Was visiting Sheng Siong the other day (getting supplies for the Apfelwein) and found this very interesting drink. Actually, the brand is pretty common in Singapore but I found this in a glass bottle! Isn’t it cool? So I being a very curious person decided to have a taste of this soya bean milk in a glass. The price is about S$0.75 per bottle and it contains about 300ml of delicious soya bean milk. Perhaps it is slightly more expensive than the same brand in those packs we see everyday but somehow I find that it taste a bit different. In fact, the milk seems to be thicker than what we find in those packets we see outside. I guess the reason is because in order to drink from the milk packs, you will need to suck through a small straw but for the glass bottles, you do not need to do so. You can drink it straight from the bottle. Yes yes, of course you can drink from a straw but the kind of straw used would be bigger as well. If you purchase the packets, you could be drinking diluted soya bean milk. I don’t have any proof and this is just from my observations and my thoughts. If you want to complain to Vitasoy, please don’t quote me.

Anyway, here are some of the photos I have taken.

Yes, this is the Vitasoy Soya Bean Drink in all it’s glory. Nothing spectacular though. I think it would be wise for them to improve on their packaging. A lot of Singaporeans don’t like buying drinks in glass, especially those that require a bottle opener. Lazy slugs these Singaporeans. The only way you can attract Singaporeans to buy your stuff is to make it look good like those Japanese ones.

A more detailed look at the front label. This soya bean drink is a good source of soya proteins, comes with no preservatives added, no cholesterol and is non dairy. Wow! Goodness all around, I think.

Some nutrition information and ingredients for you guys to enjoy.  Too bad, they have added sugar into the drink but all-in-all, I find this drink rather delicious. And no, it isn’t too sweet at all. And yes, it is thick, just like what real Soya Bean milk should be. Furthermore, it doesn’t have this “packety” taste which we normally get when drinking from packets of soya bean milk. Not sure whether that is just in my mind or not.

Made in Hong Kong, not China. Thank god. I don’t like being poisoned.

This is a shot of the milk I poured into a glass. From this photo, you can see that it is slightly viscous which means that it is thicker than what we normally find in the stores.  Nowadays even those hawker centre stores dilute their soya bean milk to the point that it taste and feel like drinking water. If you are old enough, you would have tasted such soya bean milk before. Now it is rare in Singapore.

Another shot of the milk. Looks yummy doesn’t it?

Wow, the glass is now empty? Guess what happened to it?

Well, this is my little review on the Vitasoy Soya Bean drink in a glass. Not expensive, taste great and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Just that it is rather difficult to find in Singapore. One of my friends said that you can find them easily in Malaysia though. Good luck and good drinking! And if you are looking for some online grocery store to buy your stuff, please take a look at the listing of Online Grocery Stores in Singapore.

Well, I had just finished bottling my Mexican Cerveza and I had thought that this was it for the day. So I went out to the local supermarket to purchased some bottles of apple juice for the Apfelwein (Hard Apple Cider). I didn’t expect to be buying over 16 litres of juice in one shot! There were offers everywhere! I couldn’t believe it. First I went to Shop N Save and they had offers on Cyprina Apple Juice and I got 6 packs. Then I went to Sheng Siong, they had offers for Just Juice Apple Juice. I got 10 bottles of apple juice from them. And it was a big saving, about S$3 per 2 packets of 1 litre Just Juice. Normally, it would cost about S$2 per pack from most supermarkets. I was lucky to find such a deal today. Anyway, I guess I got a little carried away and I bought all the 10 bottles of Just Juice.  I had to take 3 seperate trips to the supermarket, which was actually quite near. But you have to understand, carrying 5/6 bottles (16litres in total) of apple juice is not as easy as seems. Okay, okay, I am weak.

In all, the actual “brewing” process took about an hour to complete. First I had to open up the bottles of apple juice, then pour the apple juice carefully into the fermenter, add dextrose, yeast and cinnamon sticks to the fermenter and then wait for it to complete fermentation. The problem with brewing with apple juice is well….the apple juice. It attracts insects easily so you have to be careful when you are pouring the juice into the fermenter. You certainly don’t want any apple juice to the spill on the fermenter or on the floor/table. But in all seriousness, pouring apple juice into the fermenter and not spilling any is impossible. This is because the opening on the juice pack is never perfect and thus when you pour, the juice tends to come out in spurts and this will easily result in spilling.

Anyway, enough of my whining, I will post the pictures of the Apfelwein brewing process.

Yes, these are the ingredients for making the Apfelwein.  That’s 6 litres of Cyprina Apple Juice, 10 litres of Just Juice Apple Juice and 8 litres of Ceres Apple Juice. The brown sticks are the cinnamon stick while the green package is the Cote des Blanc yeast. Oh, the small bottle is the yeast nutrients. I forgot to take photo of the dextrose. And I was told that this picture with so many packets of apple juice looks like some primary school lunch hall.

Well, this is the photos of the 1kg of dextrose. From what I am told, the alcohol content of a fermented apple juice is about 5-6%. So, if I add 1kg of dextrose, the final product will yield about 8% ABV. Isn’t it cool?

Yes, these are the Cote des Blancs yeast. As you can see from the photo, I am using 2 packets of yeast instead of 1. I am looking forward to the yeast having a head-start when they are producing alcohol, so why not 2 packs of yeast. The bottle with the $3.00 sign is the Yeast nutrients. These wonderful stuff will ensure that I get a healthy and vigourous fermentation so that we can get clean tasting alcohol without any off-flavours. We hate off-flavours here.

Cinnamon sticks. How many of you guys like Cinnamon Buns? If so, then I am sure that by adding some Cinnamon sticks into the brew, I will get a cider with some cinnamon sweetness, aroma and flavour.  I guess the main reason why I am adding the cinnamon stick is because the apple cider is just too tart and I am sure that most casual drinkers don’t like their wine too tart.

Yes, this is the Ceres Apple Juice I have been talking about. No sugar added 100% pure apple juice. I need to complain about NTUC and their way of handling apple juice boxes, they need to handle it with care. All the boxes I bought were dented at one side.

Yes, we are correct. It is made from pure apple juice. Wow, there is added Vitamin C and nature identical flavourant.Healthy!

Cyprina 100% Natural Apple juice. Nice packaging by the way.

Oh, this is made from apple concentrates. Too bad they don’t add any extra Vitamin C.  And why are they the most expensive of them all?

Just Juice Apple Juice. Really cheap this one. 2 for S$3. I don’t think that we can find any other brands which is so cheap out there. Only at Sheng Siong. I think Sheng Siong gets its supplies from Malaysia and this Just Juice is manufactured in Malaysia.

If I am not wrong, this is made from apple concentrates. Apparently Just Juice buys apple concentrates from somewhere and then add water and sell them as Just Juice Apple Juice.

Well, this is me attempting to rehydrate the Cote des Blancs yeast. Actually it is just a picture of a bottle half filled with water. Not too sure why did I take a photo of this.

Oh, this is  correct photo of me rehydrating the yeast. Made a big mistake by not sprinkling the yeast over the entire surface of the water and thus, we are seeing clumps of yeast whichstill may not get rehydrated.

Okay, as you can see above, I have filled the fermenter with all the 24 bottles of apple juice. It was tough work and I deserved a drink. Notice the foam? Well for your information, it was caused by those stupid small uneven openings of the packets of apple juice. Not too sure whether this will caused excessive oxidation to the juice.

Now after adding the dextrose (which dissolved pretty easily), the yeast nutrients and the cinnamon stick, I pitch the yeast and cover the fermenter. Notice that I didn’t have an airlock on. I am going to let it breathe for a few hours first before I attach the airlock. This is what Wine makers normally do. So, I guess why not try it here. Should have some good effects on the wine at the end.

And thanks for reading. I am going to let this ferment for about 4 weeks or so. Then hopefully, we are going to have yet another great tasting alcoholic beverage to enjoy.

PS: By the next day morning, the apfelwein has started bubbling. The sweet smell of apple juice fills the entire room! Ahhh….life is great!

