My cider is too Dry and not sweet help?

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LloydRenee

LloydRenee

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Ok so I am making apple cider and it has been going now for 6 weeks almost 7. I used a champagne yeast and about 4 lbs of pround sugar with 5 gallons of cider. I sample it every now and then and take a reading. It been fermenting great and I am about to move it into three small one gallons for secondary flavoring and use the other two galons as plain but....Yeah here comes the but. Its dry, really dry and not very sweet. It is like a dry champagne how can I remedy that? When I move it to the new bottles for secondary fermentation and flavor can I add more brown sugar? Or do I just back sweeten it before bottling? If so how much? I am not looking for very sweet but in needs some flavor. Any help here would be great.

Also I have Muslin bags and cinnamon set for the secondary fementation. I am trying to think of other flavors to use? Any suggestions?

Thanks for all teh help in advance.
 
LloydRenee said:
Ok so I am making apple cider and it has been going now for 6 weeks almost 7. I used a champagne yeast and about 4 lbs of pround sugar with 5 gallons of cider. I sample it every now and then and take a reading. It been fermenting great and I am about to move it into three small one gallons for secondary flavoring and use the other two galons as plain but....Yeah here comes the but. Its dry, really dry and not very sweet. It is like a dry champagne how can I remedy that? When I move it to the new bottles for secondary fermentation and flavor can I add more brown sugar? Or do I just back sweeten it before bottling? If so how much? I am not looking for very sweet but in needs some flavor. Any help here would be great.

Also I have Muslin bags and cinnamon set for the secondary fementation. I am trying to think of other flavors to use? Any suggestions?

Thanks for all teh help in advance.
Click to expand...

Sugar ferments out completely, leaving a dry "wine" taste. The more sugar, the more "wine"like it'll taste. If you want to sweeten, you'll have to stabilize the cider with sorbate and sulfites, and then sweeten it. The stabilization is done once the cider is completely clear and no new lees fall, as the sorbate doesn't kill yeast it just inhibits yeast reproduction.

Champagne yeast will ferment up to 18% ABV, so it's not really a good choice for a cider that you want to maintain a hint of sweetness in, especially if you add sugar. For a more "cider" cider, next time use an ale yeast and don't add any sugar.
 
To piggy back of yooper, I'd be especially careful with the adding sugar. In my first batch of cider, I used an ale yeast because of the concern with making it too dry. I added only one pound of corn sugar for fermentation. Despite this, I still ended up with a pretty dry taste. When I bottled at five weeks, however, I noticed that some of the wine like taste is mellowing. Since I used a pretty low attenuating ale yeast, I know that can't be the problem, so I figure it has to be the sugar and will mess around with that aspect in the next batch.
 
After playing around with various recipes and combinations I have come back to a very basic recipe of just juice and ale yeast. It ferments quickly and is very drinkable in only a few weeks. It is dry, but very smooth, not at all like a dry wine. For the times I want it a little sweet I simply pour it over a packet of splenda. Even though I like it the way I'm making it now, I am thinking of trying some wine conditioner in a batch, just to further stabilize and add a hint of sweetness. I have used conditioner before with good results. You might try it and see if it does what you want.
 
Ahh thanks for the help. I will have to try some of that in my next attempts. I think for now on I will just stick to doing it the one gallon glass containers. I have a few further questions if any one can help.

1. Should I even bother racking it to seperate containers and falvoring them differently? I was gonna make three different flavors.

2. I was thinking about dropping some sorbate into the 5 gal along with about a cup or two fo Truvia and wracking it to another bucket to stir it up a bit and then let it sit. will taht help?

Someone suggested I try mixing it with some store bought cranberry or fruit juice so all is not lost. What are your thoughts?
 
jcobbs said:
After playing around with various recipes and combinations I have come back to a very basic recipe of just juice and ale yeast. It ferments quickly and is very drinkable in only a few weeks. It is dry, but very smooth, not at all like a dry wine. For the times I want it a little sweet I simply pour it over a packet of splenda. Even though I like it the way I'm making it now, I am thinking of trying some wine conditioner in a batch, just to further stabilize and add a hint of sweetness. I have used conditioner before with good results. You might try it and see if it does what you want.
Click to expand...

Sorry for hijack, but how long did it take to go from brew day to drinkable cider with an ale yeast?

jcobbs: have you thought about making some syrups to add? nobody on this forum seems to know about them, but you can make syrups from tinned fruit juice for example, reduce until heavily concentrated, then store it in a bottle and just add when pouring. Flavor possibilities are endless and you have the option to keep drinking one you like, or just drink it as an original cider. This will also sweeten it :)
 
It varies a bit of course, but usually around 6-8 weeks in all. After active fermentation stops and it gets really clear, I will usually thief out a sip every so often, and usually within a few weeks it will start to smell really nice and apple-y, and the taste will really smooth out.

I haven't thought of trying the fruit syrups, but that might be a good idea. Doesn't sound hard to make.
 
It doesn't matter what kind of yeast you use in cider, it always ends up dry. Read pappers sticky for good ideas on making it sweet.
 
"1. Should I even bother racking it to seperate containers and falvoring them differently? I was gonna make three different flavors."
You just made apple wine. Of course you should continue. Many people purposely do what you did.
 

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