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Hmm, a couple of reasons for me. I didn't know that sorbitol powder existed. I wonder why it hasn't been mentioned in discussions about non-fermentable sweeteners (xylitol, splenda, etc which seem to have undesirable side effects), It might be worth trying but it seems a bit expensive at around...

It has been an interesting couple of days. I tried to get some data on Fuji apples and from what I can tell, if their analysis is correct my supplier's apples are lower in fermentable sugars than others. Nevertheless, all the Fuji data that I could find indicates that even if some Fujis have...

I thought it might be worth sharing a bit of interesting information I have stumbled across. I have posted recently about my poor apple crop and the need to buy in some juice to blend. The juice arrived and after doing the usual SG, pH, TA stuff, I noticed that the Fuji juice nutritional...

Thanks Dave, that helps. I started my cider journey with EC1118 almost ten years ago on the recommendation of the local brew shop. I was a noob and the first results fermented quickly but were tart, dry and not very pleasant with little flavour, so I have been a bit gun-shy of EC1118 since...

Down here in this upside part of the world, no-one seems to be carrying Cote des Blancs any more. I was able to get it a few years ago but Google and eBay searches don't turn anything up. It is getting close to the start of cider time here in Oz. Because of my failed apple crop this year, I...

As outlined above, any more than SG 1.005 (10g/L of sugar) will probably over-do the carbonation since yeast will keep gobbling up any sugar and convert it into CO2 and alcohol. The rough rule of thumb for carbonation is two teaspoons of sugar per litre. Much more than this and you will get...

Adding fruit is a "black art" rather than a science. You need to be able to remove the fruit when the flavour profile is right since too much can overdo it, so having the fruit in a steeping bag will help with this. Some fruit (hops in particular) float, so a means of weighing it down into the...

When I was reading about batonnage (in a nearby post), the comment was made that after stirring, the CO2 generated by fermentation tends to keep particles in suspension. So, bernardsmith is pretty much on the money re waiting for the cider to self degas. However, some years ago when I tried...

Adding nutrient at any time is O.K. as long as you don't over-do it and have too much unused nutrient as suggested above. There are some opinions that if nutrient is needed it is best added after primary fermentation so there isn't a "rush" of nutrient that leads to fermentation taking off too...

The best advice I could give you is to spend $50 or so and buy The New Cider Maker's Handbook by Claude Jolicoeur and/or Craft Cidermaking by Andrew Lea. They cover a lot of the same stuff but sometimes from a different perspective as well as some different topics. The next best advice is what...

Both Jolicoeur and Lea suggest 50ppm of DAP per 0.010 SG drop required. Normally AJ would have enough nutrient to fully ferment cider, however for a number of reasons if it is low in nutrient it can stall. Half a gram or 1/10 teaspoon should be more than enough for a gallon stalled at say 1.020...

I was recently reading about some high-quality ciders (that sell for $$) produced using batonnage, literally stirring with a stick. There has been a bit of traffic on the forum lately about improving flavour so I thought it might be worth throwing batonnage into the mix. It is a bit of a...

You mention nutrients but don't say if you used them. I am not familiar with the ones you mentioned but the Combi just seems to be regular DAP and Thiamin or something similar. It isn't uncommon for ale yeasts like Nottingham to be quite YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen) dependent and start to...

Here is a long-winded answer to your question about what does adding a bit of apple juice do to the ABV. Basically, the ABV is derived from yeast converting sugar into alcohol and CO2. The CO2 goes off into the atmosphere leaving water, flavour compounds and alcohol behind, i.e. cider. So, here...

Adding fresh juice to fill the headspace will be fine as long as it doesn't contain preservatives that will kill yeast. It looks as though you need about a litre to top it up. Using some "rough arithmetic", you will get one of two outcomes. If your cider still has viable yeasts, they will...

The finger seems to be pointing at stressed yeast contributing to your problem as the potassium sorbate may have initially prevented growth of the yeast population. The use of nutrients also seems to be an issue, so it is probably worth going a bit “off-topic” to touch on when and why to use...

Firstly, welcome to the fun. Hmm, to give you some comfort, I can't see anything outrageously wrong with the initial approach, so hang on in there. Here is my take on the situation. Your blend is very similar to a very popular commercial cider from Tasmania (Australia's "apple island" state)...

Due to adverse weather conditions last spring, most of the apple trees in our district lost their blossoms and are producing hardly any fruit. I will be lucky to have 50 assorted apples from my trees this Autumn, not even enough for a gallon of cider. In fact my Fameuse/Pomme de Neige has none...

As above, plus a bit of background on nutrient... Different yeasts vary in their dependence on YAN (Yeast Assimilable Nitrogen) which they need to consume all the sugar available and so progress to complete fermentation. Ale yeasts (such as SO4 or TF6) are higher dependency yeasts than wine or...

Welcome to the world of cider. I guess that when many of us made our first cider we expect to get an apple flavored alcoholic beverage, but instead got something that is dry, tart, and “arrgh”, what is that? ...tasting not at all like some of the commercial ciders which are modified to...