If you guys don’t know what those are for, you haven’t been reading this blog. LOL! It is meant for making some delicious hard apple cider - Apfelwein. Yes, after the little taste test by my friends, it has been a great hit. Now everyone is asking me to make them some. So being a great guy, I am very much obliged to make Apfelwein for them. And I am fully booked till Christmas as making the Apfelwein requires quite a lot time waiting for it to ferment and mature.If you aren’t into homebrewing, you will not understand the time and the effort needed to get the correct temperature for making the Apfelwein. It seems easy enough, but remember, getting 24 litres of Apple Juice back home within a car is very tedious. And I am getting old.

Anyway, the main reason why I bought the Ceres Apple Juice is because NTUC is having offer for the Ceres brand. So it cost about S$1.80 per 1 litre pack of juice. That is much cheaper than the usual price of S$2.10. Remember, I will be making 24 litres of the cider, so the amount saved is quite signifcant. However, I will definite not limit myself to just the Ceres Apple Juice. The reason is because I am afraid that just using one brand of apple juice, I might not get the correct taste for my Apfelwein. Might be too sour or too bitter depending on the type of juice used. So it would be more prudent to use 2 or 3 different brands of apple juice, like what I did before and hope that the different flavours will mask out the unpleasant ones. I think another brand which I will be using should be the VeCool Fuji Apple Juice as well as Harvey Fresh Apple Juice.  I really like the Harvey Fresh Apple Juice. It taste very “appley” and even though there is no sugar added, it taste quite sweet. It is made from crushed apples, unlike the rest of the Apple Juice which are usually made from Apple Concentrate. The VeCool Fuji Apple Juice is another great choice because it is supposed to be made from Fuji Apples, which is one of my favourite fruits. I just love Fuji Apples!

And this time, I will be making all of the Apfelwein carbonated. Unless the resulting Apfelwein is going to be sweet, there is no other way about it, especially when we are talking about those “wines” made from juices. There will always be some residual sourness in the cider if you ferment it dry and although it is not really extremely unpleasant, it can be be considered as an off-flavour. And not everyone likes sour. So, the fizz will help mask the sourness. Furthermore, carbonation helps to bring out the aroma of the apple cider. I never considered myself any expert in ciders, but I have to agree that drinking ciders carbonated is a lot better than drinking a still cider.

Well, I am still awaiting the Ginger Beer ingredients which I had purchased from the US. Previously, I had purchased a set of wine yeast pack from the same supplier in the US and it came within 10 working days. If I am not wrong, it took about 9 working days to arrive from the US. But that was because it was a document delivery. So the delivery time was short as documents are light and cheaper to deliver. However, since this time, I had purchased a Ginger Beer Ingredient kit, which consists of the 1kg of Ginger Beer mix. It should be classified as a parcel, so the delivery should take longer.

So here I am waiting for the Ginger beer ingredient to arrive. I had expected it to be within 10 working days like my previous purchase but I guess I was wrong. Anyway, I shouldn’t worry. The ebay store which sold me the ingredients is very well-known and reputable. Sometimes things like shipping and waiting can really make you impatient but again, this is life. If life is always smooth, then we are missing most of the important bits and pieces of life. I have also purchased some beer yeast and a straining cloth for hops. They should come together with the Ginger Beer Ingredients.

And oh, the delivery charges to Singapore was pretty reasonable. It cost like US$5 to deliver one set to Singapore. Since I had purchased 3 items (the Ginger Beer Kit, the yeast pack and the cloth), it cost about US$12 for all. Considering how expensive our local store charges for these items, I think it is worth the wait. If you purchase the yeast from the local store, it would cost like S$65. I bought it with delivery from US at about S$32.

With the huge influx of foreigners into Singapore, I am worried that the Singapore culture may get diluted some what. As the large number of foreigners form part of Singapore and it’s society in general, it may get difficult for Singaporeans to differentiate from others. So I would propose a Singaporean Purity Law which ensures the purity of Singaporeans. Just like the German Beer Purity law which ensures that their beer is not tainted with melamine or taste like A&W root beer, this Singaporean purity law will protect Singaporeans from becoming foreigners and vice versa. It is our assurance against contamination in our bloodline. We all like things pure, don’t we?

