I have 4.5 gallons of apple cider made with Red Star Champagne yeast that's been sitting in a corner of my basement in a 5 gallon carboy for 2 years now. The cider was made from fresh pressed juice from a local orchard, and them treated with Campden tablets prior to starting fermentation. The cider was racked off twice along the way and is now a dark, clear cider that smells fantastic. I will admit that the crappy little airlock on it has gone dry on several occasions, but the cider shows no signs of any sort of sickness. The ABV should be about 9%.
I would now like to backsweeten the cider with some apple juice and maple syrup, and add a little cinnamon, then carbonate it in my 5 gallon corney keg. I had planned to used potassium sorbate to stabilize it first, but the more I read about off flavors and other potential issues with sorbate, the less sure I am about using it. I also read somewhere that a cider left to age for a substantial amount of time will result in all the existing yeasts dying off.
Can I get away with backsweetening and carbonating without using potassium sorbate? Any other input would be helpful. I'll be pressing another round of cider this weekend and need to get this carboy emptied out and the cider into my belly...
I would now like to backsweeten the cider with some apple juice and maple syrup, and add a little cinnamon, then carbonate it in my 5 gallon corney keg. I had planned to used potassium sorbate to stabilize it first, but the more I read about off flavors and other potential issues with sorbate, the less sure I am about using it. I also read somewhere that a cider left to age for a substantial amount of time will result in all the existing yeasts dying off.
Can I get away with backsweetening and carbonating without using potassium sorbate? Any other input would be helpful. I'll be pressing another round of cider this weekend and need to get this carboy emptied out and the cider into my belly...