So, how good is TC?

After a dozen or so all grain brews (beer) under my belt, I thought I'd give cider a go. Many people on this forum mention Turbo Cider and it seems quite easy to make.
How does it compare to, say the cheaper ciders on the market (Magners, Bulmer, etc) which I know are not great.

My advice is don't bother, although there are forum members who will certainly disagree with that.
My one and only attempt turned out to be very poor imitation of what I would call 'proper' cider even though I waited months for it to improve.
I think thats why people add fruit syrups to TC to disguise how poor it is.

I have had various successes and failures with TCs, some have been awesome and others have been appalling.

My advice is to use a decent cider yeast and a strong flavour addition and most importantly - have patience and wait 3 months.

Notable successes were Vimto cider that went from paintstripper to amazing after 3 months. Mixed berries scavenged from my freezer also made a good one that was very pleasant after just 4 weeks. Both used Gervin GV13 cider yeast.
Notable failures were kiwi fruit cider and a strawberry cider. But i used youngs multipurpose brewers yeast for those and they just tasted funny. Even after 6 months the kiwi just tasted harsh.
Done quite a few different ones now and i would say the majority have been fairly good, probably not as good as an Old Mout, but on a par or better than strongbow dark fruits.

I'm not keen on the fruit cider, wanted to make a basic cider that doesn't taste like Woodpecker !
The apple trees in my garden don't supply enough fruit, so maybe a kit would be the best bet?
Any recommendations ?

For the price and the fairly minimum effort involved it's alright. I put it at a cross between a Bulmers type of cider and something a bit more farmhouse / scrumpy orientated. Unadulterated it does end up pretty dry which personally I don't mind. I've yet to experiment with sweetening it and don't like the idea of using artificial sweeteners to achieve this so if I wanted something sweeter I'd probably add a little sugar syrup or flavoured syrup when serving. I have quite liked the fruited versions I've also done by adding Lowicz. Was thinking about getting some kind of spiced cordial for a Christmas version.

I found it very nice. Do some...it won't go to waste.

I've recently just started and the first three have had Lowicz syrup and two of them have had Ale yeast with the third using CML Turbo cider yeast with Apple/Raspberry juice.The 4th is just plain AJ but using the yeast slurry from CML.Have racked and tasted the first 2 and although I'm not a cider drinker they are quite fruity,dry with an alcohol pronounced presence.It's interesting to say the least.

I did a couple of batches in left-over 5l Tesco Ashbeck bottles (don't own any DJs and didn't want to tie up one of my beer fermenters), used Harris cider yeast with some nutrient and some strong tea for tannins, turned out pretty well! I'm not a big cider drinker but it seems comparable to some shop bought stuff, bit stronger and drier but pretty refreshing.

I'd say for the minmal effort and cost it's well worth a try, do a small batch and then if you dislike it then no big deal

Brewed_Force said:

After a dozen or so all grain brews (beer) under my belt, I thought I'd give cider a go. Many people on this forum mention Turbo Cider and it seems quite easy to make.
How does it compare to, say the cheaper ciders on the market (Magners, Bulmer, etc) which I know are not great.

Click to expand...

The key to a decent TC is time and patience. People are right as in it is very easy to make... I have just put a batch on this morning which I am hoping will be done in time for Christmas.

So really it depends what type of cider you are looking for. The best TC's for me have been brewed slowly which beats the object of the cider being "Turbo". Many will say "get the TC into a warm(is) room and keep it at a temperature of between 22 and 24 degrees"... whilst this would produce a cider quickly it will put the yeast under pressure... they multiply too fast creating a very cloudy fermentation which has a smell to it that you have to wait to get rid of.
Today I created my TC and put the 22 litre bucket into the garage and not a warm room (between 16 and 20 degrees)! I will leave this for about 2 weeks before going back and taking an SG reading

The next thing is the yeast. My advice is to get a decent TC, you really want to be using a wet cider yeast like WLP775 et al. This type of yeast literally ferments the apple juice in a relaxed way making a clear fermentation and a lovely end product compared to some of the nice commercial ciders I've ever tasted.

It should come as no surprise that once the cider has fully fermented out to 1.000 it will taste dry (as in sour, tangy). Commercial ciders are produced this way and they tend to add an artificial sweetener to make it taste palatable to the general public. If you like a dry cider then you are all good but if you don't you will need to add a sweetener at the end! some will say "any old sweetener" but I disagree. The best I have found is xylitol which should be added to taste. What I mean by that is syphon off 500ml of the cider and gradually add in increments until you get the desired taste and then do a bit of maths for the rest of the batch.

Lastly, it's all about time..... unfortunately...... because it is really tempting to have a drink! The longer you leave it the better it becomes... a young cider will taste very different from one which has been resting!

Feel free to use one of my recipes if you choose the wet cider yeast route.

https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/trial-turbo-cider-recipes-wlp775.82289/

Good Luck