Anyway, this is what I am proposing for the Singaporean Purity Law.

1. Poor Genes. According to some vastly intelligent Chinese in Taiwan, a good portion of Chinese Singaporeans are from South Fujian who came to Singapore as Coolies or farmers. So they, unlike the people in Hong Kong or Taiwan, are of poorer stock and pain stupid. So it gathers that most Singaporean Chinese have poorer genes and are stupider. We need to add this to our Singaporean Purity Law because good genes means that we have to be like Hong Kong or Taiwan. This law applies only to Singaporean Chinese.
2. Queuing. Singaporeans must always queue. Only exception is when you are entering public buses or trains. In this scenario, Singaporeans have to rush up the bus or into the train without allowing others to get off first. Other than that, you must enjoy queuing, like queuing for the McDonald’s Hello Kitty Doll and for the new EZLink card. If not, you are not a Singaporean. Go to Taiwan.
3. Overspending. Singaporeans must always spend beyond their means. Like those Singaporeans who spent a huge sum of money buying washing machines and decking out their “dream kitchen” when none of them ever wash their own clothes or even know how to cook. If they did cook, we would all die of food poisoning without the help of China. Plus, they must always buy new expensive cars which sucks petrol like a sponge every year. Cool.
4. Cannot think. If you are wondering how the hell would an GST (tax) increase help the poor, then you are not a Singaporean. If you are wondering how increasing the bus/train fares of a profit making government controlled public transport company would help improve the bus/train service, you are also not a Singaporean. You are a European Colonist hell bend on destroying Singapore and all that it stands for. Go die fast.
5. Kiss Ass. Singaporeans must always kiss the ass of foreigners but must be smart about it. Last time when the US & European countries were “the king”, we kiss the ass of the US & European countries and call China names. Now, China is “the king”, we kiss the ass of China and call US & European countries names. If you disagree, you can kiss my ass. This law applies to ALL Singaporeans. So if you are from China, remember to wipe your ass properly today.
6. Bitch. Singaporeans must always listen to what the government say. So if the government tells you to jump, you say how high. If the government tells you to pay more taxes, you say where is my cheque book? If the government tells you to cut your pay, you say cut more please. If the government tells you to vote for them because it is good for you, you say sure thing. If the government tells you to bend down and spread your legs, you say how wide. If you aren’t a bitch, go to Hong Kong and stay there. With this law in place, you can easily differentiate foreigners and Singaporeans.
7. “Lah“. Singaporeans must always end the sentence with “lah” or “one”. So if you are going to go to the restroom, you will tell your friends “I am going to the Toilet laaaah!”. Or if you disagree with your friends, you will say “Where got like that one?” or use the more refined “Fuck You Laaaah!”. Of course, this law requires more refinement.
8. Tissue Paper Pack. Singaporeans “book” tables with tissue paper packs. So if you would like to “book” a table in a crowded coffee shop or hawker centre, place a tissue paper pack on the table. You can use it to “book” benches, chairs, toilets, cinema seats, hotel rooms, F1 gallery seats…..If it doesn’t work because some big shot angmo don’t care, “book” with some semen and clean up later with the tissue paper.
9. Ignore Old People and Pregnant Women. If you are a true-blue Singapore, you will have to ignore those old people and pregnant women on the buses or trains. Just because they are old or pregnant and look pathetic doesn’t mean that we have to help them by giving them our seats. And we will have to ignore the signs on the buses and trains that tells us to give the seats to old people and pregnant women. Just like our government, they are there for show only. If you think that it makes you look bad, pretend to sleep when you see them. If you want to give up your seat for these group of people, you will not be included as an true-blue Singaporean and you will die a miserable death.
10. Block others. Real Singaporeans spend all their time blocking others. If you are in a crowded shopping mall, it would be prudent to stop your entire family of 10 in the middle of the pathway and start talking about the weather and how great the Singapore government is.  Or you can just bring your 5 snotty kids and 4 angmo sized strollers along to those shows at Suntec City to block everyone. It would also make sense to block others from entering buses or trains by standing at the entrance of the bus or train. The Singapore slogan is “Who did you block today?”. The winner is the one who blocks the most people.

