Store-bought Fruit Juice Ciders

[Gonzo_Don]

Anybody tried to make a cider from any of the hundreds of juice blends available at the grocery store? I normally make straight apple--5 gallons of juice, 2# of sugar, a packet of champagne yeast. Ferments out dry as a powderhouse and I add a can of thawed apple juice concentrate at bottling time, give it 2 weeks to carbonate in plastic bottles, and then cold crash it when the bottles get hard.
Yesterday, I got a wild hair and decided I'd try Northland Blueberry / Blackberry /Acai juice - only a gallon - with a cup of sugar and a packet of champagne yeast. It's fermenting like a madman now and it's got a nice fruity smell (in the closet where I stashed my gallon jug w/airlock.
I'm anxious to see what I come up with, but if anybody's tried it, let me know how it did. Thanks!

 

[thelema5]

I've never tried using those juice blends, but I have used blueberry and cranberry "juice from concentrate" straight from the bottle, adding them to separate batches of apple must before pitching. They worked beautifully.

Reading the ingredients of the one you mentioned I don't see any reason why these wouldn't ferment out nicely; the components are all juices from concentrate, with no preservatives.

I'd curious to know how this comes out.

 

[Evilgrin]

Either blackberry or cranberry additions to cider have turned out good for me. Fresh crushed cranberries being my favorite. Back sweetened with a can of frozen concentrate before bottling. Kirklands cran cherry blend isnt bad either. I saved a couple bottles to age and see how much it improves. It has something like 9 juices from concentrate.

 

[Caliper]

For whatever reason I always want to brew in the summer when orchard cider is harder to get. Have made several batches that were entirely store bought. Check the label for preservatives, especially k-sorb, and avoid those. But, anything that tastes good can taste better with the addition of yeast & time! I did like the addition of a little acid blend though.

 

[mtnman68]

I tried a j and strawberry, half and half. All I could taste was the apple juice, not even a hint of strawberry. The apple cider hjad a good taste to it.

 

[wilson42203]

I am currently fermenting an apple/marionberry/cinnamon cider. Here are some of my notes:

I added the following to a 5-gal carboy:
128 oz of Tree Top Fresh Pressed Honeycrisp Apple Juice
128 oz of Tree Top Fresh Pressed 3-Apple Blend Juice
128 oz of Tree Top Cider (100% crisp apple cider)
(1) 64-oz bottle of Kroger 100% apple juice
(1) 1-gal bottle (minus about 12 oz) of Kroger 100% apple juice (or 116 oz).

(2) 35-oz bottles of Oregon Fruit in Hand Original Marion Blackberry pourable fruit.

2.5 tsp of Pectic Enzyme

3 cinnamon sticks

Dry Nottingham yeast, rehydrated

It started at 1.052


It's been the carboy since May 21st, and I just did my first readings and tasting today. Again, more notes:

Today, the gravity was 1.005 (currently 6.17% ABV) and it’s still fermenting, bubbling about once every 4 seconds. The temp is 66 degrees, and I would like it to stay there or colder. The aroma has a fairly normal cider aroma—some light sweetness, but I can also detect the cinnamon and the marionberries. The flavor also still has a bit of sweetness. The nose is refreshing and it leaves a moderately tart finish with a hint of cinnamon and alcohol.

I was a little worried that the cinnamon and marionberries would not jive, but they are actually complementing each other quite nicely. I hope to do another of these in the fall and have it ready to give away at the holidays.