Bottling/Carbing a Cider

Hi All, My first cider has been in the primary for two weeks now and I am starting to think about the bottling process. This is a sweet cider that was made with four gallons of apple cider and almost 4 pounds of brown sugar. (Had an IG = 1.088) I plan on leaving in the primary for two more weeks.

The recipe says to bottle with equal parts brown sugar and Splenda. My question is is Splenda a fermentable sugar or is it just used as a sweetener and the additional brown sugar fuels the carbonation? If that is the case, additional Splenda would only sweeten and not increase my risk of bottle bombs right? SWMBO has a very sweet tooth, so I am excited to see how this first cider attempt turns out and more excited to try the much discussed Apfelwine next!

Christian

I think you've got it right. You may want to leave that in the primary for a bit longer, though, with such a high OG.

You are correct, brown sugar for carbonation and Splenda for sweetening. Splenda is not fermentable.

I would think the variance on FG for Cider is as great as it is for beer, but what do you guys think an appropriate FG would be with an IG as high as my 1.088?

Splenda?!?!? I've got the first batch of beer in the bottles, I can hardly wait to try them in about three weeks. I was thinking of trying a cider down the line. I like dry or sweet cider, but the SWMBO is also a fan of at least mildly sweet wines and ciders and doesn't like anything too dry. I was wondering about the best way to get the sweetness. I suppose Splenda would work. I never even thought of that.

Shooter said:

I like dry or sweet cider, but the SWMBO is also a fan of at least mildly sweet wines and ciders and doesn't like anything too dry. I was wondering about the best way to get the sweetness.

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I find that just leaving out the dextrose results in a more subtle, fruitier cider. You might try a small batch that way, and try swapping out yeast for wheat or other strains.

Monghetti said:

I would think the variance on FG for Cider is as great as it is for beer, but what do you guys think an appropriate FG would be with an IG as high as my 1.088?

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what kind of yeast did you use?