Strongbow?

Yes it's mass produced stuff, but my GF loves it, doesn't drink much else.

Is it like beer, hard to produce a good clone?

I know nothing about brewing cider.

The tough part is finding out what apples are used in a specific cider. I've never seen a list.

"Ingredients: Fermented apple juice or apple juice concentrate, sugars, water, citric acid, ascorbic acid, sulferdioxide ( to preserve freshness as sulfiting agent)."

It's not as tart as other kinds of sparkling megaswill cider, so use mainly dessert apples for it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my assumption is that your girlfriend is not a cider connoisseur, therefore would probably not notice if the apple blend wasn't quite right. I'm sure she will be very pleased with any fairly light bodied, inoffensive, clean, crisp sparkling cider that her significant other makes her. Cloning isn't as important a concept in the cider world as it is to beer.

I would use a blend of the eating/dessert/sweet apples available at your supermarket, ferment to dryness, add a couple of tbsp of artificial sweetener to your bottling bucket along with the required amount of bottling sugar for a sparkling cider, then bottle.

If you want to use storebought apple juice, go right ahead. I personally would blend up the apples in a food processor until they're in little chunks about the size of a fingernail, fill up the fermentor with them, put some pectic enzyme and 1/3 a tsp of acid blend (and some campdens if you want) into a bottle of storebought apple juice and pour it on top, pour more juice on top until the apple chunks are submerged, swish/stir it around a bit, leave it for 24 hours, then pitch your yeast. That should work nicely.

But it's Strongbow, so just fermented storebought juice should probably be fine.

+1 to Pith.

Has she had any other cider besides Strongbow? Even Woodchuck or Hornsby's?

If you let her help in the process of making it - she will likely be thrilled with the results.

She has tried a number of others and swears that it has to be Strongbow.

Ole English
Woodpecker
Magners
etc.

I suppose the worst thing will happen is I inherit 15-25litres of cider to drink

You could always pour Strongbow into brown bottles, recap them, and be THE MAN!

Do you have a filter and way to force carbonate? From my experience I doubt you'll get any closer than 80% despite following any advice. If she is a keeper she'll love your attempt either way. Cheers.

I see where you are all going. It needs to be fermented, sweetened and carbed. So the options are to stop the yeast with sulphate and sweeten, but have to force carb or... use non fermentable sweetening.

I don't think it's worth the risk of 5gl, but 1gl maybe. Ferment it, then prime it with sugar and add nonfermentable sweetener (any ideas?), bottle and then store room temp for 2 weeks, fridge for 2 weeks?

If I can find apple juice she likes, I can buy a gallon of it (assuming it has no preservatives) and attempt to ferment it with glucouse syrup to up the OG.

venquessa said:

I see where you are all going. It needs to be fermented, sweetened and carbed. So the options are to stop the yeast with sulphate and sweeten, but have to force carb or... use non fermentable sweetening.

I don't think it's worth the risk of 5gl, but 1gl maybe. Ferment it, then prime it with sugar and add nonfermentable sweetener (any ideas?), bottle and then store room temp for 2 weeks, fridge for 2 weeks?

If I can find apple juice she likes, I can buy a gallon of it (assuming it has no preservatives) and attempt to ferment it with glucouse syrup to up the OG.

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If it's proper, undiluted juice/cider, it should be approximately 10 percent sugar anyway, which will give you 5& abv. Strongbow is 5.4%, so your juice should probably be fine without the extra syrup unless it's under 10 percent sugar.

Pith said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my assumption is that your girlfriend is not a cider connoisseur, therefore would probably not notice if the apple blend wasn't quite right.

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I like the cut of your jib. That has to be one of the nicest partial slights I've seen in some time.

johnsnownw said:

I like the cut of your jib. That has to be one of the nicest partial slights I've seen in some time.

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Thanks. The ratios of "cider drinkers:cider connoisseurs" is similar to the ratio of "Strongbow drinkers:non-Strongbow drinkers". Of course there's some overlap between the four categories, but "some" is the operative word here.

I recognise your username from somewhere on HBT, but don't remember where... do you?

I've done some ciders using Musselman's preservative free cider that comes out in the fall and available at Walmart, I prefer the results I have gotten with S-04 ale yeast. I've also cut back on the acidic blend I was using, down to about 1/4 tsp per 5 gal. Yeast nutrient helps too.

I have added up to a 1/4lb of lactose to sweeten and add some body... personally next time I may go much higher.

"How would you like me to brew you cider?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we go to the supermarket, find some preservative free apple juice you like, ferment it, sweeten it and then bottle and carb it... we should have Strongbow...", I lied.

<... you can only guess ...>, she seen through me.

"I think there is enough brewing stuff with your stuff......"

So, back to beer
LOL

Pith said:

Thanks. The ratios of "cider drinkers:cider connoisseurs" is similar to the ratio of "Strongbow drinkers:non-Strongbow drinkers". Of course there's some overlap between the four categories, but "some" is the operative word here.

I recognise your username from somewhere on HBT, but don't remember where... do you?

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Nope, cannot say that I do...I've posted in many threads.

FWIW, I do not care for Strongbow either, but would also not consider myself a connoisseur just yet.

I mean, I still enjoy Blackthorn on occasion :cross:

cider is pretty easy, surprise her with a batch.

NineMilBill said:

You could always pour Strongbow into brown bottles, recap them, and be THE MAN!

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Call me cruel, but this makes me want you to give her a blind taste test - make your cider, then re-bottle some strongbow side by side, and see what she likes better!