Back-sweetening and bottling

[bigadam]

What's the best way to accomplish this? From what I've read, artificial sweeteners may create an off-taste in the end even though it won't ferment while fermenting sweeteners could burst bottles. Any suggestions for something that would sweeten without fermenting or a method by which I can sweeten with something that will ferment, but not result in bottles bursting when I add in the priming solution?

I had thought of adding brown sugar today until it's where I want it, then cold crashing in a couple days and bottling on the weekend. Thoughts?

 

[Unferth]

Your options are to either backsweeten with what you want and cold crash after priming or same but pasteurize per instructions in sticky at top of forum. It normally takes mine a week to get to the carb level I want. Cheers

 

[bigadam]

Should I just use the brown sugar now to sweeten and then not add anything more when I go to bottle?

And by cold crash after priming, I assume you mean bottle it and then stick it immediately in the fridge.

 

[Unferth]

to back sweeten and cold crash for sweeter sparkling cider:
1)Add sweetener of your choice to taste; just keep adding and mixing until you like the taste. For Brown Sugar, I would make a syrup out of it on the stove so it will mix better.
2) after your cider is as sweet as you want it, add priming sugar for the yeast to eat up and produce carbon dioxide.
3) bottle in beer or champagne bottles.
4) allow to carbonate at room temperature (mine normally takes about a week with 3 oz of dextrose, its best to check every day by opening one and seeing the carbonation level)
5) when carbonated to your liking, move all of bottles into fridge.

result: sweet, sparkling, frosty cider. á votre santé!

 

[bigadam]

Thanks unferth! I'll give it a shot.

 

[MarkKF]

Up until now my ciders have all been dry. I have 5 gal. of Apple and 5 gal. Apple-Strawberry in the carboy waiting to bottle. I'm planning on back sweetening these two.

So does anyone have a ballpark idea of how much brown sugar you add to 5 gal. at .990 to get a moderate if semi-sweet cider. I currently add 3/4-1 cup of brown sugar to prime and don't notice a change in flavor from that amount.

Thanks

 

[Unferth]

The priming sugar you use will have very little effect on the overall sweetness of the product, as it is being eaten up by the yeast.

just sweeten it to taste then prime. sweeten it in your bottling bucket until you like it, then add your 3/4 cup of brown sugar to prime. It helps to stir it gently with a spoon then take a sample with a wine thief, that way you are getting a well mixed sample to judge.

I generally think of 1.020 as being in the semi-sweet range.

 

[MarkKF]

I generally think of 1.020 as being in the semi-sweet range.

I'm thinking 1.010 as semi-dry and 1.020 as semi-sweet. If that makes any sense. Ballpark I'm thinking it will take 2-3 pounds of sugar to get there.

 

[bigadam]

I tried a bottle of the cider. I had decided to just let it go into the bottle as it was without any attempt to sweeten. After about two weeks in the bottle or so, it has really started to sweeten up on its own. I'm glad I didn't add sweetener to it before the bottle (besides the priming solution, that is) because I think it would have been too sweet for my tastes.