhere in-between.

Straight AJ (+tannin) isn't all that exciting. First way of improving is to round out flavour with about 1/2l per galln of something else. Cranberry works, but this is a good place to go mad experimenting. Next way to improve is to add malic acid, use a yeast known to carry the bacteriuim that does malolactic fermentation, and leave it to do that for a few months.

falafael · Jan 16, 2013

have done quite a few TC's, and have added the likes of vimto, strawberry, blackcurrant cordials, all with relative success!, Got enough juice for another 25 litres soon!!

Abiruth · Jan 16, 2013

oldbloke said:
Abiruth said:

I keep seeing postings about TCs. What's the end product like? Is there any remaining sweetness or is it very dry?

:drink:

Click to expand...

On tasting my very first attempt at TC, which wasn't great compared to the ones I do now, my wife declared we needn't buy shop cider any more. And we don't, except for an occasional bottle of the better more expensive ones.

It's simpler to make it dry, as you just ferment it out to the end. My wife and I like it that way.
If you want it sweeter, the simplest way is to add a non-fermentable sweetener, such as Splenda. Then you don't have to worry about killing the yeast off.
I like it fairly fizzy, so prime bottles 1tsp/pint. If you like it flat, don't prime. Or choose somewhere in-between.

Straight AJ (+tannin) isn't all that exciting. First way of improving is to round out flavour with about 1/2l per galln of something else. Cranberry works, but this is a good place to go mad experimenting. Next way to improve is to add malic acid, use a yeast known to carry the bacteriuim that does malolactic fermentation, and leave it to do that for a few months.

Fab thanks for the info, definitely sounds worth a try. I may need to invest in more DJs

:drink:

hong · Jan 17, 2013

You lot have inspired me to kick off a TC today, gonna use Lidl apple juice. Would you recommend only half a litre of cranberry or a full litre? Also, only got Youngs GP yeast, will this be ok or should i get a different yeast?

LeedsBrewer · Jan 17, 2013

i'd suggest 0.5L of cranberry and use the yeast you have. It'll be fine. Cider yeast and champagne yeast are probably better though.

oldbloke · Jan 17, 2013

I've tried a few different yeasts, they all work, and while it's hard to be definitive given other changes in the recipe, I'd say:
Young's cider yeast gives a clean fairly crisp flavour: this is what I normally use.
Munton's Gold ale yeast is perhaps a bit "fuller" but also perhaps slightly dull
Some wine yeasts are a bit funkier (but not to the extent that proper MLF gets you)

LeedsBrewer · Jan 17, 2013

Thanks for that OB :thumb: Ive been looking for that info for a while. Think i'll probably stick to my youngs Cider yeast as i like a clean crisp taste.

liamg1285 · Jan 17, 2013

tc bubbling away nicely now and is trying to escape the demijohn and already smells really nice

tc brewday

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