Mr beer cider kit

[brewshki]

Hi Everyone,

I got a mr beer hard cider kit for my birthday and it really didn't turn out great. from what I've read on the beer forums (i got a kit for that as well), I am pretty sure that it was because it fermented at too hight of a temp (the lowest being maybe 78) and the fact that i bottled it after a week. this was a total noob mistake, I know. after bottling, i let it sit about 3 weeks before i tried one and it had a real bite to it and really was not great. i tried one again a week later and it was about the same.

However, i still want to give it a go. I don't really want to buy more mr beer kits as they aren't exactly cheap.

Any suggestions of a relatively simply but good recipe? Maybe any tips to watch out for or proper steps that mr beer may not go over.

Thanks!

 

[mkyl428]

You can make a pretty good cider with just some pasteurized preservative free juice some sugar and ale yeast

Try
2 gallons apple juice of your choice
1 cup sugar
1pkg Nottingham Ale yeast

Try and keep the temp low around 60°-65°F if possible let it ferment about 3 weeks check the gravity, prime & bottle

 

[brewshki]

is it really that easy? why a lower temp?

 

[Fatman_Brew]

If you have a cooler or tote bin large enough to fit the fermenter and a large bowl of ice off to the side, you can keep the temps lower. Most ale yeasts produce better flavor profiles in the mid-60 degree range.

 

[dravack]

You can make a pretty good cider with just some pasteurized preservative free juice some sugar and ale yeast

Try
2 gallons apple juice of your choice
1 cup sugar
1pkg Nottingham Ale yeast

Try and keep the temp low around 60°-65°F if possible let it ferment about 3 weeks check the gravity, prime & bottle

I did this in a 1 gallon carboy with ~3/4 a cup of sugar. And it turned out fine. Still waiting for carbonation I just bottled today. But, what he said should turn out a tasty batch. Mine turned out slightly tart but not to bad. I also did a second batch with red star champagne yeast. It's cheaper and honestly turned out just as good imo. Though I will say there is a noticeable difference.


Edit: obviously I used 1 gallon of juice not 2 but should still taste the same

Oh and I left it in a hall closet probably around 70 in the house. Mind you that's with this crappy thermostat I currently have so take the temp with a grain of salt.

 

[brewshki]

i recently bought a second hand chest freezer and am attaching an stc 1000 soon so i will have full control over the temps. i live in CA so my problem is that its hot all the time haha

 

[brewshki]

That looks really close to the apelfein recipe that floats around a lot here. Anyone ever try that? It seems super simple.


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[ohiochris]

Ive noticed that fermenting at lower temp turns out better but I get pretty good results in fall/winter when its 65 to 70 degrees in the house. Not as good in summer when its warmer and the fermentation is much faster , but still not terrible.

 

[mkyl428]

I have not tried the apfelwein recipe but it is basically a really strong cider. It really is that easy the recipe I gave you should give you a nice dry sparkling cider something more like Crispin than Angry Orchard. It is as easy or as hard as you want to make it

 

[brewshki]

I have not tried the apfelwein recipe but it is basically a really strong cider. It really is that easy the recipe I gave you should give you a nice dry sparkling cider something more like Crispin than Angry Orchard. It is as easy or as hard as you want to make it

Wait, how do I make angry orchard?



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[brewshki]

I have not tried the apfelwein recipe but it is basically a really strong cider. It really is that easy the recipe I gave you should give you a nice dry sparkling cider something more like Crispin than Angry Orchard. It is as easy or as hard as you want to make it

Wait, how do I make angry orchard? That is my favorite cider. What are the characteristics of that that I would want to recreate? I'm really new to a lot of this so I don't really know the differences



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[mkyl428]

You would need to back sweeten either with nonfermentable sugar like splenda, or use fermentable sugar & pasteurize your bottles if you want a sweeter cider. For your first few runs I would recommend making a simple dry cider like the recipe posted above till you get the process down.

If you must have sweet cider I would recommend going the unfermentable sugar route at least for your first few tries...

When you are ready for something more advanced like bottle pasteurizing see the sticky at the top of the cider forum here.

 

[brewshki]

Thanks!


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