Lakeybloke's Home Brew Wednesday #4 Video

This week, i talk about doing  your own Hopped Turbo Cider

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kqJtrss3nQ

Lakeybloke's Home Brew Wednesday #3 Video

This week we cover my Raspberry, Apple & Grape Brew, and also my Apple Sauce Brew.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uz3ajm20eA

Lakeybloke's Home Brew Wednesday #2 Video

This week we talk about Strawberry Ribena Brews:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EGOdUD8650

Lakeybloke's Home Brew Wednesday #1 Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxgxTC-rDts

Lakeybloke's Sansburys Apple And Pear Cider

Lakeybloke's RAG (Raspberry, Apple And Grape)

This is not really a cider as such as the apple content is equal to the rest of the contents, but the only reason I knocked this brew up was because Waitrose had a special on "Welch's" Grape juices (other juices are also available, folks). I think they were around 70-80p a litre on special offer, and are usually around £1.29.

ABV: 6.6%

Date Bottled: 17/03/13

Recipe: 1 4.5ltr Demijohn, 3 litres of Welch's Grape & Raspberry Juice, 1 litre of Welch's Grape, Pear & Apple Juice, 200g brewing sugar or granulated sugar, 1tsp Pectolase, 1tsp Yeast Nutrient

Yeast: Champagne Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Being as this is more of a Raspberry drink than an apple juice, the colour is as to be expected. A rather nice purple coloiur. The picture below gives the impression that it is slightly cloudy, but it really isn't. It's crystal clear.

Score: [8.5/10]

Aroma: The smell of raspberries is immediately apparent, but also rather alcoholic.

Score: [5.5/10]

Taste: Much like my earlier brews, this one has dried out a fair amount, but the raspberry flavour has remained. there certainly is no hint of apples or grapes though.

Score: [4.5/10]

Fizz: This brew has a slight to medium fizz, which is perfectly adequate for this type of brew. I can't imagine that any additional fizziness would give any additional benefit to the brew,

Score: [5.5/10]

Verdict: I did taste this brew about 2 months into ageing and it wasn't very nice. I was, in fact, in two minds as to whether to throw it or not. 4 months down the line has certainly improved it, though you you would find it difficult to taste any hint of grape or apples in there. I blame the juice myself, as Welch's juice straight out of the carton isn't one of my favourites. If pushed on it, i would say that I probably wouldn't do this one again.

Lakeybloke's RAG - 6.6%

Weapons Grave VIM - Revisited

Weapons Grade VIM

It's been 2 and bit months since I last sampled this brew, and as it is now 6 months since I bottled it, I felt it was as good a time as any to revisit the brew and see if my opinions have changed since my last review, and after an additional 8 or so weeks of ageing.

ABV: 6.6%

Date Bottled: 19/03/13

Recipe: 19ltrs Tesco Value Apple Juice, 2ltrs Red Grape Juice, 5 Bramley cooking apples, tannin, pectolase, yeast nutrient, Malic Acid, 1kg demerera sugar

Yeast: Nottingham Ale Yeast

Presentation (Colour): The slight murkyness hasn't really dissipated in 2 months It's still a light golden colour that one would expect from brewing a scrumpy type cider. 

Original Score: [8/10] Revised Score: [8/10]

Aroma: The brew has a crisp and sharp appley aroma that is not unpleasant at all. You can really smell the REAL apples in there. With the addition ageing time, it has improved a little.

Original Score: [6/10] Revised Score: [6.5/10]

Taste: Unsurprisingly, this is where the improvement is a little more noticeable. you can really taste the Bramleys in it, It goes down very smoothly with an immediate appley aftertaste that isn't unpleasant at all. It's quite dry though, and would benefit a little from back-sweetening I think 

Original Score: [7/10] Revised Score: [7.5/10]

Fizz: Still has a very low fizz - which works quite well with it's scrumpy-like taste. I think I was perhaps a little mean scoring as low as I did initially with this one, but as this brew is quite close to what one would expect from a traditional "Scrumpy", It really is all that is required.

Original Score: [4/10] Revised Score: [5/10]

Overall Score (Original): 6.5/10, Revised Score: 7/10

Verdict: The flavour has certainly improved since my initial taste test in June, but not significantly. It's not a bad experimental brew really, but can easily see it dividing tastes in cider-drinkers. The real flavour of the apples has given what may have been a slightly dull brew a bit more of a "kick" which is not unplesant, but the ageing hasn't worked wonders to make an average brew anything other than a JUST above average brew. Would I make it again? Probably not, but it was certainly worth trying the addition of REAL apples into the juice.

