Newbie alert!

[lordspudz]

Hi, been thinking about making my own cider for a while and have finally taken the plunge and invested in a press. I thought, to ease myself in gently, I'd try making some of this turbo cider I keep hearing about. I've watched a few you tube videos and it is apparent that having clean, sterilised, equipment is important. I have some sterilising powder in the kit I purchased but was wondering if a product like Milton would suffice. I noticed in a couple of videos that the 'brewers' left some liquid from the sterilisation in their DJ's and poured the apple juice into it. Is this right?? I'm sure I will have a load more questions as my journey progresses but I'll keep it to a minimum for now

 

[bracconiere]

i'm not familiar with turbo cider....but if it's the same turbo as what i make, i wouldn't waste fresh pressed juice on it!

Welcome!

 

[CKuhns]

I understand the term "Turbo Cider" is referenced when using store bought apple juice or apple juice from frozen apple juice concentrate. (FAJC). I have been relatively happy with the results if adding spices and or fruit and in My Opinion a great way to start if your new to Cider making.

As far as sanitizers. Any will do. Just be sure to follow the directions.

I am not familiar with the Milton product so cant speak to that.

I use Star San and some claim you can use it and not be too concerned about putting juice on top of it but Star San has a pretty low pH. Regardless of the product I certainly would not just pour juice on top of it. Think about what these sanitizers are intended for. To remove or kill any yeast, bacteria etc on your equipment prior to pitching yeast. I have had good success with Star San and although do not leave any liquid prior to adding apple juice i don't rinse it with clean water either so some very small amount of foam, residue and or liquid remains and as far as I can tell have had no trouble with my ferments.

 

[Chalkyt]

As CKuhns says, there are some opinions that you don't have to rinse Starsan out of your equipment (howtomakehardcider.com), in fact I have seen some claims that it can act as a yeast nutrient. Having said that, I am super fussy about cleaning and sterilising to the extent that after using Starsan I swish out with a small amount of boiling water and also Starsan and rinse everything before it is stored away (I use a spray bottle).

Most products like Starsan are based on phosphoric acid so it is worth downloading any relevant MSDS, review the warnings and make up your own mind.

Milton is an antibacterial product primarily used for disinfecting infant feeding bottles and the like, and claims to be O.K. if used without rinsing. I have used it without any ill effects but decided to go "mainstream" and use Starsan. One of the active ingredients in Milton is sodium hypochlorite so it is a chlorine/bleach based product which shouldn't be used in conjunction with Starsan. As above, download the MSDS and see what you are dealing with.