Sweet cider.

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

vapor2020

Active Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
44
Reaction score
0
Location
Seattle, WA
This finishes fairly sweet without backsweetening. I got an FG of around 1.01.

4 gallons pasturized cider with no preservatives
2 cups honey
6 oz Grandma's mollases.

Heat enough to thoroughly combine all ingredients.

Pitch:
Wyeast Bavarian wheat yeast.

Tell me what you think.
 
I didn't take good enough notes last time i made this. I am working on a batch right now and will have more details for you guys in about a week.
 
OG=1.061
FG=1.011
ABV=6.7%

Primary ferment until it stops.
Transfer to secondary for 1-2 weeks (it tastes awesome at this point).
Bottle with 3/4 cup corn sugar.

I think this stuff is delicious. Let me know what you think.
 
I'm curious. How did you stop the fermentation ant 1.011? Did you sorbate it or heat pasturize it? or is that what it ended up at? I can never get my ciders to stop until they are bone dry
 
It doesn't always finish as sweet as 1.011, but the hefe yeast almost never drops too far below it. If you use "cider yeast" or champagne yeast, you are guaranteed a very dry end result. I don't sorbate or pasteurize, although I've considered doing a heat pasturization after the bottles are carbed. I read a technique for this somewhere. I thought it sounded like an interesting idea. If you try this recipe, you should tell me what you get.
 
If you are using fresh pressed cider, your OG will vary depending on your source.

I got some fresh cider from a local farm that is 1.058 by itself.

I am doing my first ever batch of cider using nottingham dry ale yeast and no other additions. Fermenting cool in the hopes it comes out sweet.

My wife and I heated up some of the fresh cider with a cinnamon stick in it and it was great, does anyone know if you would have to sanitize cinnamon before adding it to the fermenting cider? Maybe boil it?
 
Just put this one down to ferment on Tuesday. I used:
4 gallons Naturally Preferred Organic Apple Juice (on sale at Kroger)
16 oz. clover honey
6 oz. Brer Rabbit Full Flavor Molasses (didn't know if I should use "full flavor" or blackstrap)
1 packet of Danstar Munich yeast

OG: 1.060

For next time, I might dissolve the honey and molasses in a 1/2 gallon of heated juice just for the sake of mixing. Also, is yeast nutrient/energizer needed?

I've read in other posts that ciders should be aged/conditioned for at least a few months, but could this be good sooner?

Thanks
 
I made something similar to this last night.

4.5 gallons juice (1.050 OG)
30 ounces honey ~ 2.75 lb ~ 1.41 OG
Nottingham yeast
Will ferment at 65

I calculated the OG to be 1.068, measuring wouldn't have helped since the honey sank to the bottom, but I know the yeast will find it :)

The juice was cold so I was setting at 55 degrees when said and done, it is in the basement in my fermentation freezer with the probe tapped to it. Read 58 degrees this morning so I put a hot water bottle in there to warm it up and then the freezer will kick on if it gets above 67.

My plan is to sample it each day and when I get down near 1.013 or so I'll turn the freezer down to 34 and drop out the yeast, transfer to secondary and add a small amount of potassium sorbate and metisulfate, most yeast should be left in the primary. After a week or so (or until it clears) I'll transfer to keg.
 
My apple juice was unfiltered (really cloudy), so I'm wondering if my cider (cyser, according to the BJCP) will turn out cloudy, especially since I used hefe yeast. Or will it all settle out and clear?

Conpewter, if the honey sank and you didn't shake or otherwise aerate your must, I bet your OG was probably higher. Perhaps you should heat some juice next time and dissolve the honey. Or shake the heck out of it once everything's in the fermenter.
 
I think you will get cloudy cider from reading the results in the Apfelwein thread. On the other hand you could probably use gelatin to remove the cloudyness.

I don't really see a reason to heat the juice and honey. It will dissolve as it sits in there. I didn't take a reading of the mixture. I found out the volume of honey, the SG of the honey then I measured the SG of the juice (before going into the fermenter) and the volume of the juice, using these values I calculated out the OG of the mixture, since you are correct that it would be hard to get the honey to mix in. :) I can report back how this turned out.
 
I thought it was pretty tasty a month in. Of course it gets better with time, but the ale yeast doesn't produce as many off- flavors and smells that need to age out as a cider or champagne yeast does.
 