Weapons Grade "VIM" Brew - 6.6%

Liver Cleanse!

OK, so it's been nearly 2 weeks off the beer to give my liver a little rest and cleanse! 

Later today, I will be testing my previously brewed ciders including:

Turbo Weapons Grade VIM - 6.7% (Bottled 19th March 2013)
Turbo "RAG" (Raspberry, Apple & Grape) - 6.8% (Bottled 20th March 2013) 
Lakeyblokes Turbo Pear Cider - 5.8% (Bottled 18th May 2013)

I have to say, the bottles are all looking crystal clear, so looking forward to sampling them!

Reviews, brewing methods, pics & more info up on the TC group and blog later this afternoon...

Turbo Cider 17/18

Date Bottled: 10/06/13

ABV: 5.5%

Recipe: 4 litres of Tesco Value Juice from concentrate, 200g Caster Sugar, 2 tsp Malic Acid, 1 tsp Pectolase, 1 strong cup of tea (made from 2 tea bags)

Yeast: Wheat Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Nice and fairly clear light cider, with a slight scrumpy "look" to it. Very little sediment, but managed to pour some into the glass, giving off the "tornado" haze that is seen in the picture, making it seem more scrumpy-like than it is. In the bottle, it looks fantastic. [8/10]

Aroma: No evidence of yeast at all, a nice subtle apple aroma that is akin to the original juice [7/10] 

Taste: Not too far away from the original apple juice flavour, with the Wheat yeast giving a more stronger taste I feel than traditional cider yeasts do. Rather nice. [7.5/10]

Fizz: Slight fizz initially, enough to dance on the tongue and keep it interested when drinking. [7/10]

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Verdict: Quite a successful attempt this one. The alcohol % is just about right for the strong juice flavour, as the wheat yeast seems to bring out more flavour than traditional cider yeasts. Need to be careful though when pouring (as with all homebrews) to ensure sediment is kept in the bottle as this will affect the flavour and appearance in the glass.

Turbo Cider 17/18 - 5.5%

Turbo Cider 5

"Turbo Cider 5"

SG: 1.044
FG: 1.015

ABV: 3.8%

Date Bottled: 23/03/13

Recipe: 1/2 litre of Cranberry Juice, 4 litres of Waitrose Apple Juice, 1tsp Wine tannin, 1tsp Yeast Nutrient

Yeast: Youngs Cider Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Slightly murky, but very much a nice cider colour. [8/10]

Aroma: No evidence of yeast at all, but a very slight hint of tannin [6/10]

Taste: At this stage, it's not undrinkable, but has been overpowered by the tannin. There is still a slight apple "hit" in there, but quite disappointing overall. Will revisit in a month or so. [5/10]

Fizz: More of a scrumpy really with only a slight initial fizz. [6/10]

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Verdict: At 4 months old at the time of testing, by now this brew should be quite drinkable. It is, however overpowered by the Wine tannin and is perhaps TOO low in alcohol content to take that tannin taste away. I would do it again, but make it a more stronger brew next time at around 5.5% to 6% and maybe add some Malic Acid into the mix, as the more successful apple cider brews seem to be those with added Malic Acid. I DO very much like the slightly orange colour though, and I put this down to the added Cranberry Juice.

Turbo Cider 6

"Turbo Cider 6"

ABV: 4.7%

Date Bottled: 23/03/13

Recipe: 1/2 litre of Cranberry Juice, 4 litres of ALDI Apple Juice, 1tsp Pectolase, 1tsp Wine tannin, 1tsp Yeast Nutrient

Yeast: Youngs Cider Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Slightly murky, but light cider colour. Very pleasant [8/10]

Aroma: No evidence of yeast at all, and no hint of tannin, unlike it predecessor, TC5. A sharp smell, but not appley. [7/10] 

Taste: This cider was created at the same time as "Turbo Cider 5" (reviewed earlier), but with a different apple juice that had more sugar content, hence the slightly higher end ABV. Not really much of an apple taste, but quite dry and drinkable nonetheless. Again, with no Malic Acid added (that is actually in REAL cider apples) to help recreate the flavours released from those apples, not a big surprise it has ended up as it has. [6/10]

Fizz: Again, more of a scrumpy really with only a slight initial fizz. [6/10]

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Verdict: This brew is SLIGHTLY more drinkable than "Turbo Cider 5". This, I suspect, is most likely down to the end gravity, producing a higher alcohol content. What is missing is that "tang" that you get from using REAL cider apples. lessons have been learned that Malic (or citric) Acid should be added to ALL home brew Turbo Ciders to bring out more of the flavours in the brew.

