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dmulligan · 12-02-2009, 05:53 PM

I wish to use stevia to back sweeten my cider. I don't want to use lactose as I am partially intolerant and a good friend of mine is lactose intolerant as well. I also don't want to use an artificial sweetener such as splenda. That leaves me with stevia.

Stevia appears on the shelf in different forms. Some suspended in glycerin, some in alcohol, and others in powder forms with and without maltodextrin. I found a pure powdered leaf that I am thinking of using but now I am thinking that it may just cloud my cider. Which one should I use?

Once I have decided on which one to use, how do I decide how much to use? I have a 11L batch of cider that I want to sweeten. The cider has a final gravity of 1.004 and it tastes like a very dry warm white wine. I would like it to turn out semi-dry. Somewhat less sweet than Strongbow. I plan to add sugar to carbonate it along with the stevia to sweeten it. Do I just add to taste? Of course the cider is warm and uncarbonated so I am worried that going by taste will not translate easily to the end result. Are there any tips for back sweetening?

Thanks,
David

jcobbs · 12-02-2009, 06:19 PM

My one and only experience with stevia was also my only ruined batch of cider. It left an aftertaste that was just undrinkable. I used concentrate drops. I don't know whether they were suspended in alcohol or glycerin. Maybe one of the other forms would be better, I don't know. Are all wine conditioners made with lactose? Maybe you could use a wine conditioner for sweetening. Or sweeten with apple juice concentrate if you're going to carbonate anyway. Just my two cents worth...

flyweed · 12-02-2009, 07:21 PM

I have been using Stevia (Truvia brand) on and in everything that needs sugar for the last 7-8 months...my wife and I are both trying to lose some weight and get back into shape, and we cut out sugar from our diet. I tried them all, and like you said, most man made sweeteners taste like crap, and leave a horrible aftertaste. I have found the powdered Truvia to not leave any nasty aftertaste in my mouth. I put it on my cereal, oatmeal, in my tea, cookies, etc etc. I really like it. I can't say how it would taste in a hard cider, but I think it would be fine in moderation. Again, it's the ONLY sweetener I like the taste of.

Dan

dmulligan · 12-02-2009, 07:43 PM

I will be bottle priming and not forced carbonating. This means that I cannot sweeten with apple juice or anything else containing fermentable sugar.

How much stevia did you add and to how much cider?

**JVD_X** · 12-02-2009, 07:50 PM

To me...stevia is much sweeter than splenda so I use 1/2 the amount.

fineexampl · 12-08-2009, 03:10 AM

I want to bring this thread back up again.

i just decided i want to back sweeten 5gal of cider. i'll prime using corn sugar, but i need a non-fermentable and stevia is my preferred choice. i cannot use lactose as my wife will not be able to have any.

can anyone guess how much stevia would be needed to do the job? i was thinking of adding it during bottling and keep adding some until i'm happy. Anybody have a starting point for a measurement? i'll likely use the alcohol drops for sanitary reasons.

gratus fermentatio · 12-08-2009, 12:27 PM

Draw off a pint & sweeten it to taste with the stevia. Then do the math & add the proper amount to the remaining batch. Regards, GF.

icso · 12-09-2009, 03:26 AM

I made a 1 gallon test batch with stevia. I can't remember how much, but I didn't add a lot, only enough to add a subtle sweetness. I used pure stevia extract powder. I dumped it. Like jcobbs said, it was undrinkable. I've noticed that stevia sweetens best, with little aftertaste, if it has some real sugar along with it. Since stevia was the only sweetener, it had too strong of an aftertaste.