Couple cider questions

[tgmartin000]

Hey guys, been brewing a while and tried my hand at some cider this year. Had a few questions on my ferment.

Used nottingham yeast, fermented around 58, at lager pitch rates. Dosed with Fermaid k and DAP.

1. I forgot to add pectic enzyme. Can I add post ferment?

2. There is some leftover sulphur from the ferment. Will this age out?

3. Planning on dosing with potassium sorbate. Fg=1.004, and stable. Will this mess with the sulphur reduction?

4. Best back sweetner? I'm leaning towards apple juice concentrate, then Kegging. What about wine conditioner or juice?

Thanks!

 

[madscientist451]

Quick answers:
1. No
2. It might age out, but I doubt it.
3. If the taste of the cider doesn't suit you, there's no point in going to steps 3 & 4; Either let it bulk age and see what happens or dump it and move on.

 

[oldmate]

Hey guys, been brewing a while and tried my hand at some cider this year. Had a few questions on my ferment.

Used nottingham yeast, fermented around 58, at lager pitch rates. Dosed with Fermaid k and DAP.

1. I forgot to add pectic enzyme. Can I add post ferment?

2. There is some leftover sulphur from the ferment. Will this age out?

3. Planning on dosing with potassium sorbate. Fg=1.004, and stable. Will this mess with the sulphur reduction?

4. Best back sweetner? I'm leaning towards apple juice concentrate, then Kegging. What about wine conditioner or juice?

Thanks!

1. Yes. Pectinase isn't necessary and won't change the taste of the cider. It is mainly used for aesthetic purposes (clarity).

2. Yes, the majority of it should dissipate with time.

3. Shouldn't. Can't comment much further on this subject as I don't stabilise this way.

4. I use juice because no FAJC in Australia.

 

[Masbustelo]

Research using a piece of copper to remove the sulfur.

 

[dmtaylor]

1. Pectic enzyme isn’t necessary. If you want clarity, use gelatin.

2. Sulfur always disappears on its own over time. It is simply a matter of how much time. Often it only takes 3-4 weeks. Sometimes it takes much longer. But it will go away with age, I’m sure of that.

3. Sorbate is a good idea. It shouldn’t hurt the sulfur dissipation.

4. A lot of folks swear by the apple juice concentrate. Personally I don’t backsweeten at all anymore, just enjoy as-is.

 

[Maylar]

Hey guys, been brewing a while and tried my hand at some cider this year. Had a few questions on my ferment.

Used nottingham yeast, fermented around 58, at lager pitch rates. Dosed with Fermaid k and DAP.

1. I forgot to add pectic enzyme. Can I add post ferment?

2. There is some leftover sulphur from the ferment. Will this age out?

3. Planning on dosing with potassium sorbate. Fg=1.004, and stable. Will this mess with the sulphur reduction?

4. Best back sweetner? I'm leaning towards apple juice concentrate, then Kegging. What about wine conditioner or juice?

Thanks!

1 - Yes, but it's less effective in the presence of alcohol. I've read that twice the normal dosage works in secondary.

2 - I dunno, never had that happen to me. It's uncommon to have sulphur when you've used nutrients. Here's a reference on a wine blog -

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/problems.asp

About 2/3 of the way down he talks about racking and splashing. Also search this forum, there's lots of threads about it -

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=157361&page=2

3 - Probably not, but I'd deal with the sulfur first.

4- FAJC and kegging works very well for me.

 

[tgmartin000]

Excellent, thanks all. I think I'm going to go ahead with the pectic enzyme, then rack and try to age out the sulfur.

So what else, besides sorbate, will stabilize? Will cold crashing do the trick?

 

[dmtaylor]

So what else, besides sorbate, will stabilize? Will cold crashing do the trick?

Gelatin, cold, and time all help. The goal really is to get all the yeast out and keep them from becoming active again. Sorbate helps too but the other things are all equally important in my opinion.