Very short rant.

[phug]

Why is it that so often someone new sets foot in the forum and wants to make a basic cider and asks for advice, and nearly the first thing they are told is "add a lb of sugar, boost the abv." Ok, I get it some people like that, but for me 6% is good enough, and more alcohol does not, necessarily, a better cider make.

Now, if someone said "I'd like to make a nice simple apfelwein." Then yes add sugar should be right near the top of the list.

- end rant


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[sboyajian]

My biggest recommendation for them would be to make sure they use the best yeast option for the time of cider they want. Dry, sweet or otherwise.

Used English ale yeast on mine and it's still too dry.

 

[bernardsmith]

My biggest recommendation for them would be to make sure they use the best yeast option for the time of cider they want. Dry, sweet or otherwise.

Used English ale yeast on mine and it's still too dry.

sboyajan, Hi. If you are fermenting apple juice then I don't know any yeast (and I am the first to admit that my knowledge of yeast is VERY limited -but I have used many kinds of yeast in wine, mead, beer and cider making) that cannot easily convert every last molecule of the sugars in apples to CO2 and alcohol. If the starting original gravity is about 1.050 or thereabouts (a potential ABV of about 6.5 %) then even pitching bread yeast (!) will ferment the juice to about .996 or lower.
To make a sweet (or medium sweet) cider you need to allow the yeast to finish its work then you stabilize the cider by adding K-meta and k-sorbate and then you add additional apple juice or sugar or honey or agave or maple syrup or whatever your favorite sweetener might be (stevia?). Now others on this forum may offer alternative approaches (pasteurization before the yeast has quite finished, for example) - and that is fine. My point is only that you are not likely to find anything sold as "yeast" that will not, when added to apple juice, ferment dry.

 

[sboyajian]

Yeah I think I finished at 1.002. I tried backsweetening with Xyla and it did work to a degree.

I'll look into the preservative method. Thanks!

 

[Maylar]

The commercially produced ciders are in the 5-6% ABV range. There's really no reason to go beyond that, other than the "I can" factor. Starting with a good organic juice at 1.050 you get 7% or so. The only time I'll recommend extra sugar in primary is if the OG is below 1.045 which, from what I've read, is a minimum for stability (shelf life).

 

[microbiology]

5-6% alcohol is fine but some people don't like a dry cider. By stopping the cider before all the sugar has fermented it will taste sweeter but the alcohol % using juice with an OG of 1.044 (what i bought yesterday) would be below 5%.

 

[phug]

5-6% alcohol is fine but some people don't like a dry cider. By stopping the cider before all the sugar has fermented it will taste sweeter but the alcohol % using juice with an OG of 1.044 (what i bought yesterday) would be below 5%.

Ok yes, some people don't like a dry cider. But then essentially we're either telling our newest members to jump right away into cold crashing plus stovetop pasteurizing or kegging or otherwise carbonating. None of which are nearly as simple as " take good quality apple juice without preservatives, add quality yeast, affix airlock, allow to ferment completely, prime for carbonation if desired, bottle, allow time for conditioning, enjoy".sure we all want that holy grail of sweet and bubbly without chemicals. But none of the "add sugar" posts ever seem to mention the " guess when fermentation will be where you want it in terms of sweetness, cold crash, bottle, guess when your bottles are at goldilocks volumes of co2 and then place in a hot but not too oh stockpot and ensure you wear hearing, vision, and aour plating protection" I exaggerate of course ( a little )


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew