This is my second year making cider. Last year I made 5 gallons of sparkling and its was great. It was so good that this year I made 20. But I made a couple of changes that may have backfired.
My recipe:
6 gallons fresh pressed cider
2 lbs cane sugar
1 ibs brown sugar
I warmed this to 160 degrees for 15 minutes and let cool in a sealed carboy overnight. Last year I used one package of EC-1118 yeast and a bit more brown sugar. This year I used 2 packages of EC-1118. I let it ferment for 2 weeks and racked it tonight - but OH it was so dry and tart. Last year I remember thinking it was going to be too sweet but it mellowed just fine.
Last year I bottled using about a cup of AJC in order to get the carbonation. I've read through posts about back sweetening using the concentrate to sweeten but won't that be too much added sugar for bottling?
I am assuming I used too much yeast/and or not enough sugar. The sad thing is I have three other carboys perking away - Another one with EC-1118, one with Nottingham and one with Safale S-04. I rehydrated both the EC-1118 and s-04 but pitched the Nottingham straight in - it is looking pretty funky right now but smells okay and is still fermenting but there are gobs floating around. I started all of these about 5 days after the batch that is so dry. I took no reading on any of them.
How can I back sweeten and still bottle safely?
My recipe:
6 gallons fresh pressed cider
2 lbs cane sugar
1 ibs brown sugar
I warmed this to 160 degrees for 15 minutes and let cool in a sealed carboy overnight. Last year I used one package of EC-1118 yeast and a bit more brown sugar. This year I used 2 packages of EC-1118. I let it ferment for 2 weeks and racked it tonight - but OH it was so dry and tart. Last year I remember thinking it was going to be too sweet but it mellowed just fine.
Last year I bottled using about a cup of AJC in order to get the carbonation. I've read through posts about back sweetening using the concentrate to sweeten but won't that be too much added sugar for bottling?
I am assuming I used too much yeast/and or not enough sugar. The sad thing is I have three other carboys perking away - Another one with EC-1118, one with Nottingham and one with Safale S-04. I rehydrated both the EC-1118 and s-04 but pitched the Nottingham straight in - it is looking pretty funky right now but smells okay and is still fermenting but there are gobs floating around. I started all of these about 5 days after the batch that is so dry. I took no reading on any of them.
How can I back sweeten and still bottle safely?
