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  1. JohnnyPitralon

    Top-quality Chardonnay kits - what are your favourites?

    Hi there, Having been brewing cider for a year, I am getting cocky and want to try a white wine kit. We are Chardonnay fans, and, as wine kits tend to be pricey, I was hoping for some recommendations from the high court judges out there, before I take the plunge. So, what have you tried and...
  2. JohnnyPitralon

    A Year of Brewing - My own scores

    Hi, sorry, I was away. Thanks for the kind comments. The drinking them faster than one can make them is a problem here too. I hope the Festival will be to your liking. After all, us brewers have different tastes, and not all will agree with my judgement. I'd be very interested, though, which...
  3. JohnnyPitralon

    A Year of Brewing - My own scores

    It is a year to the day that I started my first cider brew, not the least with some excellent advice from others on this forum. MANY THANKS!!! Since then I have tested a number of kits and even tried my own apples (not a great success due to them not being the right apples for the purpose)...
  4. JohnnyPitralon

    WobblyGob Black Apple Cider

    Aaah, what a discovery. Finally, I have found an equal to my favourite, Ritchie's Festival Oaked Apple Cider. I am not a big fan of additives, and I could not for the life of me tell you what the little pouch of dark liquid is that makes this ‘black’ cider, well…black – or rather a shade of it...
  5. JohnnyPitralon

    Bulldog Perfect Apple Cider

    Okay, no beating about the bush – this was a huge disappointment. The pack only has concentrate and yeast, so a rather confident start from the manufacturer. However, the yeast already contains sweetener; for me a no-no. Therefore, I used Young's wine yeast for white or red - dessert /high...
  6. JohnnyPitralon

    Ritchie's Festival Oaked Apple Cider

    Well, I have to say I wasn’t hopeful for this one. When I opened the box it looked more like a chemistry set: Not one but TWO kilos of brewing sugar Apple concentrate Dried fruit pieces Sweetener Enzyme Yeast Oak chips (more dust than chips) Apple flavour pack I used the enzyme because I had...
  7. JohnnyPitralon

    Bulldog Premium Cider Toffee Apple

    This is an interesting one. The toffee apple aroma and taste are quite prominent. As such not bad but taste-wise a little overbearing. The whole concoction is on the sweet side. On its own I probably won’t brew this again. However, like Baldrick, I have a cunning plan. So far the best cider kit...
  8. JohnnyPitralon

    Mungrove Jack's Premium Apple Cider

    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.
  9. JohnnyPitralon

    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...
  10. JohnnyPitralon

    Magnum Premium Gold Autumn Blush

    This time the Muntons staid in the keg. The secondary fermentation must have been quite good, as the pressure is considerable. For priming: 135g Muscovado sugar, dissolved in 200ml Aldi pressed apple juice Last reading: 1.000, resulting alcohol = 7.47% Anything special? = no bubbles came up...
  11. JohnnyPitralon

    King Keg - total loss

    A little update on the pressure keg front: I solved the problem - and made the King Keg behave - with a new tap and some good old Plumber's Mate. I used the one for pottable water, of course. It has withstood the rather considerable pressure of the secondary fermentation of Munton's Premium...
  12. JohnnyPitralon

    What's your view on Plastic Pressure Barrels (PBs)?

    I tried the tape and THEN it jumped.
  13. JohnnyPitralon

    What's your view on Plastic Pressure Barrels (PBs)?

    A very intersting poll and discussion. I am a beginner and, at the moment, concentrating on cider but with the same problems as, apparently, many others. With my initial kit I bought a King Keg pressure barrel, because they seemed to be popular. However, my entire first brew disappeared...
  14. JohnnyPitralon

    Ciderworks Superior Dry Oak kit

    After the disaster with my first attempt (the contents leaked from the pressure keg and disappeared under the floorboards), instead of asking stupid questions I can now contribute something at last. The kit used was the Ciderworks Superior Dry Oak. I started on the 26th May and fermentation...
  15. JohnnyPitralon

    King Keg - total loss

    Thanks everyone for such a brilliant reaction to me questions. I will take all of this onboard in the hope that it will be a happier post next time. I feel for you Hytower. I was nearly in tears 😢, not the least becasue I have to keep buying the expensive supermarket stuff for a while longer.
  16. JohnnyPitralon

    King Keg - total loss

    Thank you Graz, First of all, you are correct. It is the type with the tap at the bottom. I doubt that I overtightened it. I did it as you described, not the least because in the past I had some bad experience (not in connection with home brewing) with being a bit too enthusiastic when...
  17. JohnnyPitralon

    King Keg - total loss

    Here is something to laugh about for the week ahead: Instead of being able to report proudly about my very first batch of homemade cider in the next few days, I discovered today that it has found a final resting place under the floorboards in the kitchen aheadbutt:tinhat:. I am using a King...
  18. JohnnyPitralon

    How do I use a pressure bulb

    Re. the S30 valve - I think that is why I needed the conversion kit so the lid/valve combination the King keg comes with as standard can be used with the 8grm bulbs. I might look at the option of using gas cylinders instead at some point in the future.
  19. JohnnyPitralon

    How do I use a pressure bulb

    Thanks everone for your input
  20. JohnnyPitralon

    How do I use a pressure bulb

    Hello Another one from the newbie: With my kit I bought a King pressure keg with an S30 bulb (8 grm) holder, including the valve conversion kit. Three days ago I racked the cider. Is there a particular time when I should fit the holder and inject gas? Having never used one of these before...
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