Opinions before I start TC please?

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R-J-M

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So, I have taken on board loads of advice from people regarding recipes for a sweet TC (aiming for a Kopparberg taste, but much higher ABV). The bulk of the below plan came from Evolram & Roddy, so thank you :)

I have combined a few together, due to the limited access to ingredients.


What do you think of the below? Would the flavours work together? Are measurements okay?


  • 21L of Asda (chosen by you) 100% Apple Juice
  • 3x 440ml of Lowicz Raspberry Syrup
  • 750ml of Co-ops Mixed Fruit Squash (Apple, Strawberry & Blackcurrant) (double strength)
  • 9g sachet of Mangrove Jack Cider Yeast
  • 2 - 4tsp of Pectolase
  • 2tsp of Tannin Powder
  1. Sterilise EVERYTHING with non-rinse tablets for 20 minutes
  2. Bring the Mixed Fruit Squash to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes
  3. Put all the Syrup into the FV and rinse out the bottles with a little AJ
  4. Pour in all the Apple Juice & add the Squash
  5. Sprinkle in the Pectolase & Tannin then give it a quick mix
  6. Scatter the Mangrove Yeast onto the surface and leave to ferment, watching the airlock (7 - 14 days) depending on temperature
  7. Pour half a pint into a glass and add half a teaspoon to sweeten. keep adding until desired sweetness is found, times the amount of sweetener by 80 then add to the 2nd FV (bottling bucket), along with 150g of sugar to batch prime
  8. Bottle straight away from the Bottling Bucket and cap
  9. Finally leave the bottles in a cool location for 1 - 3 months
Please throw any criticism or ideas at me, because I'm bound to have missed something here.
 
Looking good but just a couple of suggestions....

I would dissolve the pectolase (and tannin) in a cup of warm water, then add to FV

Take a hydrometer reading before putting the yeast in, this'll tell you what your ABV will be at the end.

Give the mixture a good mix before adding your yeast, getting it to bubble up, the more oxygen you can introduce, the better the fermentation so I heard somewhere.

After bottling up, and to get it to carb up nicely, you would be better to store them somewhere warm for a bit, if you're not in a hurry to drink them (by the sound of it), I would leave them in the warm for 2 weeks, then stick them away in the cool to condition.

Good luck :)
 
I would dissolve the pectolase (and tannin) in a cup of warm water, then add to FV
Click to expand...

I found powdered tannin a right PITA as it clumps so i think Dutto's recomendation is the way to go, i switched back to strong black tea once i ran out of powder and have never looked back.
 
Roddy said:
Looking good but just a couple of suggestions....

I would dissolve the pectolase (and tannin) in a cup of warm water, then add to FV

Take a hydrometer reading before putting the yeast in, this'll tell you what your ABV will be at the end.

Give the mixture a good mix before adding your yeast, getting it to bubble up, the more oxygen you can introduce, the better the fermentation so I heard somewhere.

After bottling up, and to get it to carb up nicely, you would be better to store them somewhere warm for a bit, if you're not in a hurry to drink them (by the sound of it), I would leave them in the warm for 2 weeks, then stick them away in the cool to condition.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...


Very good ideas thank you! I will definitely do these on the day :)

I'm trying to plan it perfectly as this will be my first ever cider brew and also the biggest batch.
 
Chippy_Tea said:
I found powdered tannin a right PITA as it clumps so i think Dutto's recomendation is the way to go, i switched back to strong black tea once i ran out of powder and have never looked back.
Click to expand...

Would I just let 4 or 5 tea bags stew in hot water for a while then pour it in at the beginning?
 
I use a mug of black tea to a DJ with 3 bags in the mug, when i make more i use pyrex measuring jugs and aim for approximately 300ml for each gallon (4.5 litre) , i use 1.5 litres in a 22.5 litre brew 5 bags in the one litre jug and 3 in the 1/2 litre jug, this is just the way i do it and it works for us.
 
For 25L I use a litre of boiling water and 5 bags, let it stew for 15 mins, take the tea bags out then chuck in the FV (at the start )

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Oh aye, just another thing to stick in there... rather than sweeten at bottling stage, for the last few TC'S I've made, I've used cider yeast with sweetener built in, from eBay

Worth considering too 😉

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
Roddy said:
For 25L I use a litre of boiling water and 5 bags, let it stew for 15 mins, take the tea bags out then chuck in the FV (at the start )

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

So I would have 21L of AJ, 1.32L of syrup, 750ml of squash and 1L of tea?

