VERY Bitter Cider!

Heya, folks!

So, my first cider batch finished fermenting. It's tasty, but it's very bitter. I'm thinking of adding some sort of sweetener to it as I bottle, but I don't know how much would be enough!

What's a good amount to add to a four gallon batch? Also, I'm thinking of adding lactose, would that be a good sweetener to use? And how would that affect how much sugar I should add to the bottling bucket?

Thanks, folks!

I would pull off a small sample and sweeten it to taste then use that proportion for the rest of the batch. It all depends on how sweet you want it. Lactose would be good as it wouldnt reactivate your yeast.

I am with Pimpfoot (great name), sweeten a small sample and add the proportionate amount to the whole batch. However, if you are intending to have a sparkling sweet cider, you must add both the lactose for sweetness and the regular 1 oz per gallong of priming sugar. I would add both (or just the lactose if you are not carbonating) to your bottling bucket. Then just siphon your cider into that, the siphoning will be enough to miz it all up together.