Having brewed a couple of batches of cider recently ( both 'turbo cider' & from kits ) I'm looking at doing something different.
A 15L batch, consisting of 2 Black Rock cider kits ( each of which is supposed to make 23L @ 4.5% ABV ) 4L apple juice ( may increase that to 8L ) and however much water's needed to make up the 13-15L.
Undecided whether or not to add sugar, depends on the starting SG.
Going to use the supplied yeast, but got some Mangrove Jack's M02 cider yeast ready just in case.
Anyone else tried anything similar?
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Starting SG was 1.065, finishing SG was 0.996, which means somewhere around 9% ABV
With this planned brew, I'll either end up with apple wine or something extremely sweet ( or both )
2 cans Black Rock Cider, 4L 100% apple juice, enough water to make it up to 13L
Tested the SG when mixed, 1.084, so added enough sugar to take it up to a nice round 1.09
Probably overkill, but used the yeast supplied with both cans % some yeast nutrient.
Finishing SG for the base kit is listed as 1.006
By my calculations, that would be about 11% ABV
Tasted the mix ( before adding the yeast ) and it's extremely sweet
Whether it's M02 ( which is supposed to have an attenuation of 95-100% ) is another matter.
Data sheet I have for Mangrove Jack's yeasts lists M02 as being good for up to 12% ABV
I'll be happy with a lower alcohol level than that and a sweet - but not too sweet - taste.
So surprised at this that I double-checked it using another hydrometer.
Still a bit of froth on top of the mix, but don't know if it'll fall much more, although the last Black Rock Cider I made got down to 1.000 after about 12 days.
By my calculations, it's currently at around 11.5% ABV
Still cloudy ( naturally ) but tastes OK & thankfully not too sharp or dry.
That should be about 11.8% ABV.
On-line calculators also say that that's an attenuation of 100%
Looks like it may have finished, as there's no activity that I can see.
Split it 50/50 between 'sparkling' & 'still' ( although if past experiences are anything to go by, the 'still' will still have some fizz )