I want to make Raspberry Cider.

I'm new to homebrewing, just started my third batch - five one gallon carboys using a Youngs Brew Buddy Cider kit.

Instead of using the yeast and yeast nutrient that comes in the kit, i have used some Vin Classe wine yeast i got a few months back before i found the youngs kits in my local Wilkinsons store.

Ive pitched my yeast and yeast nutrient and am using a blow of tube set up from all five carboys as I've found this yeast to be very active for the initial fermentation period.

I would like to add a different flavour to my cider as the previous batch i made tasted like a Sainsburys Basics cider ( which was pleasant enough but not what im after this time ). Ive read on a few other forums that i could add fruit puree so i have purchased some raspberry puree.

my question is how much do i need to add to each carboy to give a nice raspberry taste and aroma?

Also should i add during primary or at bottling?

previously i have racked straight from primary to the bottling bucket and then carbed and aged in the bottles, i dont want to add the puree at bottling and in turn make a load of bombs!?!

Im taking this batch with me to this years Reading Music festival :rockin: and don't want them exploding in my car.

Sorry if this question has been posted before, i couldnt find the answer i needed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The raspberry ciders I've made were 1# per gallon of cider gives good raspberry flavor still having trouble with bottle best success is pasteurizing after crabbing up enough.

Jon

I used 12 oz per gal both raspberry and blackberry. I got a kinda bitter taste and not so much berry flavor. Letting it sit a while now, see if it improves.

What exactly comes in a cider kit other than yeast? Some apple concentrate specifically for cider?

Thanks guys - so im looking at about 24 oz per gallon? seems like alot to me.??

@JNEL73 what does a # constitute in weight or volume?

if i just stir in during primary after the initial fermentation process has seemed to die down do you think i will be ok?

@Fizzycist - Yeh you get exactly that - its just a concentrated syrup that you add a kilo of sugar to and then dilute up to 40 pints. I think next time ill just go with one of the recipes on here.

Just started two 1 gal. batches. One with strawberries and the other with sliced peaches. 12 oz. of frozen fruit added to the apple juice and sugar. I have not added the yeast starter yet in this pic:

does anyone have a complete recipe for raspberry cider

would you have to heat the fruit to kill any bacteria before tossing into the primary? bacteria ferments sugars to a sour ethanoic acid instead of ethyl alcohol.

or is there no chance of bacteria from frozen fruit?

I suppose if you choose not to sterilize the fruit you could have a gallon of Raspberry Apple Cider Vinegar. It may make a nice vinaigrette for a salad.

You have to sanatize the fruit somehow - boiling is one way of doing it. Also it has to go in before bottling (primary, late primary, secondary, etc) unless you pasturize after bottling, like right after. They yeast will eat the fruit sugar and cause bottle bombs.

ACbrewer said:

You have to sanatize the fruit somehow - boiling is one way of doing it. Also it has to go in before bottling (primary, late primary, secondary, etc) unless you pasturize after bottling, like right after. They yeast will eat the fruit sugar and cause bottle bombs.

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You ask -KingofSweden- if you need to sanitize juice from frozen fruit or fruit concentrate. If you are using commercial fruit concentrate - and you are in the USA - I am sure that on the package there will be some statement that describes how the juice was preserved - The word "sorbate" refers to a chemical sanitizer which results in the juice having a long shelf life and will not be successfully fermented. The term pasteurized will suggest a different method of preservation. The addition of sorbate prevents yeast from reproducing.
The package might also say that the contents were UV or heat pasteurized.

My point: in the USA it is rather difficult to sell processed foods that have not undergone some method of eliminating and controlling bacteria and fungal growth. Personally, I am quite happy to rely on FDA required and reviewed processes. If juice was pasteurized by the packer. It is pasteurized when I bought it and remains pasteurized until I open it. And if when I open it I pitch the yeast then I trust that for all intents and purposes, the first significant colony of organisms contaminating the juice is the yeast I just pitched. In other words, there is nothing to be anxious about.

If, however, you process the juice yourself (pressing or squeezing juice from fresh fruit) then you do need to add K-meta (Campden tablets) to kill bacteria and fungi. After all , the fruit may be covered in bacteria and wild yeast. You wait 24 hours before pitching the yeast after crushing and adding 1 tablet for each gallon of liquid. The benefit of adding K-meta (potassium meta-bisulfite) is that if you heat juice to pasteurize it then you will likely evaporate off the more volatile aromatics and flavor molecules. Not a problem, IMO, if you are looking for a wine close to rocket fuel in terms of its alcohol content or you are making the wine (or cider) simply for the buzz. If , on the other hand, you are trying to bring out all the nuances of flavors and smells the fruit has to offer then at appropriately low doses of K-meta you are unable to detect the presence of the free SO2 (that is the bactericide in K-meta) and it does not mask the flavors or the nose of the fruit. So, if you buy commercially prepared juices then they are almost certainly sanitized when packaged. If you press or squeeze the juice from the fruit then you need to make sure that all unwanted bacteria are history.

I use 6 gallons of apple juice. 3 cans of raspberry apple juice concentrate. Ferment. Then bottle with 1 can of the concentrate for a primer.

Randzor said:

I use 6 gallons of apple juice. 3 cans of raspberry apple juice concentrate. Ferment. Then bottle with 1 can of the concentrate for a primer.

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How did it his turn out Randzor? Lightly carbed?

On the lighter carved side. It had a faint raspberry taste to it.