Very stupid newbie question

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lxxenigmaxxl

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I dont think I put enough sugar in my 5 gallon carboy and was wondering if its to late to add more sugar. I started it 2 days ago and since then have been doing heavy reading on homebrewing and making cider. I only added 2 cups sugar to to 5 gallons of fresh pressed uv cider and a packet of Nottingman ale yeast.

If I can add more do i need to make sure the sugar is desovled before adding.

Thanks
 
Why do you think you didn't put enough? You actually don't NEED to add any. You could dissolve more before adding it if you feel the need. You could instead add juice concentrate.
 
I recently added a small amount of sugar to a juice that had come in at .052 and I wanted .062, It was about 300 grams and that got me the gravity I wanted. It looked like about 2 cups to me. You can add sugar after the ferment is going for a time and it is better to add it as a syrup of 1 part water to one part sugar. However if your juice was naturally swee (no added sugar when you got it) t I suspect you may have already added enough to give you around 8% ABV which is what I was going for.
 
I was reading about other people who have added 4 pounds of sugar to motts apple juice and was thinking it already had sugar added plus the 4 pounds was alot of sugar. I added only 2 cups of sugar with 100% natural pressed cider with no sugar added.

Quess I wanted to make sure I was not starving the little guys and they had plenty to eat.
 
The problem with adding pounds of sugar is that it's too much for the yeast sometimes. I believe when people add lots of sugar, adding yeast nutrient is also recommended. Too much sugar makes for harsh rocket cider that needs to age for quite some time to become drinkable. On the other hand, with minimal sugar the cider tastes better alot sooner IMHO. Like I mentioned before, adding concentrate is an alternative worth considering. Hope this helps.
 
I think I will let it ride out and see what the end result is and If I dont like It I can always make more. Thanks for the advice
 
Also, adding pounds of sugar will make your cider very strong, probably going into wine territory...definitely not a bad thing. It all depends on how strong you want it. I recently did two 1 gallon batches using no sugar. The one I rushed didn't have much flavor and had low abv, and the second one did have more flavor and a bit higher ABV. I added fresh cider back to it to give it more flavor before I drank it.
 
It's possible to do this hit-or-miss, but to be consistently good it is a tremendous help to know the specific gravity of the must, and the acid level. Knowing the specific gravity will allow you to add sufficient sugar to hit the alcohol content you want, and knowing the acid level will tell you if you need to add any malic acid. Most North American apples are low in acid, about 0.25, and I like my cider to have an acid level of about 0.55

Acid testing kits are cheap and easy to use once you get the hang of it.
 
I think I will let it ride out and see what the end result is and If I dont like It I can always make more. Thanks for the advice

I would suggest waiting if you are planning stay within the cider style. Juice with no sugar added usually finishes around 4.5+ ABV in my experience. However if you want to reach applewine alcohol levels use 2 lbs of corn sugar (or table) for a 5 gallon batch per Edwort's recipe.
 
I was reading about other people who have added 4 pounds of sugar to motts apple juice and was thinking it already had sugar added plus the 4 pounds was alot of sugar. I added only 2 cups of sugar with 100% natural pressed cider with no sugar added.

Quess I wanted to make sure I was not starving the little guys and they had plenty to eat.

I just started a batch using nothing but fresh pressed cider and had a 1.060 SG. I had bought 4 lbs of corn sugar and ended up using none of it. I think your plan of letting it go and see how it turns out is the right way to go.
 
I did one couple weeks ago with 1 lb of sugar to 5 gal of cider using Notty. I'm definitely adding more cider and some sugar to sweeten it up. Maybe even some lactose
 
Something just clicked and I see the light now. The sugar levels depend on what kind of cider you want and there is no wrong or right.
 
It took me three ciders and a Ed Worts wine to figure out ideas versus reality. Learning is a never ending process.

I just wish I had a place to ferment that was a couple degrees cooler. I think I could get my ideas closer to reality.
 
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