Ginger cider started!

[simonkidder]

well ive just started a ginger cider today. i was going to use fresh ginger but i found a brand of cordial called Belvoir at asda which doesnt have any preservatives in it. it said 1 500ml bottle dilutes down to 10 pints so this is the recipe i used in a 5gallon FV

2 500ml Belvoir ginger cordial 300g sugar in each
1 500ml Belvoir apple and ginger cordial
7 ltr asda apple juice
1 1/2 tspn taning
2 tspn nutrition
1 tspn citric acid
youngs champagne yeast
topped up to 5gallon with water

the SG way 1.082 i thought this was alittle high so i put an extra 1ltr of water in


so does anyone have any thoughts on how this may turn out. it may be a little strong so i may turn some into wine and some into cider.

 

[Peapodmaster]

it looks quite good to me! depending on how much you like ginger in your drink will depend if you put in more or less next time. good luck with it! sounds like Brothers ginger cider :P

 

[simonkidder]

Yeah that's kinda what I was Aiming for. Hopefully it will have a nice taste of ginger but not be too over the top. Time will tell. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Marrsy86]

Been thinking of trying this out with real crushed apple juice and some blended ginger, zested lemons and limes and some dryed ginger but have been in two minds.

Let me know how it turns out please :thumb:

Marrsy

 

[simonkidder]

Yeah no problem will do. I started off at asda with loads of fresh ginger in my trolly but when I saw the ginger cordial and it didn't have any preservatives I couldn't resist doing the swap. It's smells very good and hopefully when I get home from work tomorrow it will be bubbling away nicely

 

[burpee]

what difference does it make if the cordial got preservatives in

 

[Marrsy86]

They can effect/kill the yeast, you can usually boil them off by putting the juice in a pan for 15-20 minutes though I usually try get no preservatives though just to be safe.

Cheers

Marrsy

 

[simonkidder]

Well it hasn't started bubbling so far. Should I be worried??? It has cooled down to around 20 deg. I havnt lifted the lid to check it. I dont want to destirb it. Any thoughts people

 

[simonkidder]

It's just clicked why my SG is so high. I wanted to have 750g sugar per gallon (3.750kg in the 5 gallon) to end up around the 8.5% mark. I worked out if added 3 kg sugar to the above recipe (which I did I just missed off the list in my first post). Some how I miss calculated and I've ended up with 4.698kg. So it's going to be about 10.5%

 

[simonkidder]

Couldn't resist popping the lid earlier. There is the odd bubble surfacing. hopefully they will increase in the next few days to get the airlock going.

I'm just worried that my bedroom is alittle cool as it is now at 19 deg. Will this kill the yeast or just put em to sleep. Reason I ask is I've ordered a brew belt and I'm wondering if they will survive till it comes??

 

[Peapodmaster]

it shouldnt be too bad.. maybe just a bit slow. wrap a towel around it.. maybe put it near some warm pipes or in a boiler cupboard?

 

[Marrsy86]

Perhaps you could wait until your hydrometre gives you a reading of 5% and then stop fermentation and have the % you wanted but with a sweeter brew ?

I has a similar problem with no bubbles coming out of my air lock in a FV, not sure if the lids are leaky or something but thats the only thing I have been able to think of.

Cheers

Marrsy

 

[cleslie]

Perhaps you could wait until your hydrometre gives you a reading of 5% and then stop fermentation and have the % you wanted but with a sweeter brew ?

I'm not sure as brewers we have the privilege to just stop fermentation as we please, unless you boil and cold crash or use camden pills to kill the yeast. If you were to bottle early I assumed it would just keep fermenting on the remaining sugar and possibly explode your bottle or supercharge your keg

 

[simonkidder]

I think I'm just going to be hard core and let it ferment out :drunk:

I wasn't convinced the lids are airtight but I softly pushed down on the lid to see if I could heard the lid leaking. It didn't, the excess pressure I created came out the airlock.

I'll keep you posted

 

[Peapodmaster]

the more i read this. the more i'm thinking about doing this.. how many litres did you make

 

[simonkidder]

ive gone all out and ive done 5 gallon! ha ha

 

[SamWise72]

I've made ginger cider several times. The first couple of times I grated ginger into a straining bag and simmered it in the AJ. This gave me a very cidery taste with a warming body of ginger in the back of the throat as it went down. This last time, I left the ginger bag in the fermenter, and got a much more in your face gingeriness, closer to a ginger beer. Both are nice, but for fire on the lips, you'd also need dried ginger, or so my experiments with ginger beer suggest.

 

[simonkidder]

well the ginger cider has been going for over a week now and its bubbling away nicely. the only problem i have is i dont know what to do with it when its ready, cos its going to be seriously strong. i rekon around 11%. i dont know whether to prime and bottle it, or drop some potassium sorbate and some ct in there and make it into a wine. or could i water it down some how. would it work if i put some water in the bottles when i prime them. or should i just man up and prime as it is and drink with caution

Suggestions please

 

[Baldilocks]

Man up and enjoy it as it's been made :drink:
Just as we do our fellow man

 

[Peapodmaster]

i think it'd be a strong ginger cider which may make less people want to drink it. a ginger + apple wine, sounds pretty weird. how about you do both ?