"Jammin' Juice" Turbo Brew

"Jammin' Juice"

ABV: 4.5%

Date Bottled: 22/03/13

Recipe: 4 litres of Tropical Jammin' Fruit Juice, 1tsp Pectolase, 2tsp Malic Acid, 1tsp Wine Tannin, 1tsp Yeast Nutrient

Yeast: Youngs Super Wine Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Very similar to the original colour - "orangey" tropical fruit juice. Very little sediment [7/10]

Aroma: No evidence of yeast at all, smells very much like the original tropical fruit juice [7/10] 

Taste: This has essentially come out exactly as I would expect it to. it is basically alcoholic fruit juice and there is only evidence of a very slight alcohol taste. [7/10]

Fizz: An initial hit of fizz, but not overpowering. [7/10]

Overall Score: 7/10

Verdict: This was VERY much an attempt to do something different, other than the usual bog-standard apple brews. There is no evidence AT ALL of yeast flavours within the brew itself, which is most likely down to the type of yeast used. A refreshing summer drink though, which I quite like, but not what I would consider a "session" brew.

"Jammin' Juice" - 4.5%

"Summer" Brew

"Summer" Brew

I've seen this recipe posted elsewhere on the net, and it seemed interesting, so I decided to give it a go.

"Summer" Brew - nice and fruity!

The recipe for this batch is as follows, with an SG of 1.061 and finished at 5.1%:

2ltr Asda Apple And Blackberry Juice
2ltr Asda Apple Juice
0.5ltr Asda White Grape Juice
150g of sugar
5 cloves
Half a stick of cinnamon 
A cup of strong tea (2 tea bags)
Cider Yeast With Sweetener

Lidl "Vitafit" Brew (TC20/TC21)

So, I tested a month old brew yesterday that I made with 3.5 ltrs of Lidl "Vitafit" Juice and 1/2 litre of Cranberry/Raspberry and I have to say, it's the best one so far at so "young" an age. REALLY smooth and lots of flavour. I'd give it an 8/10 if it had more fizz, but fizz is REALLY light on it, so 7.5/10 I would do this one again

New Facebook Group

http://www.facebook.com/groups/turbocider/

SAMSONS West Country Cider Kit

ABV: 3.8%

Date Bottled: 07/04/13

Recipe: N/A

Yeast: N/A

Presentation (Colour): Nice and fairly clear light cider. Very little sediment [8/10]

Aroma: No evidence of yeast at all, a nice subtle appley aroma [6/10] 

Taste: A very smooth cider - I would question the authenticity of the "West Country", as it's not on the strong side and perhaps could have done with a more stronger yeast, or more sugar, not an awful lot of flavour, but a nice drink. [7/10]

Fizz: Excellent fizz on this one. [9/10]

Overall Score: 7.5/10

Verdict: A very successful kit cider. The yeast seemed to die out quite quickly, even though the temperature was controlled, which is a little disappointing, giving a very light and relatively low-alcohol cider. Would definitely do this again, perhaps using a different yeast next time.

Samson's West Country Cider (from a kit)

Tesco "Apple Press" Turbo Cider

Tesco "Apple Press" Turbo Cider

At the time of posting this, Tesco have a special on for the Irish "Apple Press" brand apple juice. It's quite sweet and a very cloudy juice (not unlike "Copella"), and tastes great on its own or over ice. For 40 pence a litre (usually 60p), it's an obvious choice for throwing into a DJ to rustle up a turbo cider.

This will produce roughly 14 pints of homebrew at around 22p per pint.

Tesco "Apple Press" Turbo Cider Fermenting

The recipe for this batch is as follows, with an SG of 1.061 and a FG of 1.019, making a 5.5% brew:

4.5 litres of Tesco Apple "Juice Press" Juice
200g Caster Sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Pectolase
1 tsp Wine tannin
170g Tesco Value Honey
1/2 packet Young's Cider yeast

For this batch, I am going to leave them at room temperature for 2-3 weeks and then move the DJ's to the shed for a couple of months to age. This is a different method to my usual process, where I usually immediately bottle to carbonate, once fermentation has completed.

Homebrew Recipes & Reviews - Issue #1

Strawberry Ribena Homebrew:

ABV: 5.9%

Date Bottled: 28/03/13

Recipe: 300ml Ribena, 3ltrs of supermarket Apple Juice, 200g sugar & wine tannin.

