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LexxTalon · 03-20-2011, 03:03 AM

I'm doing several batches of cider... and was going through different concepts for sparkling and sweet cider... and got an idea:

If we primed a batch... and put it into... say, 2L bottles... to carb up... and THEN add camden to kill the yeast once it's carbbed... will it keep the carbonation that the yeast has already produced?

It seems similar to cold crashing or pasteurizing... you carb to desired lvl and then perform the method to kill/stop the yeast... and the carbonation is retained. Then I can sweeten without worry. The logic seems sounds... has anyone else attempted this?

***Yooper*** · 03-20-2011, 03:08 AM

Well, campden doesn't kill yeast. Winemakers use it all the time as a preservative/antioxidant. If you use enough campden to kill the yeast, the cider will be undrinkably bad.

Most wine and cider makers use sorbate if they want to sweeten a batch. Sorbate doesn't kill yeast either, but it keeps it from reproducing. It works better in the presence of sulfite (campden) so they are added together.

The problem with adding sorbate in your scenario is that it doesn't kill the yeast, but keeps it from reproducing. Since there would be plenty of yeast in there, from eating the priming sugar, the sorbate would be ineffective.

A sweet carbonated cider is very tricky to make unless you're experienced with it.

You can use non-fermentable sweetners like lactose or splenda and then prime the bottles if you want. Or you can bottle pasteurize according to the sticky on the forum.

I'm a fan of still dry wines, meads, and ciders, so I have very little experience with pasteurizing.

LexxTalon · 03-20-2011, 03:54 AM

yeh... I meant k-sorbate and camden. I was under the impression that it killed the yeast... or at least rendered them incapable of eating any more sugars. Interesting... so it doesn't actually kill the yeast? It just stops it from reproducing... so the yeast that do exist will still eat what sugars they can until they die off? I've never looked at it from that angle... oh well... it was a cool idea... heh!

JezzaUK · 03-20-2011, 09:53 AM

I've got an alcoholic ginger beer on the go where I've been contemplating similar problems.

I've gone on the basis to target the ABV I wanted and gave enough sugar to hit it. Then back sweetened with Splenda. Plan on priming with sugar for carbonation when bottling.

Check out the thread in the soda forum which gives some detail

Chris1272 · 03-20-2011, 05:09 PM

If you do what you stated in your original post and add a crushed camden tablet to a carbed up bottle then the results will be messy. adding a powder to a carbonated beverage creates tons of nucleation points and will quickly coax the CO2 out of solution. Think mintos in a diet coke. Also what Yooper Said is true and another reason why this wont work.
If you have access to a CO2 tank but dont want to keg your cider, I would try something like this.http://www.rebelbrewer.com/shoppingcart/products/The-Carbonater.html wait untill your Cider is still and has cleared, then sweeten to taste and carbonate it.