My First Cider Attempt

[Thomasaug]

Hi, I'm new to brewing cider, but have a lot of experience with beer brewing. A few newbie quesitons:

For starters, I'm using a Cider Yeast - Wyeast WLP775. Wanted to add raspberries and make a raspberry cider with some sweetness (not too dry).

I was going to start with 4 gallons of hard cider (not sure pasterized or unpasterized). Will make in a 5 gallon better bottle fermenter.

The questions:

1) Should I boil since I am adding new yeast anyway?

2) Do I need to dual fermentation or could this be handled in one attempt?

3) Can I add the raspberries right after the boil (I will crush and heat them up to kill bacteria) or wait until a secondary fermentation?

4) Was planning on back sugaring with some Splenda. How much is recommended for a 5 gallon container?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Thomasaug]

Was going to add some sugar to raise the Alcohol content a bit.

Is plain white sugar ok to add and how much is recommended?

 

[fbangie]

You can use plain sugar (cane sugar). Make sure it is dissolved in the juice. Check the SG as you add.
I use corn sugar myself. Not sure how the cane sugar will affect the final taste. Some use frozen concentrate to boost up the starting fermentables also.

 

[BoatmanTom]

I make alot of raspberry cider.
I use 16 oz of frozen berries per gallon of apple juice/cider
Heat then up to 90 degrees F then add pectin enzyme, let sit for one hour.
Then add the berries to primary ferm.
then add the juice/cider
then add yeast nutrient and acid blend
then pitch the yeast.
Shake the he*l out of it
Add an airlock, put in a dark rook (at 75 F)
I don't add any sugar, there is enough in the berrires and the cider to get you to about 9.5% ABV.
At bottling time I add 12oz(1 can) of frozen concentrate apple juice and priming sugar. Nice apple taste with a strong hint of raspberry. If my sweet enough add Splenda(non-fermentable) to the mix before you add the priming sugar. I added 1/2 cup of Splenda to 5 gallons, came out great.

Tom

 

[Thomasaug]

Well, added two pounds brown sugar and 1/2 cup of splenda, as well as the raspberries. Fermenting away. Heard this will be a slow fermentation, so I will wait and see. Thanks for your help.

 

[MaverickBrew]

splenda?

 

[Thomasaug]

Splenda as an unfermenatable for some sweetness. Heard a half a cup is a good amount as a back-sweetener.

Oh, and didn't boil either.

Hoping for the best, and planning my next brew.

 

[kewlio250]

You can use plain sugar (cane sugar). Make sure it is dissolved in the juice. Check the SG as you add.
I use corn sugar myself. Not sure how the cane sugar will affect the final taste. Some use frozen concentrate to boost up the starting fermentables also.

make sure your heat the sugar and juice mix to at or near boiling temperatures. white sugar and brown sugars are disaccharide's, which most yeasts have trouble eating, heating it up breaks the oxygen bond between them, turning them into two monosaccharides, which all yeast can use for food


blinded, by science!

 

[JeepDiver]

make sure your heat the sugar and juice mix to at or near boiling temperatures. white sugar and brown sugars are disaccharide's, which most yeasts have trouble eating, heating it up breaks the oxygen bond between them, turning them into two monosaccharides, which all yeast can use for food


blinded, by science!

Heating will set the pectin and give you a hazy that won't clear. I've never had an issue with yeast eating plain sugar that was dissolved in the juice (i.e. apfelwein)

 

[kewlio250]

Heating will set the pectin and give you a hazy that won't clear. I've never had an issue with yeast eating plain sugar that was dissolved in the juice (i.e. apfelwein)

you dont need to bring it to that high of a temperature, 170-180 should be fine, and the pectin wont set that low

 

[completelyuncorked]

if you put campden tablets(1 crushed tablet per gallon) into your juice 24 hours prior to pitching your yeast, then there is no need to pasteurize your juice prior and you will have no need to worry about the pectin issue

 

[MoonDawg]

I feel i should point out that yeast do not "eat" sugar, period. When the innoculated cider is placed in a sealed carboy, the yeast first uses whatever O2 available in the carboy to carry out metabolism. (I.e. - aerobic pathway.) At the point which all available O2 is used, the Yeast resorts to an ANAEROBIC pathway(The yeast breaks down the sugar into O2, CO2 and ETOH.) The yeast uses the O2 for respiration and the CO2 (Carbonation) and ETOH (Alcohol) are discarded into the solution as by-products. This is why the Carboy MUST BE SEALED TIGHTLY. Also, yeast nutrients ( which often contain ACTUAL nutrition for the yeast.) are nearly essential for an effective fermentation.