We had lots of rhubarb in the freezer, so decided to use it to make rhubarb cider. Rhubarb and apple go so well together, so lets combine them in a cider.
The subtle flavour of rhubarb lifts a scrumpy cider to the next level. The acids in the rhubarb are balanced by making this cider medium sweet.
In this recipe we will use 1 can of John Bull Cider which will make 12 litres of cider. If you want to make more, just double up the quantities. The sachet of yeast will be fine for up to 23 litres so 1 sachet of yeast will do.
To make 12 litres of rhubarb cider you will need:
1 can John Bull Cider
4lb Rhubarb - Stalks Only
2 teaspoons Pectolase
Cold Water
Mangrove Jacks MA33 Yeast
Sweetener
Fermentation bucket
Large Stock Pot
Straining Bag
Hydrometer & Trial Jar
Thermometer
Syphon
Spoon
Bottles
Now we have all the ingredients and equipment, lets make some rhubarb cider.
Use the Stalks of the rhubarb only. Throw away the leaves as these are poisonous.
Chop the stalks into 2-5cm lengths.
Put the stalks into the stock pot and put on a medium heat. The rhubarb will start to release its juices. Once it comes to a simmer, turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the rhubarb is cooking, sterilise all your brewing equipment.
Stretch the straining bag over a large bowl.
Once the rhubarb is cooked, pour the rhubarb into the straining bag and tie the top and then move to one side.
Open the can of John Bull Cider. We will not be using the sachet of yeast, so you can put that away.
Open the can and pour the concentrated apple juice in to the fermenter.
Rinse out the can with cold tap water and pour this into the fermenter.
Put the bag of rhubarb in the fermenter and pour in any juice that is in the bowl.
Top up the fermenter to 12 litres with cold tap water.
Lifting the bag to one side, stir to mix the concentrate and water.
Check the temperature of the apple juice and make sure it's between 18-22°C. If not, let it warm up / cool down until it reaches somewhere in this range.
Add the sachet of yeast nutrient from the John Bull Cider kit.
Add in the pectolase and then stir well.
Take a hydrometer reading and keep this safe so you can work out the ABV once the fermentation is complete.
Sprinkle on the sachet of MA33 yeast. We are using this yeast as it's an acid reducing yeast and will work on the harsh acid from the rhubarb and turn it to a softer acid, which will make the mouth water, but not turn your face inside out.
Stir in the yeast.
Pop on the lid. If using an airlock, 1/2 fill the bottom 2 bubbles with a little sodium metabisulphite solution.
Put the fermenter in a warm place to keep the fermentation at around 18-22°C for 7 - 10 days
Confirm the fermentation has finished by taking a hydrometer reading. It should be below 1.000. Use this reading with the initial reading to work out the ABV.
Lift out the bag of rhubarb and squeeze to retrieve all the juice.
Put the lid on the fermenter and leave to settle for an hour.
Now syphon the cider into a clean sterilised fermenter, being careful not to disturb the sediment in the original fermenter.
Take a 200ml sample in a glass. Add 1ml of sweetener, stir and taste. Adjust the amount of sweetener you add to your required sweetness.
Do the maths to now work out how much sweetener to add to the 12 litres in the fermenter. So if 1ml in 200ml is perfect for you, then, 12 x 1000 = 12000. 12000 / 200 = 60. So you will need 60 ml of sweetener to the 12 litres. Remember, that the cider will soften as it conditions in the bottle, so you may want to reduce the sweetener a little. You can always add more sweetener when you open a bottle.
Add in the amount of sweetener you are going to use to the fermenter.
To make the cider fizzy, we need to add some priming sugar. Add in 50 - 65g of priming sugar to the fermenter and stir until dissolved.
Bottle straight away.
Seal the bottles, label them and put them in your warm place for the secondary bottle fermentation to take place.
After 1 week, transfer somewhere cool and leave to clear.
Ideally leave for at least 1 month before drinking.
Pop a bottle in the fridge to chill it. Then pop it open and pour carefully to minimise disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the bottle.
Sit back and enjoy a delicious pint of refreshing, mouth watering rhubarb cider
Cheers