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iv_hokie12

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So I've been reading on here trying to find out more about cider making. There is quite a bit to process, so forgive me if this is a noob question. I was thinking about making a batch that looked something like this.

5 gallons of Apple Cider from Kroger (If it says cider it doesn't have preservatives right?

2 pounds of sugar
Small amount of acid blend
1 campden tablet

Wait 24 hours

Add 1 packet dry champagne yeast

Wait 10 days

Rack to secondary

Wait 1 month

Add 1 campden tablet?

wait 24 hours

Add 1-2 pounds of sugar

Keg

Wait 2 months

Tap keg

Looks good/any suggestions?
 
Are you kegging and force carbonating or letting the yeast do it? If force carbing then the extra sugar must be for sweetness, in which case you may want sorbate to stop the yeast, not just camden, though if you plan to keep it at fridge temps it may not be nessessary. If the added sugar is to prime to let the yeast do the carbonating I wouldn't have thought you would want to add the second camden at all as it will stun the yeast.
 
Thanks, and yeah I am force carbing. There were a few people hear saying that they hated the taste of sorbates so I was thinking that might be a way around that. Have you noticed a change in flavor.
 
+1 to what Insomniac said.

Juice often has preservatives in it. The only way to be sure is to check the ingredients list for words or compounds containing 'sulfa'.

Also, acid makes life harder for your yeast. I always add it to taste after fermentation for that reason and also because the cider taste will change significantly. If you have access to a juicer it's better imo to up the acid with tart apple juice (Northern Spy & Granny Smith are two of my favorites) then with an acid blend.

The amount of metasulfite varies depending on the brand of tablet. One campden tablet is not enough to inoculate 5 gallons. The container should list the PPM per gallon of a single tablet. Use this to calculate how much you need to add.
 
Campden tablets wont likely kill your yeast, you will need to pasturize or add a sorbate of some sort, your yeast will continue to to consume the sugars you will be backsweetening with and you will end up with a dry apple wine or one hell of a bomb if that keg gets overpressurized. Cold doesnt always kill yeast.
 
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