Well, that’s all I have for this Singaporean Purity Law. If you have any thoughts or ideas on improving this law, please post some comments below. I would very much like to ignore you.

Damn, I am sick yet again. This time it is the flu. Been a while since I am down with the flu but it finally got me. My nose is runny and I can’t really smell anything now. Sometimes it will get blocked and I can’t breathe properly. In the past, I often ill with flu but for the past few years, I seemed to be more immune to it then usual. Probably because I am eating a lot more fruits and vegetables plus I have been taking vitamin pills. However, this time it is unavoidable as my nephews are also down with flu. I guess this is how it was spread to me. Sometimes it would be better not to come in close contact to them who are ill but what can I do? It is not like I can tell them not to come close to me right? It would not be appropriate to do that. I am a person of integrity and honour, whatever that means.

Anyway, to fight this, I will be taking a lot of liquids. That’s what I have been told to do to combat against the flu virus. Well, it would mean that I will be drinking lots of water, eating fruits and vegetables and stuff like that. I wonder whether drinking beer would count? I guess not as I am guessing that alcohol does leech liquid from the body. That’s why people feel thirsty after drinking a large amount of alcohol. I will also be taking some more vitamins to strengthen my body’s resistance to the flu virus. Vitamin C is the best bet here. I think I may have a few bottles of Vitamin C tablets somewhere in my room. I heard that Ginger helps too. Just too bad that my Ginger Beer ingredients have not arrived yet. If not, I could be sipping cool refreshing Ginger beer about now and feeling better too.

How about seeing a doctor? Na, I don’t think I will be doing that. This is not a serious illness nor do I feel so sick that justify me going to see a doctor and paying a large sum for medicine and advise that I should be taking more liquids and resting more. I know that already. If only my work allows me to rest more, then I will rest more. But in Singapore, you don’t have that luxury.

Ahh…looks like I am getting booked till Christmas. No, it is not that I am being invited for parties but my friends would like me to make beer or apple cider for them.  Too bad, I always wanted to be invited to parties but it seems that I am not that popular. However, the good thing is that my beers and ciders are. I have plans to make 2 batches of beer and 1 batch of Apple Cider (Apfelwein). So to ensure that everything is ready for Christmas, I have to start brewing now. And I am lacking in bottles. I doubt that I can make so many batches of alcoholic beverages without buying addition bottles. Or maybe I should go and steal some glass bottles from my local coffee shops. They have tons of bottles there and they don’t seem to mind that I am grabbing bottles from them. In fact, I think they are very happy that I am getting the used bottles off their hands so that they don’t need to dispose the bottles themselves.

Anyway, I will be making perhaps an Australian Pale Ale (my favourite), a Wheat beer and the Apfelwein. That would be 23×3 litres of fine alcohol! And this means that some people will be very happy on these parties. For the Australian Pale Ale, it would take about 3 weeks. For the Wheat beer, it should take about 2 weeks as Wheats usually don’t need much aging for it to taste good. The longest time to brew is the Apfelwein, which I think would probably take about 2 months to be mature enough for drinking. Well, the thing about strong alcohol is that it requires some time to age and mature. And for this batch, I think I would make some changes to the recipe. I will be adding about 2 Cinnamon sticks to the brew to give it a little more taste. I find it a bit too tart. And I need to find an Apple Juice which don’t taste sour, as the residual sourness will remain and that makes the brew less “appley” too. I think the Harvey Fresh Apple Juice (available at our local supermarkets) should be good enough to ensure some sweetness. I will then be using this as the base of the Apfelwein.

As you know, I have already purchased the ingredients to make the Wheat beer. It will be yet another simple brew. Just the Cooper’s Wheat Beer kit, 1kg of Brew Enhancer 2, some Nottingham yeast and we are all done. Hopefully it will turn out great. I will be doing this last as this Wheat beer doesn’t require much aging. Don’t you just love simple recipes and the result is still great tasting! Life can be good. And the best part, it doesn’t have to be expensive.

