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.
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