Okay, so I have a theoretical question about cold crashing, stabilizing, and back sweetening. A lot of the commentary and experience on this forum seems to suggest that there are two predominant methods of creating a sweet cider if you are not setup with a kegging system. The first is to allow the cider to reach its final gravity and then stabilize using k-meta and sorbate and then back sweeten with the brewers choice of substances; creating a still sweet cider. The second is to utilize an unfermentable sugar as a back sweetener; enabling the brewer to create a carbonated sweet cider.
As CvilleKevin has demonstrated, it is possible to cold crash and rack with certain yeasts to induce a late-term, stabile stuck fermentation in cider that can endure bottled storage without significant risk of bottle bombs. If this is possible then would it not also be possible for a brewer using a yeast such as Notty to do something similar and incorporate back sweetening. As example:
1) Ferment cider as normal, allowing the cider to go to final gravity and clarity.
2) Rack to a clean carboy.
3) Add frozen concentrate to increase gravity to say between ~1.005 and ~1.010.
4) Rack and cold/crash to induce a stable, stuck fermentation between those gravity points.
5) Age and monitor to ensure fermentation does not restart.
6) Bottle.
Looking back on this concept I realize that it does seem like a lot of steps to produce a semi-sweet cider as compared to other available methods. However, it also would allow an individual to add flavor, sweetness, and body back into a cider that might be lacking these components without having to resort to chemical stabilization.
In any case I would love to hear peoples thoughts on this idea. As Ive mentioned in a couple of other posts Im laid up right now so Ive got enough down time that all the ideas I have had about brewing over the last several months are able to get some space on the front burner so to speak.
Hopefully this is not a rehash of an old discussion. Ive done a fair amount of searching and reading and havent seen this idea presented in quite the same treatment. If it is a rehash and I missed the thread I please do feel free to point me in the right direction and this noobe will tuck his tail and head over the appropriate thread and do some more reading.
As CvilleKevin has demonstrated, it is possible to cold crash and rack with certain yeasts to induce a late-term, stabile stuck fermentation in cider that can endure bottled storage without significant risk of bottle bombs. If this is possible then would it not also be possible for a brewer using a yeast such as Notty to do something similar and incorporate back sweetening. As example:
1) Ferment cider as normal, allowing the cider to go to final gravity and clarity.
2) Rack to a clean carboy.
3) Add frozen concentrate to increase gravity to say between ~1.005 and ~1.010.
4) Rack and cold/crash to induce a stable, stuck fermentation between those gravity points.
5) Age and monitor to ensure fermentation does not restart.
6) Bottle.
Looking back on this concept I realize that it does seem like a lot of steps to produce a semi-sweet cider as compared to other available methods. However, it also would allow an individual to add flavor, sweetness, and body back into a cider that might be lacking these components without having to resort to chemical stabilization.
In any case I would love to hear peoples thoughts on this idea. As Ive mentioned in a couple of other posts Im laid up right now so Ive got enough down time that all the ideas I have had about brewing over the last several months are able to get some space on the front burner so to speak.
Hopefully this is not a rehash of an old discussion. Ive done a fair amount of searching and reading and havent seen this idea presented in quite the same treatment. If it is a rehash and I missed the thread I please do feel free to point me in the right direction and this noobe will tuck his tail and head over the appropriate thread and do some more reading.