Adding concentrate

[benkrupt]

I made quite a decent batch of pear cider but if I had to improve I would like the pear taste to come through a bit more. I used champagne yeast and have been told that strips the flavour a bit. Any suggestions... Also if I was to add pear concentrate just before bottling would I be doing this to replace the 6grams of dextrose I usually use to carbonate each grolsch bottle?
Need advice from a more experienced cider brewer...

 

[LeBreton]

Look at the label on the concentrate and get the grams of sugar per serving to find out how much sugar is in the can and then calculate how much concentrate you need.

 

[benkrupt]

If I'm making the pear concentrate myself, how do you work out the sugar levels in order to work out how much to put in each bottle?

 

[LeBreton]

I find about 0.003 SG makes a good level of carbonation. Rather than priming each individual bottle just keep adding your concentrate to the whole batch until the desired change is reached, then bottle.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I made quite a decent batch of pear cider but if I had to improve I would like the pear taste to come through a bit more. I used champagne yeast and have been told that strips the flavour a bit. Any suggestions... Also if I was to add pear concentrate just before bottling would I be doing this to replace the 6grams of dextrose I usually use to carbonate each grolsch bottle?
Need advice from a more experienced cider brewer...

Why not just add the pear concentrate to the primary & use a lower attenuating yeast like 71-B or even an ale yeast like Nottingham?
Regards, GF.

 

[benkrupt]

Thanks for that. Haven't tried Nottingham before. Heard you need to let it age a lot. What's the difference in taste in regards to champagne yeast and that? I have made three new batches today. One with champagne, one with Nottingham and one called sn9. Very interested to taste the difference later. Also, do you ever add an artificial sweetener to your ciders to give it a touch of sweetness to it? Obviously one that yeast doesn't eat. Being dry I don't know if I should add a little to these three batches. Regards ben

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Thanks for that. Haven't tried Nottingham before. Heard you need to let it age a lot. What's the difference in taste in regards to champagne yeast and that? I have made three new batches today. One with champagne, one with Nottingham and one called sn9. Very interested to taste the difference later. Also, do you ever add an artificial sweetener to your ciders to give it a touch of sweetness to it? Obviously one that yeast doesn't eat. Being dry I don't know if I should add a little to these three batches. Regards ben

Actually you don't need to age it as much with Nottingham as you do with a champagne yeast. IMHO, Ale yeast is the way to go for cider. I used to use wine yeast for cider & after trying the ale yeast, it's all I use for cider now. Have a look at this thread for some comparisons:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/results-juice-yeast-sugar-experiments-83060/

I don't use any artificial sweeteners. I do use some grain when I make Graff (malt cider), and the crystal malt is only steeped. As it is only partially fermentable, it does add some sweetness to a cider, as well as some body. This is the recipe I use for Graff:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/graff-malty-slightly-hopped-cider-117117/

I hope this info helps. Regards, GF.

 

[benkrupt]

Thanks mate yeah that sounds interesting, the malt cider. Doesn't sound right adding grain but I will have to experiment and find out. I am looking to get a touch more sweetness to my dry cider. I did the 50/50 pear with Bosc and packham with champagne yeast and it was pretty tasty after 3 weeks.... So I can't wait to see what it's like after 6 months. When is Nottingham good to drink? Bought some of that artificial sweetener and it is potent stuff... Not too Keen on it either so I am Going to make my pear concentrate through freezing and see if I get more pear coming through...

 

[gratus fermentatio]

If you have the space, time & money, you might invest in some actual perry (peary) pear trees. You can find some cultivars here:
http://www.cumminsnursery.com/perry.htm

If you can't grow the perry pears, you might find some useful info here:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scrumpy/cider/perry.htm

Hope the info helps.
Regards, GF.