I might need a help with my first cider brew. I’ve made wine in past it was all based on natural yeast, had my recipe that contained water with whatever berries I was making it.
I tried making cider, put 4 liters of apple juice from market (natural juice, but still, packed), 1.5l redcurrant berries (frozen, blended, fermented in a bag) and 2 liters of water. I added yeast and everything it needed, 6 days have passed now, hidrometer is very close to 0 and while it tastes ok, I think it tastes quite watered. I plan to sweeten it a bit (still, dry or semi dry) but have no idea how to make it more saturated (taste wise).
Is there anything I can do, especially at this stage?
Your ordinary juice apples are not the same type of apples used to make cider, generally. Cider apples have a lot more tannin, and are generally inedible. The tannins in cider apples help give the cider depth, which would be lacking in regular apple juice. I have had luck in the past brewing up very strong tea to add to store bought juice, but it’s still not the same.
Hmmm, I suppose you could try adding some apple juice concentrate, but of course fermentation would start up again and you’d end with a higher alcohol content. Even then, dry ciders from store bought juice tend to be pretty thin on flavor. General solution is to add tannins, acid blend, and/or backsweeten.
I use malic acid to tune acidity, earl grey tea to play with tannins, and you can always cut up a few pounds of apples and throw them in there to get some of the flavors from the skins + flesh.
I’ve tried adding tea and hops recently and really enjoyed both!