Sweet apple cider

[Zelly]

hi there.

has anybody got a good sweet recipe for apple cider.

I say sweet because I like Somersby apply cider

I was thinking of using apple juice from Aldi?

would this be ok to use.

if so how much?

and what yeast would I use?

I was after a full strength cider about 4.5-5%

[Journeyman]

19 hours ago, Zelly said:

has anybody got a good sweet recipe for apple cider.

I say sweet because I like Somersby apply cider

I was thinking of using apple juice from Aldi?

You will have a problem with 'sweet' - the yeast will convert pretty much all the sugars to ABV, leaving you with a dry cider. What you need to look for is either using a non-fermentable sugar (maybe lactose) or how to back sweeten the cider. With back sweetening you either need to do it as you drink it (say, adding a small amount of juice to the glass) or keep it cold once you add the sweetener. 

An alternative if you don't care about artificial sweeteners is to use them. Personally I wouldn't touch them but the cider kits (cans of extract) all seem to add in artificial stuff.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Journeyman

[Graculus]

On 2/15/2021 at 2:31 PM, Zelly said:

hi there.

has anybody got a good sweet recipe for apple cider.

I say sweet because I like Somersby apply cider

I was thinking of using apple juice from Aldi?

would this be ok to use.

if so how much?

and what yeast would I use?

I was after a full strength cider about 4.5-5%

There is a yeast you can buy on eBay. If you want I'll see if I can find a link.
I think it's yeast plus some kind of sweetener that doesn't ferment.

The M J kit comes with sweetener. I don't use it as I like my cider dry as.
So you could try that. It's a bit pricey, but I think it's the best cider kit there is.
Personally I don't think you can brew cider to taste like commercial stuff from kits or A J.

I've just had a look in the fridge. I have two packets of sweetener.
If you want to try it I can post it to you.
Send me a private message with your address.

I have used the Aldi apple juice before.
After trying cider & wine yeasts I found the best results came with ale yeasts.

Or someone on here suggested mixing Bickfords cloudy apple juice when pouring to get a better taste.
You might like that, although too sweet for me. Also the Bickfords is hard to find.
Cloudy apple juice isn't one of the ones stocked at Coles or Woolies.

[jamiek86]

@Graculus did you find the MJ kit standard without the sweetner was good enough to justify brewing 2 slabs for under price of 1? Like was it ok without being horrid? probably need to give one a go looks like all strange berry flavours too

[Graculus]

7 hours ago, jamiek86 said:

@Graculus did you find the MJ kit standard without the sweetner was good enough to justify brewing 2 slabs for under price of 1? Like was it ok without being horrid? probably need to give one a go looks like all strange berry flavours too

With no sweetener was to my taste. I'll make it again, but as I said previously, it isn't like the commercial stuff.
You know you can brew a beer and it tastes like beer.
Well, I've tried MJ, Black Rock, Morgans and Brigalow. As well as making it from apple juice.
And none of them are like a commercial cider. Always a bit bland.
But yes, OK, without being horrid. Definitely drinkable.

I gave one of my neighbours a bottle of MJ cider with no sweetener. She didn't like it.
The next one, I added just over half of the sweetener. I didn't like it at all. But my neighbour thought it was OK.

If you don't mind dry cider I would consider making it without  the sweetener.
And finding somewhere local that sells the Bickfords. I contacted them on Facebook and they told me the one place I can get it on the Central Coast.
If the cider isn't to your liking add the cordial when pouring.

I know it's not cheap. A bit of money to splash out just to try it.
I'm lucky as I get a discount. I asked the bloke where I buy my supplies if he could order one in.
He got a few and he says it sales well. So I did him a favour by asking.
I haven't used any of the berry flavours. Just the Apple Cider.

I did take a couple of bottles up to another forummer last week.
I'll ask him what he thinks of it.