First time cider brew

[Ginger79]

Hi all
Complete newbie here.
I've just moved to a house the has a Bramley tree with so many apples on it iv decided to jump into the home brewing world to make use of them.
Now I understand that Bramleys on there own probably won't make a very good cider but I'm going to try anyway.
I've bought 5 1 gallon demijohns and think I'll try some slightly different things and see if I can hit on one that's good.
If anyone has any experience with bramleys or general advice it would be greatly appreciated.
My ideal cider would be clear, quite dry ,slightly sparkling
Here are the things I'm going to try so far.
1.
Press apples
Add yeast ,pectinase
Leave to ferment with air locks then leave until clear and then bottle with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per bottle.
2.
Press apples
Add yeast,pectinase ,1 tablespoon of tannin (do I add this now or after fermentation?)
Leave to ferment then leave to mature for 3-4 months before bottling. (Should I just leave in the same demijon or move to a new one?).
I've also heard I should add a campden tablet before bottling is this true?

I know this is a lot of questions but I would really apreciate your advice

 

[Mozza83]

move to a new demijohn or bottles for conditioning.

 

[Ginger79]

Thanks
Putting it in bottles for conditioning would be much easier its just that I read in an old thread on here that you should mature it in bulk so thought maybe I should leave it in a demijon and bottle after

 

[ozzy1000]

Hi all
Complete newbie here.
I've just moved to a house the has a Bramley tree with so many apples on it iv decided to jump into the home brewing world to make use of them.
Now I understand that Bramleys on there own probably won't make a very good cider but I'm going to try anyway.
I've bought 5 1 gallon demijohns and think I'll try some slightly different things and see if I can hit on one that's good.
If anyone has any experience with bramleys or general advice it would be greatly appreciated.
My ideal cider would be clear, quite dry ,slightly sparkling
Here are the things I'm going to try so far.
1.
Press apples
Add yeast ,pectinase
Leave to ferment with air locks then leave until clear and then bottle with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per bottle.
2.
Press apples
Add yeast,pectinase ,1 tablespoon of tannin (do I add this now or after fermentation?)
Leave to ferment then leave to mature for 3-4 months before bottling. (Should I just leave in the same demijon or move to a new one?).
I've also heard I should add a campden tablet before bottling is this true?

I know this is a lot of questions but I would really apreciate your advice

Hi Ginger,

I've made some cider, I haven't used pectinase before and most of my cider has been nice and bright. If I were you I'd get another demi jon and rack it off a couple of times, this will aid clearing and also by removing the lees you'll be taking some nutrient away from the yeasts which will slow fermentation and make for a cleaner taste with a better chance of some sugars being left behind to balance the sharpness.

Bramley apples could make quiet a nice cider. It won't be very complex but I've made nice cider with single varieties of cookers before. It can make a clean bright and sharp drink, lovely chilled. The key to a good clean cider is a strong fermentation and good acidity to manage bacteria. So wash you apples, clean you scratting kit and pressing, then press it the juice. If you have a way of testing PH, then you want a PH between 3 and about 3.6, some people say upto 3.8-4 is ok, but personally I think its too insipid and vulnerable to infection.. it'd need sulphites... so 3.6 and below is good, but less that 3 and it'd be very sharp to taste (I dipped a p.h strip in some Aspal the other day, it was 3.2). If you can check it, don't worry, bramleys would probably be 3-3.2, I have a few nets of them in my shed and that's what mine come out at. if the final drink is too sharp you can always add a splash of apple juice for drinking.

when you're pressing have a yeast starter already started, so you can pitch it straight into the juice. the quicker the fermentation is underway the safer your juice is.

I don't think you need to sulphite it if your demijohns are sterile, you have a good level of acidity and your apples and kit are relatively clean.

if you have a hydrometer, measure the sugar. Good cider apples at the right time of year will have lots of sugar, yours might not... so if you can measure it and the specific gravity is low then top it up with sugar to the 1.055-1.060 range, which will give you around 7-8% alcohol, this is high by beer standards, but cider takes time and high alcohol as well as acidity provides some protection against bacteria. if you don't have a hydrometer, don't worry, but be prepared to do something to preserve.. either drink it sooner or bottle it.

then once its fermenting, rack it off at 1.020 and again at 1.010-15. then when its pretty much stopped around 1.000 bottle, or store in sealed demijohns, or drink.... you could always go straight into strong bottles at 1.010 for bottle conditioning.

slow fermentation is good, don't be tempted to stick demijohns by the fireplace to hurry it along, you risk developing weird flavours. best to add a nice busy starter, then move the cider into a shed or outside. or if you're anxious about it, put it in a hall way or somewhere not too warm until you see fermentation kicking off, then move into a cool shed, or outside. just loosely bung them or cover them, for the first week or so and let all the foamy **** spill over, then clean around the neck and add airlocks, then keep them airlocked. leave well alone and trust the yeast for at least 3-4 weeks. then sterilise the hydrometer and drop it in to test. I like to fill my demijohns right up and just clean up what comes out, minimal air space is best.

if you do this now, then you'll probably have a nice drink by xmas. but if you're patient it'll be even nicer by spring.

good luck!! sorry for the essay :)

O

 

[Ginger79]

Thanks ozzy that was just essay I needed.
I've ordered a hydrometer and I'll give it a go. Now I just need to find time to do it