Mungrove Jack's Premium Apple Cider

There is a lot of love in me for New Zealand, having spent two-and-a-half years there. Sadly, there is not much good I can say about this cider from Down Under.

I admit I was a little suspicious right form the start. Firstly, for that price I expected one of the better kits, i.e. one that does not require extra brewing sugar. Spoiler alert = this one does. Then I found in the pack not only the obligatory sweetener, which I never use anyway but also a pouch with a liquid apple flavour. Call me picky but if a manufacturer places that little faith in their product that they have to enhance it with artificial flavourings it is hardly a recommendation.

And so it proved. Of the three batches that I have made (Ciderworks Superior Dry Oak, Muntons Premium Gold Autumn Blush, and this one), this is by far the least satisfying. It is watery with little bouquet (I assume hence the flavouring), and a taste that reminds me strongly of overly diluted apple juice. Without doubt, I will never make this one again.

However, one good thing came out if this. I have been experimenting with amounts of sugar added for secondary fermentation. Usually, the amounts given by the manufacturers hover around the 100-gram mark. Not only do I use Muscovado instead of ordinary brewing sugar in the hope that it adds a hint of caramel, but I have tried higher and higher amounts. This time it was 300 grams, and with a better cider it would indeed have given it a sweeter, fuller background without having to use the artificial sweetener.

I will stick to that weight for the coming batch (a Bulldog product) and see what it does there.

JohnnyPitralon said:

However, one good thing came out if this. I have been experimenting with amounts of sugar added for secondary fermentation. Usually, the amounts given by the manufacturers hover around the 100-gram mark. Not only do I use Muscovado instead of ordinary brewing sugar in the hope that it adds a hint of caramel, but I have tried higher and higher amounts. This time it was 300 grams, and with a better cider it would indeed have given it a sweeter, fuller background without having to use the artificial sweetener.

I will stick to that weight for the coming batch (a Bulldog product) and see what it does there.

Click to expand...

If you are using a simple sugar like dextrose or sucrose for priming, it will be entirely consumed, assuming you have not reached the alcohol limit of the yeast, and will therefore contribute no sweetness at all to the finished product just alcohol and CO2.
But the important point is that 300g of 'brown sugar' for priming 23 litres of cider or beer will give about 3.8 vols of CO2 which is verging on gusher territory and perhaps bottle bombs if you have a few suspect bottles.

Dear Terrym, thanks for the tip. By lucky coincidence and for the lack of an empty pressure keg (would have become a powder keg, it seems) the secondary fermentation happend in an ordinary brew bucket from which the CO2 could escape. I'll keep that in mind for the future.