Fresh Fruit Blueberry Turbo Cider
Flavouring your Turbo Cider during Primary Fermentation
A Turbo Cider is a cider fermented using store-bought apple juice as the main ingredient rather than fresh apples. This makes preparation much simpler, saving time and effort ahead of starting fermentation.
Additional ingredients can be combined with the apple juice to introduce additional complexity of flavours. These additions can be added at any point through the production lifecycle. In the Strawberry and Apple Cider, the additions were introduced during bottling, in my Sweet Christmas Cider they were all incorporated in Secondary. This will be the first time I’ve included a flavouring addition during primary fermentation; the approach delivered some clear differences over adding flavours in later stages.
Before You Begin
Before you begin though, freeze 600g of Fresh Blueberries a minimum of 3 days before preparations, this will remove any unwanted yeast or bacteria that may be present on the fruit and can introduce off flavours into your cider.
Preparations (45 minutes)
- Clean and Sanitise equipment
- Heat 300ml Apple Juice
- Dissolve 200g Brewing Sugar before reaching the boil
- Steep 2 tea bags for 15 minutes
- Cool liquid to c.20°C
- Blend the Frozen Blueberries using a little apple juice if necessary
7. Add the Blended Blueberries to the fermenter
8. Add 2L of Apple juice to the fermenter
9. Add the 5g yeast nutrient and add the tea mixture
10. Top up Apple Juice to level
11. Shake vigorously to oxygenate the must
12. Check the temperature is suitable for your choice of yeast (18°C to 22°C)
13. Take the Hydrometer reading for OG. (The target range is 1.046–1.052, this provides a target ABV in the range of 6.0% — 6.8%).
14. Pitch the yeast (more on this in a moment) and rock gently to mix
15. Add airlock and allow to ferment for 2 weeks at 20°C
About the Yeast
Typical choices of yeast for cider are Champagne Yeast or Ale Yeast. I have used a selection of both previously and Nottingham Ale Yeast is a firm favourite for imparting its fruity flavours into the resultant cider. However, on this occasion I am trying something different with a London Ale Yeast. As we will see in the evaluation, the result was good but not exactly as expected. The description of the yeast from the packet says:
A more subdued yeast character allows the flavours and aromas of malt and hops to shine through in styles such as Extra Special Bitter, Pale Ale, Bitter and Mild, it may also be used in the production of Ciders. Expect Fruity Esters, red apple, green apple, tropical fruit flavours
20°C is the optimum temperature for vigorous fermentation in 3 days, with medium attenuation and low flocculation (hence, racking to secondary will be necessary).
Based on this information, there were two expectations from this yeast. A medium attenuation should deliver a slightly higher final gravity, which should provide a naturally sweeter and full-bodied end result, with the fruity esters complimenting the aroma nicely. The description does say provides a subdued character, so it's going to be quite subtle in aroma and flavour.
Primary Fermentation (Temperature Control)
Temperature is controlled in a fermentation chamber with the temperature set to maintain a consistent 20°C, this also allowed for a cold-crash to 3°C at the end of fermentation.
Secondary
Secondary fermentation provides additional time for the cider to clear, and the opportunity to mix any further flavours as we did in this recipe. Secondary fermentation is an optional step though, I use it to help with clarity, but you can equally leave the cider in Primary until it is clear and then mix in any further additions when moving to the keg. The exact timing of the specific additions in this recipe will not influence the depth of flavours imparted.
16. Syphon to Secondary using a muslin bag around the syphon to reduce the transfer of sediment
17. Measure the Final Gravity
18. Add 100g Sweetener (XYLITOL) for back sweetening if necessary
19. Add 1ml Glycerine (this will improve cider body and mouthfeel)
20. Leave to Clear (May need to consider Finings if it doesn’t clear)
21. Cold Crash to 3°C for 2 days to further aid clarity
Carbonation
If you own a (Mini-)Keg then setting the CO2 pressure to 10PSI for around a week while stored in a cool place will provide a good level of carbonation, suitable for a cider.
Alternatively, bottle carbonation simply involves adding 9g of priming sugar per litre to the must before bottling. Leave for 7–10 days at room temperature and refrigerate to drink.
Evaluation
Including blueberries in the primary provided a larger dose of sugars than expected, resulting in a higher starting gravity and final ABV%. This was fine, the result provided a pleasant alcoholic aftertaste to the drink.
I had expected the London Ale Yeast to finish out at a higher gravity, around the 1.008 mark, so was surprised that it dropped right down to 1.000. This is the result I would have expected from champagne yeast and I was hopeful for a higher gravity to increase sweetness and give a little more body. It needed some back sweetening as the very-dry end result stripped out all of the fruit flavours.
The aroma throughout remained fruity and easily identifiable as blueberry.
I was very conservative back-sweetening and the result was somewhere between dry and medium-dry, the extra sweetener improved the flavour to give a light fruitiness with an alcoholic aftertaste. Friends who tried this drink clearly did not share my sweet tooth and announced it as a 9 out of 10. On reflection, they’re right, consumed cold this was a very refreshing drink.
Clarity was wonderful, the combination of improved temperature control through fermentation and a 3-day cold crash step resulted in a crystal clear drink with a red hue.
Carbonation was high, around 2.5 volumes, well carbonated is my preference and well suited to a cider. This was perfect for my taste.
The Final Analysis
At first, I was a little disappointed by the level of sweetness, though I changed my view on this as I progressed through the supply. Served chilled, the result was fruity, slightly dry and very refreshing. The stronger-than-expected ABV did not result in a strong alcohol taste in practice but instead provided a warm punch alongside the fresh taste.
Step By Step Video Guide
Give it a try for yourself, you can also watch the step-by-step guide.
Thank you for reading, I’d love to hear your comments
Happy Homebrewing Everyone
Rob