Just over 24L in my FV, would that make 40 bottles/pints, by the time fermentation has finished eating away at it all?
 
Oh yeah, I got 42 grolsch (468ml) and 8 x 500ml plastic bottles from a 25L TC batch this week

It took me a few tries to get the most out of it, you'll find out as you go 😀

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 
that's really good going!

Hopefully I can make a start on Saturday/Sunday night, cant wait :)

Thanks for all the help and advice
 
R-J-M said:
So, I have taken on board loads of advice from people regarding recipes for a sweet TC (aiming for a Kopparberg taste, but much higher ABV). The bulk of the below plan came from Evolram & Roddy, so thank you :)

I have combined a few together, due to the limited access to ingredients.


What do you think of the below? Would the flavours work together? Are measurements okay?


  • 21L of Asda (chosen by you) 100% Apple Juice
  • 3x 440ml of Lowicz Raspberry Syrup
  • 750ml of Co-ops Mixed Fruit Squash (Apple, Strawberry & Blackcurrant) (double strength)
  • 9g sachet of Mangrove Jack Cider Yeast
  • 2 - 4tsp of Pectolase
  • 2tsp of Tannin Powder
  1. Sterilise EVERYTHING with non-rinse tablets for 20 minutes
  2. Bring the Mixed Fruit Squash to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes
  3. Put all the Syrup into the FV and rinse out the bottles with a little AJ
  4. Pour in all the Apple Juice & add the Squash
  5. Sprinkle in the Pectolase & Tannin then give it a quick mix
  6. Scatter the Mangrove Yeast onto the surface and leave to ferment, watching the airlock (7 - 14 days) depending on temperature
  7. Pour half a pint into a glass and add half a teaspoon to sweeten. keep adding until desired sweetness is found, times the amount of sweetener by 80 then add to the 2nd FV (bottling bucket), along with 150g of sugar to batch prime
  8. Bottle straight away from the Bottling Bucket and cap
  9. Finally leave the bottles in a cool location for 1 - 3 months
Please throw any criticism or ideas at me, because I'm bound to have missed something here.
Click to expand...

are you going to top up with water at all ?
 
there will be 1 litre of water added when I make the tannin and pectolase mix.

so the whole batch should be a little over 24 litres.
 
How did the cider come out?

Looking at brewing my fist batch tomorrow using your recipe, is there anything you would do different?
 
Croni486 said:
How did the cider come out?

Looking at brewing my fist batch tomorrow using your recipe, is there anything you would do different?
Click to expand...

Really good :)

Still a little drying than expected, so maybe 2 tsp of sweetener rather than 1.

Also, it came out at 10.5% so I felt it the next morning! maybe replace 2 litres of AJ for water?
 
Managed to get one done at the weekend.

Ended up using:

15 Ltrs AJ
4 Ltrs Red Grape
1 Bottle of raspberry Lowicz
1 Bottle of double strength Tesco summer fruits

If the smell is anything to go by it should taste great. I'm hoping that it will be in the region of 6.5 - 7%. Not much action through the airlock but the FV has a nice bulge on it so the air much be leaking out somewhere.

Looking at something else for this weekend as I have a spare FV just waiting for something to go in it.
 
that sounds like a good recipe!

I'm hoping to make a Christmas TC within the next month...

21L of AJ
2 bottles of Lowicz (I can pick from peach, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, blackcurrant, citrus)
Then add 1 box of Spiced Apple "twigs" which will dissolve fully and add a spiced xmas taste.....hopefully.

All being well, it can be warmed up like mulled cider as well :)
 
R-J-M said:
that sounds like a good recipe!

I'm hoping to make a Christmas TC within the next month...

21L of AJ
2 bottles of Lowicz (I can pick from peach, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, blackcurrant, citrus)
Then add 1 box of Spiced Apple "twigs" which will dissolve fully and add a spiced xmas taste.....hopefully.

All being well, it can be warmed up like mulled cider as well :)
Click to expand...

That sounds really good. I think blackcurrant and citrus would probably go well with that.
 
that's a good call, I might do another one of my Christmas TC's they turn out pretty well and it would be a good test to see if I could leave it until nearly Christmas before cracking open !
 
My plan is to make some Toffee Apple TC first, then once all those have been drunk and I have 40+ free bottles, I can then put an xmas brew on.

Just out of interest, how do people plan/store their brews? Because at the moment I have 20 bottles of Ale & 40 bottles of TC clearing in the fridge, but in a few days I will also have 30 bottles of wine and 40 bottles of lager than will need to be stored in a cool place, but no space in the fridge!
 

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