Okay, so I'm looking at probably somewhere around New Year. Maybe ready by Christmas (I can fit it in as part of my grandfather's Christmas present!) How long can sweet cider last? I read somewhere that sweet ciders don't have the shelf stability of drier examples. Is this true? I'll probably drink it all before I have to worry about it, but for future reference... ;)
 
Hi I'm new to homebrew and my first attempt of cider turned out very bitter and dry (aparently thats what proper cider tastes like) but it was not to my liking. I want to try somethign sweeter so came aross your reipe, how much yeast shousl I use (fr a 5gal bath) and what is Molasses?

thanks
smitherz
 
Hi I'm new to homebrew and my first attempt of cider turned out very bitter and dry (aparently thats what proper cider tastes like) but it was not to my liking. I want to try somethign sweeter so came aross your reipe, how much yeast shousl I use (fr a 5gal bath) and what is Molasses?

thanks
smitherz

Link to Molasses. Like grits, it's a southern thing. It's extremely thick, more so than honey but tastes more like syrup. My family will heat it up and throw a ton of butter in, stir and eat biscuits. Up north I think they use it for cattle feed. There is a harshness to it that I do not particularly care for.

Back to the topic. I'm also interested in a 'sweet' cider and wish to get some feedback on those that made this. How long does it need to age? What's the shelf-life in a bottle (or a keg maybe)?

Thanks - :mug:
 
Okay, I bottled this one. So, I used Danstar Munich yeast (Danstar's dry hefeweizen yeast), and it dried my cider out waaaaay more than I was hoping. Started at 1060, finished at 1002! Apparently this yeast is heartier than liquid strains. It was still pretty tasty and cleared wonderfully, but a sweet cider it is not! I've got it maturing in the bottle, though I opted for a still cider (read "I forgot to put in the priming sugar.") I'll definitely have to try this one again with a liquid yeast.
 
I've had this in primary for 3 weeks now. There was a layer of thick bubbles on top that finally dropped out sometime this weekend. Going to lit it sit for a few more weeks.
 
It's been over 7 weeks now and this has not cleared at all, looks as muddy as the day I made it. I haven't taken a gravity reading but I do remember it off-gassing through the airlock a while back. What did you guys experience, did it clear?
 
Speak the truth... what was the verdict on this? Did gramps like his present?

Still looking for the elusive "sweet" (well, at least "not-to-dry") cider recipe...

Interesting addition of the moleasses... I don't know why it suprised me, as brown sugar is just white sugar w/ moleasses added back in.
 
Well, the cider was really dry (.99) from the Danstar Munich yeast, and I kinda forgot to add priming sugar...so no, my grandparents didn't appreciate the finer nuances of the cider. Maybe next time.
 
I made this as my first cider, hoping for something that finished on the sweeter side. I had an OG of 1.068 and after two weeks in the primary its down to 1.012 (used a dry hefe yeast). Tastes very good but a little drier than I was hoping.

In the secondary now, will bottle in a couple of weeks
 
just made 2-1 gal batches of this from the whole foods apple juice. took 1st reading and it was 1.063. im leaving for a cpl week on thursday so will prob rack it when i get back. will keep posts on progress.
 
I made a similar cider last year, and it was way too dry as well. After going to the LHBS, I learned that adding lactose with the priming sugar will sweeten it up some. I did this as well, and still too dry. Most enjoyed it though. I am still looking for the sweet cider though. I will try again this weekend-should be ready by the holidays.
 
+1 how much lactose did you add with your priming sugar??!! I am going to Julian (socal home of apple pie) and and going to pick up a sh*tload of fresh pressed cider and try this out. I expect it to ferment dry, but am trying to guage how much lactose to add to give it some (no overly so) body and sweetness.
 
Im thinking of brewing this one soon

4 gallons apple juice
24 (2 cups) oz honey
6 oz molasses
1 packet of Danstar Munich yeast
1 cinnamon stick (in secondary)
prime with 2/3 cup of sugar

what do you think?
 
I just tasted the batch I made but it's not sweet like I hoped. Had 4 variation of priming method too. But that tart smell is so horrid!
 
After researching for over 1 month now, I am still unsure which is the best yeast to use to avoid my cider becoming dry. Please is there anybody who knows a winning recipe to get away from it fermenting into dry cider? Or just tell me a full proof yeast that will help a sweetness settle during fermentation... yes I know, we can backsweeten, freeze yeast, etc. I don't want to do any of these things. Can I not just let it ferment and then age into sweet hard cider with the correct yeast? Advice on this H.brew issue would be great guys:) cheers
 
Joey, try an ale yeast and get a og up in the 15% alcohol range.... thats the only surefire way of getting a semi sweet cider... otherwise yes you will have to back sweeten and the like.
 
Joey, try an ale yeast and get a og up in the 15% alcohol range.... thats the only surefire way of getting a semi sweet cider... otherwise yes you will have to back sweeten and the like.

Great help Randzor, thanks for the feedback.. I am going to try your method straight away:) will keep you posted!! Cheers
 
Hay anyone else tried the lactose option? I saw someone had mentioned it but didn't give the amount per gallon? I am really trying to make something that my wife will enjoy!
 
Back
Top