I know, I am a bit slow to be reviewing Coca-Cola Zero. It had been in the stores for a while already but I wasn’t into reviewing drinks then. So now, I will review my all-time favourite beverage - Coca-Cola Zero. Apparently, Coca-Cola Zero is just like Coca Cola just that they have no calories. I suppose what they meant by that is there is no sugar in the drink? So it should be just like Coca-Cola Light? Or all those variations of Coca-Cola which doesn’t have any or less sugar in them?  And they claim that it is real Coca-Cola taste. Does that mean that the original Coca-Cola is fake? Wow, that means that we have been drinking fake Coca-Cola all these time. Their CEO must be from China.

Anyway, I know it is very confusing. Too many marketing gimmicks and what-not these Coca-Cola guys tend to come up with and we have no idea what goes into the actual drink. Worse, it seems that in different countries, they have different ingredients! I think that the main reason why they come up with so many slogans, logos, ingredients and variations is because the top guys, just like our government officials, are just too free. If you are paid big bucks and you don’t have anything to do, you will tend to think of new logos, slogans and shit to ply on to the consumers. What can I say but to just enjoy the great tasting drink.

 I have taken a few photos of the Coca-Cola Zero I bought.

That’s the PET bottle which the Coca-Cola Zero is being stored it. The label looks a bit different from the original Coca-Cola bottle but the beverage looks exactly like the original. If you expect it to be pink or yellow or even clear like Sprite, you are mistaken.

The nutrition facts of the Coca-Cola Zero. Apparently it doesn’t provide any energy, protein, fat or carbohydrate to the consumer. This must be some sort of miracle drink! And no wonder it is called “Zero“. And we should all note that although it doesn’t come with any sucrose (sugar), it does have artifical sweeteners, artifical flavourings and for those who like coffee, it contains caffeine. Wow, it is like all sorts of articial stuff mixed together to make a great tasting drink. I wonder what’s the recipe for Coke? I am just surprised that it did not contain rat poison.

That’s the Coca-Cola Zero poured into a glass. This is how the beverage should be drunk - in a glass. From a glass, only then can you appreciate the fine colour, smell the delicate aroma of delicious caramel and let it tickle your senses. I mean by looking at the above photo, doesn’t it make you want to grab the glass and gobble it all down? Drinking this Coca-Cola Zero is like drinking from a well in heaven. Maybe years later, you would thank the Coca-Cola company for hastening your trip to heaven, but that would be another story. 

This is another shot of the glass of Coca-Cola Zero. The amount of carbonation is just right for a drink like this. The development guys at Coca-Cola got that right. The amount of sweetness is also right. I don’t like my beverages too sweet anymore. And of course I would like to thank the Coca-Cola guys for developing a great tasting drink like this for all of us to enjoy. I really hope that they will make it cheaper because the price of everything is rasing in Singapore and with a beverage that is Zero in everything, it should be cheap. Plus unlike the ingredients in other drinks, all the ingredients in Coca-Cola Zero are artifical stuff unlike root beer, ginger ale and others, which again can be obtained cheaply. Please pity us poor folks. We just want to enjoy a fine refreshing beverage after a hard day’s work in the fields. Ok, ok, I work in an air-conditioned office but it amounts to the same thing.

Thank you for reading. And oh, for those who are curious, I am using the Coca-Cola Zero to clean my computer’s Heatsink. Apparently, it works very well in removing dirt and dust from hard to reach places in the heatsink. Wow, this stuff is just great!

Well guys, if you remember about 2 months back, I made the Apfelwein (Apple Wine), which is actually a hard apple cider. It is supposed to be some sort of German style of cider which is easy to drink and extremely refreshing. This kind of drink is exactly what we need right here in Singapore. The weather is warm, dusty and with a cool refreshing alcoholic beverage, life can be good. And so I made the Apfelwein for my friends to enjoy.

