Blueberry cider.

[Angus MacDonald]

Hey folkies, how many kilos do you think I'll need for 8L of blueberry perry? I went out and picked some blueberries the day and I reckon I have 1kg of blueberries in my hat.

 

[Nate_k]

Im not sure about the conversion but I just did my blueberry cider with about 2 pounds for 6 gallons. I've read a bunch of different amounts to use. I just went with a happy medium.

 

[dmtaylor]

I believe 2.5 to 3kg would be best for 8L. I haven't used blueberries yet..... but I will in a few months, and that's how much I'm going to use.

Cheers.

 

[Angus MacDonald]

Thanks guys. I could only pick 1kg just now and got impatient. So I went with 1kg of blueberries for about 8L. Will find out how it went when they're bottled and matured.

Im not sure about the conversion but I just did my blueberry cider with about 2 pounds for 6 gallons. I've read a bunch of different amounts to use. I just went with a happy medium.

2lbs for 6 gallons would be a kilo for 22L so I'd either say you're going light... or I went heavy with 1kg for 8L. Find out in November once they're drinkable I guess.

 

[dmtaylor]

Thanks guys. I could only pick 1kg just now and got impatient. So I went with 1kg of blueberries for about 8L. Will find out how it went when they're bottled and matured.

2lbs for 6 gallons would be a kilo for 22L so I'd either say you're going light... or I went heavy with 1kg for 8L. Find out in November once they're drinkable I guess.

I'm sure 2lb in 6 gallons is very light. It will turn the cider pink and that's about it.

Your ratio of 1kg in 8L might make a darker pink, and hopefully you'll be able to taste it too.

 

[Maylar]

Only did one berry cider, with 12 oz frozen mixed berries in a gallon secondary. Nice color and you could definitely pick out the flavor on the finish. I'd do that again.

 

[madscientist451]

Adding water to the blueberries then fermenting? Or are you adding blueberries to apple juice and then fermenting that?
The apples I can get around here are make a somewhat acidic cider, and I've found that adding fruit makes the acidity problem worse.
Also, most of the blueberry flavor seems to go away in the fermenting process.
But I've had good luck racking mead (that has finished fermenting) on to blueberries. The yeast will kick off again, but the presence of alcohol subdues the yeast somewhat, and you're left with more blueberry flavor.

 

[Angus MacDonald]

To bring out the juices of the berries (and also deal with any pesky critters in the flesh that I failed to notice) I slow boiled them like I would a jam, but in some of the apple juice instead of adding sugar. Oh yeah, I added some cinnamon bark while heating them too. Then once the berries were almost at bursting point I mashed them and stuck them in with the rest of the apple juice. The apple juice is 100% from Aldi, no preservatives etc. It's currently a deep purple colour through the plastic bucket. I can tell the yeast loved it, the purple foam reached a height of 15cm or so up the side.

 

[Nate_k]

So after letting it ferment and sit in the secondary for a while I took a little sample taste and I agree it was good color but not enough flavor. I did some research and talked to the guys at the local beer supply store they recommended a bottle of extract. I added that and let it sit for a while longer and took another sample, much better flavor than before. I think next time I make a cider like this I will add more fresh to try to avoid adding any extract but so far I am happy with the results.

 

[Angus MacDonald]

Mine tasted blueberryish so I bottled and carbonated. Letting it mature now for a couple of weeks before I test one. Came out about 6.83% so should be interesting.

 

[Angus MacDonald]

Ok folks. Here's the finished product. Tastes of blueberries but it's not as sweet as commercial blueberry cider. Apparently I filtered it too well because it's supposed to be sparkling but there was no leftover yeast to give it that oomph when I added sugar lol.

 

[bmd2k1]

Looks awesome! [emoji111]

 

[Saunassa]

Ok folks. Here's the finished product. Tastes of blueberries but it's not as sweet as commercial blueberry cider. Apparently I filtered it too well because it's supposed to be sparkling but there was no leftover yeast to give it that oomph when I added sugar lol.View attachment 587242

If it is anything like the hopped mead I made it took about 4 weeks in the basement to carbonate. I think the clarifier i used worked better then I thought it would plus higher abv.

 

[OffbeatBrew]

Ok folks. Here's the finished product. Tastes of blueberries but it's not as sweet as commercial blueberry cider. Apparently I filtered it too well because it's supposed to be sparkling but there was no leftover yeast to give it that oomph when I added sugar lol.View attachment 587242

Looks great! I made a very dry blueberry cider, and it's not my favorite... In the future I'd want there to be more residual sugar and not let the blueberries ferment out. Mine tastes kind of like I added some cheap red wine to a dry cider . Hope yours is more to your liking!