Yeast: Young's Wine Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Nice and fairly clear light red. Very little sediment [7/10]

Aroma: Quite flat, but with a very slight fruity aroma [4/10] 

Taste: A strong initial hit of alcohol, with a nice smooth Strawberry tang that stays with you [5/10]

Fizz: Very slight, but acceptable with a brew of this kind. Enough to help distinguish it between a low-alcohol wine and a "turbo" fruit brew. [5/10]

Overall Score: 5.5/10

Verdict: This was a very early attempt at trying to do something different with my brews, and it's not altogether successful. There are, however, some saving graces to the brew. At 5.9%, it's not a HIGH alcohol brew, but it should be successful enough with those that like drinks with with a fruity flavour, or low-alcohol wines.

Strawberry Ribena Homebrew - 5.9%

Weapons-Grade VIM Brew

ABV: 6.6%

Date Bottled: 19/03/13

Recipe: 19ltrs Tesco Value Apple Juice, 2ltrs Red Grape Juice, 5 Bramley cooking apples, tannin, pectolase, yeast nutrient, Malic Acid, 1kg demerera sugar

Yeast: Nottingham Ale Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Very slightly murkey, light golden colour. On a scrumpy-type brew of this kind and age, this is exactly the sort of colour one would expect. [8/10]

Aroma: Sharp, but not unpleasant appley-aroma [6/10]

Taste: Very similar to supermarket Somerset scrumpy brews, but without the strength or kick of a REAL scrumpy. Goes down very smoothly. [7/10]

Fizz: Low fizz on on this one - an initial "hit" when pouring that leaves a nice smooth froth when pouring over ice. Probaby best consumed from glasses with the ingrained neucleation points to keep the light fizz going for a while. [4/10]

Overall Score: 6.5/10

Verdict: I'm surprised I ended up scoring this one so low, but the memory of it I suspect is better than the brew itself. The blended Bramley apples certainly helped give the brew a more smoother taste though. There appears to be no evidence at all of the red grape juice added, but this in itself may have helped bring out the flavour of the apples, rather than leave any grape flavour within the brew.

Weapons-Grade "VIM" Homebrew - 6.6%

"Turbo Cider 9" Brew

ABV: 3.5%

Date Bottled: 02/05/13

Recipe: 4 litres of Lidl "Solevita" Apple Juice, 280g Tesco Every Day Value Apple Sauce, Pectolase, Tannin

Yeast: Young's Wine Yeast

Presentation (Colour): Quite murkey, light golden colour, with a fair amount of residue. This is to be expected with a young brew such as this at only 6 weeks old. [5/10]

Aroma: Hardly any aroma at all on this one, but a slight hint of yeast [4/10]

Taste: Quite sharp initially, but the sharpness is almost immediately devoured by the smoothness from the apple sauce which leaves a not altogether unpleasant and sweet after-taste. [6/10]

Fizz: Again, quite a low fizz on on this one - unlike the "VIM" brew, there is not a frothy head presented in the glass upon pouring over ice. Again, this brew would be best consumed from glasses with the ingrained neucleation points to keep the light fizz going for a while. [4/10]

Overall Score: 4.5/10

Verdict: A very low alcohol brew of this type with its smooth apple sauce after-taste will no doubt go down well with the session drinkers or those "afraid" of initial homebrew drinking. It will, however, definitely benefit from another month or two in storage before drinking.

Lakeybloke's (Infamous) Spaghetti Bolognaise Recipe

Lakeybloke's Spag Bol:

Serves 6-7 people (depending on how hungry they are!)

This is one of my favourite recipes and goes brilliantly with some crusty garlic bread:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1kg minced beef (lean or not - doesn't matter)
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
2 medium sized onions, peeled & finely chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, crushed
2 medium sized carrots, peeled & finely chopped
2 400g tins of plum tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
3 handfuls of chopped mushrooms
3 sprigs of fresh Rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 tsp of dried Oregano
1 handful of freshly chopped Basil
80g grated parmesan cheese
1 beef stock cube
5 or 6 small tomatoes, quartered
1 or 2 medium chillies, chopped (with or without seeds)
400g dried spaghetti

Method:

1. In a large pan, fry the bacon in 1tbsp Olive oil on a medium heat until it's crisp or exactly how you like it. Add the chopped onions, carrots & crushed Garlic cloves with the rosemary leaves. Fry the contents for around 10 to 15 minutes until the carrots are of a soft consistency.

2. Move the veg to one side of the pan, add 1tbsp Olive oil (if necessary) and add the mince to the other side of the pan, increase the heat a bit and stir the mince and fry it until its cooked through and nicely browned.

3. Add the tinned tomatoes, chopped chilli, oregano, tomato puree, stock cube, mushrooms, bay-leaves and basil to the pan and give everything a nice stir, breaking up the tomatoes and stock cube as you go. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and thrown them into the mix.

4. Reduce the heat of the pan to a medium heat, put the lid on and leave it to simmer for an hour and 20 minutes.

5. Add the parmesan to the sauce & mix 15 minutes before you serve. Use these 15 minutes to boil the spaghetti in slightly salted water.

6. When the spaghetti is ready, drain and add it to the pan with the bolognaise sauce and
give it a big stir, ensuring all of the pasta is coated in the sauce.

7. Remove bay-leaves and serve!

Turbo cider 17 & 18, started 28/5/13 - created with Munich Wheat Beer Yeast:

SG: 1.061

Recipe:

4 litres of Tesco Value Juice from concentrate
200g Caster Sugar
2 tsp Malic Acid
1 tsp Pectolase
1 strong cup of tea (made from 2 tea bags)
1 tsp Munich Wheat Beer yeast

Turbo Cider 19 & 20, started 3/6/13 - created with Young's Cider yeast

SG: 1.061

Recipe:

4 litres of Lidl Viafit Juice from concentrate
1/2 litre of Cranberry & Raspberry
200g Caster Sugar
2 tsp Malic Acid
1 tsp Pectolase
1 strong cup of tea (made from 2 tea bags)
1/2 packet Young's Cider yeast

Turbo Cider Recipe

Turbo Cider Recipe

Ok, so here's the basic procedure that I follow every time I rustle up a Turbo Cider from Supermarket Apple Juice. This example recipe is for a single demijohn (4.5litres).

Tools needed:

4.5ltr demijohn
A plastic tumbler (or glass)
A reasonably sized funnel
A teaspoon
Cider yeast (1/2 sachet per demijohn is fine).
A syphon (home brew shops do these, or e-bay)
PET bottles

Ingredients:

4 litres of supermarket Apple Juice (from concentrate or not - doesn't matter)
1/2 litre of Cranberry & Raspberry Juice
200g Brewers Sugar (or caster/granulated/demerera - whatever takes your fancy)
2 tsp Malic Acid (or the juice from 2 lemons)
1 tsp Pectolase*
1 strong cup of tea (made from 2 tea bags)
1/2 packet Cider yeast

* Not always absolutely necessary, but it helps when you are adding real apples, jam or tinned fruit, etc.

Instructions:

Sterlise all tools and the demijohn before adding the ingredients. (The PET bottles and syphon can be left until you are ready to bottle) I have found VWP sterilising power easy to use. Ensure you rinse all tools at least 3 times after sterilising before use. (Some cleaning agents do not need rinsing - check the label).

Mix the yeast in a sterilised tumbler with warm water (around 30-35 degrees or less) cover with some kitchen foil and let it sink. Stir after 10 mins and leave another 10 mins.

Put 2 litres of apple juice into the sterilised demijohn.

Put 1 litre of juice, tea, lemon juice, sugar & honey in a pan & heat VERY slightly to help
dissolve. Pour this into the demijohn.

Add the yeast to the demijohn and give it a bit of shake it to mix the contents.

Cider should be kept at room temperature. It's generally OK to keep between 18-26 degrees.

Depending on popular opinion, the fermentation is finished either when the airlock bubbles less than once every 2 minutes, or when you have a volume of 1.008 or below. Be aware though that some yeasts can drop out as high as 1.019. Environmental changes can also cause flcutuations. Depending on the yeast you use, you may need to add more sugar accordingly to bring up the alcohol content once it's finished.

When it's ready, bottle the cider by adding a teaspoon of sugar to sterilised PET bottles. (or use 2 Coopers drops per 500ml bottle). Ensure the syphon has been sterilised as well. Try to leave the mulch at the bottom of the demijohn when syphoning the cider off.

Mix the cider and sugar solution with a little shake of the bottle and leave the bottles in the
warm room for 3 to 5 days to carbonate and settle.

After 2 weeks it will be ready to refridgerate and drink. It may take longer for the cider
to clear entirely.

Cider can generally be kept in PET bottles for up to 6 months without spoiling.