So two days ago, I bought a few bottles of the 2 month old brew to them to have a taste test. I had expected them to dislike it. First of all, it has a slight sourish aftertaste, which is typical of most ciders. Secondly, it is made from apple juice and it has that apple aroma which a lot of Singaporean drinkers don’t like. They would prefer bitterness than sourness in their alcohol drink. But I was pleasantly surprised that they love it and some of them asked me to make more for them to enjoy during the Chinese New Year holidays. Being a kind and generous person, I said of course I would make for them. The Apfelwein recipe is very easy. Just apple juice, some dextrose and yeast. If you have all the necessary equipment to brew, you should have no problems making this Apfelwein. No boiling, no fuss. Just a lot of apple juice, a little patience and you will have great tasting apple cider to enjoy.

Anyway, it is important to know how to drink the Apfelwein. This beverage should be drank cold. Preferly ice cold. I am sure that most of us don’t like the residual sourness of the apples. If the drink is ice cold, the sourness will not be so profound as the distract the drinker. Plus with carbonation, the aroma of the apples will help musk any sourness. Yes, that means that it should be carbonated and cold when served. Next, you should drink it straight up. You fill your glass to the top with the Apfelwein. In one shot drink about 1/2 of the drink. Rest for like 5 seconds and then drink the rest. After this, you should stop for a while and feel the kick of the potent Apfelwein and you will suddenly feel the Apflewein flunging itself into your senses. Beware, it can creep up to you suddenly so don’t  drink too much. Oh, since this is a cider, you should be prepared for a painful hangover the next morning. I have tried to reduce the hangover effect by ensuring that there is less impurities in the cider, so as some of you guys might know, it is not easy when dealing with apples. Apples unlike malt (for making beer) lacks the necessary nutrients for making a healthy brew, so it is very important to add some yeast nutrients to the must. And keep the temperature on the lower range so as not to create any off-flavours and impurities.

I am again here to review a juice drink for you guys. Yes, it is easily found at our local supermarkets so you don’t have to search high and low for it which is a good thing. Don’t you just hate reading about something in the news only to NOT find it available at the stores? Although I won’t say that Minute Maid is a very common brand in Singapore, I am pretty sure that it can be found at our supermarkets. I tried a few supermarkets like NTUC and Giant, I did manage to find them. So if you look carefully, I am sure you can find them.

Anyway, this time round, I am reviewing Minute Maid’s Apple & Cranberry juice.  I am sure that Minute Maid has a variety of other type of juices and drinks, but those are better left for later.

Well, it is a “premium” juice. Please excuse the photos as this was taken at night. The colour of the juice actually isn’t that dark. It is definitely lighter and more reddish.

A little more closeup view of the Premium Apple & Cranberry juice drink. I find the plastic bottle of this juice quite nice. However, I don’t know whether this can handle carbonation. If it could, I will be using this type of bottle to fill my homebrew apple cider or ginger brew. But judging from the quality of the plastic, I don’t think it can handle carbonation at all.

Some more information on the juice at the back. Please note that this juice drink has added sugar (sucrose) so it is definitely sweet. But surprisingly, even with the added sugar, I don’t find this juice too sweet at all. Too bad, it does come with artificial flavouring, so I guess it is not true to the taste of apple and cranberry.  The taste of this juice is more close to sweetened cranberry. Even after drinking two cups of this juice, I still can’t taste any apple in it. With that said, I have to admit that this juice drink is very tasty and delicious. And with the right sweetness, you won’t get sick of drinking this even after a few big cups. Two thumbs up!

They even have information from the National Healthcare Group, which I am sure most of us never even bother to read. Well….

This shot shows the true colour of the juice. Very nice reddish colour.

Another shot of the juice. Please excuse the messy table. I normally do my phototaking at the kitchen table but it was “booked” for the night, so I had to settle for desk.

At first, I was thinking that this “premium” juice would be just like what you will normally find at the stores - very sweet, tastless and flat. But this Minute Maid Apple & Cranberry juice is not like that. You can taste the cranberries in the drink, although the apple taste is a tad weak. A simple recommendation would be to pump up the apple juice content. And I am guessing that if someone carbonated this drink, it would even be taster!