Cider from juice cartons

[amavadia]

Hi all

Apologies if this has already been answered but newbie here...

I have many demijohns fermenting different wine flavours at the moment but would like to dabble in the cider game so I can make something I can drink sometime soon.

I know the difference between wine and cider is that you need to use 100% juice for the cider rather than diluted like for wine, but I was just wondering if it gives good flavour using the cartons you can find in the supermarket?

Tescos do a 'not from concentrate' range with a few different flavours which from the ingredients look to be almost 100% juice.

Its £4 for 3l of juice. Obviously not as cheap as buying the fruit and making it yourself but I dont have a press at the moment.

Does anyone have any previous experience of using these or similar for cider?

Thanks

 

[Moley]

Try a forum search for Turbo Cider, it crops up regularly, just supermarket apple juice and yeast, simples

 

[amavadia]

Try a forum search for Turbo Cider, it crops up regularly, just supermarket apple juice and yeast, simples

ooh thats what Turbo Cider is!

Thanks

 

[Yorkslad]

Hi there, im totally new to all this home brewing so not an expert at anything just yet
But i have been watching videos and reading forums so decided to have a go at this 'inmate brew'. Basicly all the ingredients you need are to be found in the supermarket, no special sugars or yeasts etc, hence the name of it!
My inmate brews are fermenting like mad so it works. From hydrometer readings it shall be 9.6% abv.

So here's what i bought and did..

1kg sugar
packet of baking yeast (they come in 7g sachets)
4 litres of apple juice (concentrated)
5 litre bottle of water

Empty water out of bottle, no need to sanitise it as its already done, pour the 4 cartons of apple juice in the empty bottle, add about half the bag of sugar in, put lid on and shake for a good few minutes to get it dissolved.
Take lid off and add one sachet of baking yeast, lid back on then shake again.
Leave to settle for a few minutes, then make a hole in the lid (take it off to do this) then screw on and poke some syphon tube in (2cm in) seal round tube with blue tack to make air tight, then put other end of syphon tube into a cup or jug of water, making an air lock.
Leave to ferment. Simple and fun! And cost no more than a fiver!

 

[abeyptfc]

have you taster the cider yet? u would usually have to use cider or champagne yeast, dno if baking yeast will give it any off flavours

 

[Yorkslad]

Hi there, not tasted it as yet, its been 9 days and its just started to slow down bubbling. Im not quite sure this is an actual 'cider' , its something that was and still maybe made in prisons around the world. Iv just seen a few people talk about this and decided to have a go too, just a bit of an experiment to see if it works really.
They say to just use things you find in say asda, sainsburys etc, no special brewing ingredients at all.

 

[keith1664]

I'm not sure about the extra sugar and bakers yeast, but I made a gallon with Youngs cider yeast and no added sugar, it came out at 4.5% and quite drinkable!

 

[Ceejay]

Apparently the "original" Turbo Cider was brewed using bread yeast :thumb:

 

[Yorkslad]

I just saw these videos and stories about 'inmate brew'. Its ingredients prisoners stole from the kitchens to make alcohol. So all the ingredients are just for food, not actually brewing, BUT it worked. Now im not sure what its gonna taste like but for a fiver its a bit of fun to see what the outcome is.
I will tell you with all honesty as to what it tastes like when the fermenting stops :thumb:

 

[abeyptfc]

I just saw these videos and stories about 'inmate brew'. Its ingredients prisoners stole from the kitchens to make alcohol. So all the ingredients are just for food, not actually brewing, BUT it worked. Now im not sure what its gonna taste like but for a fiver its a bit of fun to see what the outcome is.
I will tell you with all honesty as to what it tastes like when the fermenting stops :thumb:

kl, hope it turns out good!

 

[commsbiff]

I made my first cider with baker's yeast :sick: I won't do it again.

 

[Yorkslad]

Oooooops... Lol Ah well i just got giddy with being new to brewing and tried it! Was it suitable for someone who's been locked up for years being sober? If so, then thats why its called inmate brew lol

 

[luckyeddie]

Hi there, not tasted it as yet, its been 9 days and its just started to slow down bubbling. Im not quite sure this is an actual 'cider' , its something that was and still maybe made in prisons around the world. Iv just seen a few people talk about this and decided to have a go too, just a bit of an experiment to see if it works really.
They say to just use things you find in say asda, sainsburys etc, no special brewing ingredients at all.

Just avoid the stuff with preservatives in. If you get that by mistake, you have to boil it.

Mine turned out like an apple wine - mind you, I did bang 3 pounds of sugar in with 8 litres of 'made from concentrate' apple juice (just ordinary sucrose which I dissolved in 1 litre of the juice after warming it in a saucepan then tossed it in the FV) - then threw a champagne yeast at it. I used a 5 gallon fermenter because I KNEW from the experience of others that there is a tendency for it to make a new home on the ceiling via the airlock, but I had no mishaps. It was as clear as a bell after 10 days. I conditioned with just 2 ounces of sugar and threw it in a Cellarman barrel, and was drinking it a week later (hic).

It was gone in 4 days, and I sobered up 2 days later.

Will definitely do this again - probably in the summer.

 

[Crastney]

I think the general concensus among cider makers is not to use bread yeast.

a good book for beginners in cider making try Pooley and Lomax, 'cider making on a small scale' (or something along those lines)

 

[Yorkslad]

Hello again, im the guy who made 5 litres of 'inmate brew' using ingredients only from the supermarket including baking/bread yeast. Now i said once the fermenting stops id come back in and tell you with all honesty what it tastes like.
I syphoned some into an empty wine bottle that i primed with 2 teaspoons of ordinary sugar, left it for a good week in the fridge and tonight i opened it and poured out a small glass.
Well to be honest i was pleasantly supprised! It was slightly fizzy and had a very sweet taste, a little tang but nothing even a girl would cringe at! And from my hydrometer readings its 9.5% abv, which i think is very accurate as it tasted strong!
So just to sum it up, its called 'INMATE BREW' because this is how inmates made it, they didn't have champagne or cider yeast knocking around in a prison kitchen did they. As i stated when i first mentioned this, it is a bit of fun to see how prisoners made alcohol using nothing but food ingredients from the kitchen.
:

 

[Crastney]

sounds good - well done lad!

 

[LewisA]

While on the topic of Cider from juice cartons has anyone tried using orange juice from the cartons to produce a cider like drink?

If so did it taste any good? I have been thinking about it for a long while but was not sure if the PH of the orange juice will be too low (too acidic) for the little yeasties ?

 

[Yorkslad]

Cheers Crastney :thumb:
Hiya LewisA, iv tried it and its still in the 5 ltr bottle, it started fermenting straight away when i made it, lasted approx 2-3 days then stopped bubbling. Its full of sediment in the bottom, and it smells a bit eggy which isn't a bad sign at all but i daren't taste it because im not sure its worked! Like you say it may be too acidic to work. I heared that citrus fruits such as orange, lemon lime etc kills or stops the yeast working.
I will brave it tomorrow night and taste a bit just for you, and if i haven't got my head down the toilet afterwards i'll post the result of it here :lol:

 

[LewisA]

I will brave it tomorrow night and taste a bit just for you, and if i haven't got my head down the toilet afterwards i'll post the result of it here

Cheers :thumb: :lol: lets hope its not the head down the toilet situation :pray:

 

[Yorkslad]

I'll try just a small amount to be safe :thumb: The apple juice experiment worked out brill, it tastes pretty nice, will be a nice summer drink with lemonade and ice, will still get you drunk at 9.5% too :thumb: