Friday, 4 October 2013
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
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
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.
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| 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
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.
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| 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...
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