magnums strawberry cider

miker

hi there totally new to this homebrewing,i bought a homebrew online starter kit and decided to try a magnums strawberry cider.its been fermenting for just over a week now.its sitting at approx 1000 on the hydrometer ,i might be going offshore for 2 weeks so dont know wether to bottle it now or leave it til get home??also do i need to sterilise the bottles i am going to be using?? many thanks. michael

HBO_Staff

Hi Michael, it sounds like a nice and low reading, as long as it is constant and the reading has stopped changing, and all signs of small bubbles rising through the liquid to the surface have stopped, it will be fine to bottle. Even if the bottles are new it is a wise precaution to sterilise them, or at least rinse in warm water to minimise the risk of any contamination, so we recommend you do sterilise them to be on the safe side - it wont take too long and is worth making sure everything is clean. The bottles can then be primed with sugar, sealed, and left to condition for a few weeks, the longer the better for the full strawberry flavours to develop, ideally somewhere warm for a bit to help the sugars dissolve, then you could move it somewhere a few degrees cooler to help it clear, but this is not essential

miker

I checked the reading 4 days ago and it was 1035.was just worried about leaving it an extra 2 weeks without bottling it? i got sugar drops in the kit so was just going to pop 1 in each bottle.

HBO_Staff

If you check the reading is constant then we would bottle it, another 2 weeks would be OK but is not ideal. It sounds lieke you are probably brewing at a good room temperature of 20 degrees C or so, so fermentation will be fairly quick. With the carbonation drops, if using 500ml bottles then either 1 or 2 per bottle will be good, depending on how fizzy you like your cider, often people use 1 per 500ml bottle for beers, and 2 for lagers and ciders, but you could try some with one and the rest with 2 and see which you like best as it is personal preference

miker

just checked it just now and the airlock has definetly moved and the lid is more dome shaped again so maybe just leave it a few days yet ?and get my girlfriend to bottle it up at the weekend if im away.

HBO_Staff

sounds like it's not finished so you will best to wait in that case. A couple of weeks is not ideal but it would more than likely be fine, if it can be bottled at the weekend that would be better though, let us know how it turns out

miker

hi there.well left it an extra few days. left it maybe 10 days bottled before trying it and its maybe a little bit bitter tasting but im either getting used to it or as its maturing its getting better!!very happy with it and now have a mixed fruit cider just bottled up!so cheers and thanks for the advice

miker

forgot to ask. im going to be making lager next and just wondered is it ok to bottle it as i have done with the cider? and also do i add sugar drops when/ if bottling??

HBO_Staff

The flavours will definitely improve and mellow if you leave it in the bottles for a while, with some of the fruit flavoured ciders we think they can lack a bit of taste in the early stages after bottling and ours improved a lot for being left for a few weeks longer. Lager is much the same, you make it in the same way and we prefer bottles for lager so it can be chilled in the fridge easily. You need to prime the bottles with sugar in the same way, for 500ml bottles we usually use either 2 carbonation drops or a heaped teaspoon of sugar

miker

hi,still drinking the mixed fruit cider, its definitely getting more fruity tasting now ,but is there any concentrate i could add next time to make it more fruity tasting?

HBO_Staff

That's good news, there are a couple of options if wanting to alter a kit, to concentrate the flavour you can reduce the volume you make it to, but this does also increase the alcohol strength. A 40 pint kit might be made to say 36 pints to concentrate it. Also people like to experiment with the kits, what they will do is use the kit as a base and then experiment with it, by say adding some washed and crushed or pulped fruit to the fermentation so the flavours infuse into it as it ferments. You could if you like try experimenting by adding a fruit juice concentrate too, such as blackcurrant to add extra fruit flavour to it, etc

daveyOWLS

Hi just bottled my magnum strawberry cider,any idea how long it needs keeping somewhere warm before moving somewhere colder? I lost my instructions! \m/

HBO_Staff

As a general rule it is a good idea to leave somewhere warm for a few days, between 3 and 5, around 20 degrees C or so, this just helps the priming sugar to dissolve and get secondary fermentation going, then you can move somewhere a few degrees cooler and leave it to clear and condition. Often with flavoured ciders they benefit from being left for a while as it helps the flavours to develop fully

ssylviahop

hi im new to the winemaking  business , ive just ordered your home brew wine making kit gonna try 6 bottles first we got 2 grape vines in our garden , not quite ripe yet ,,didn't want them to go to waste so I thought id try a new hobby , can anyone give me any tips for wine making as im a novice ,

HBO_Staff

The general tips from the wine making guide apply, but you will be getting your juice form the grapes rather than a concentrate, which is here;

http://homebrewonline.vanillaforums.com/discussion/492/just-starting-here-s-a-handy-checklist-and-useful-things-to-know-for-wine#latest

Make sure everything is clean and sterilised, and then select an appropriate yeast such as from the Gervin range, and it should ferment away nicely