Adding sugar pre-fermentation

[Big-J2000]

I've been surfing various threads and websites to learn how to make a basic cider and one question eludes me. According to makinghardcider.com you can add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the AJ before pitching the yeast. My question is do you just add the sugar directly to the juice (and then I'm assuming you shake it to dissolve the sugar) or do you dissolve the sugar in hot water (as you would priming sugar before bottling beer), cool it then add it to the juice? I'm modeling my first attempt at cider on Sammy's Simple Cider recipe. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

Hey neighbor! Welcome to the forum!

To answer your question: you add the sugar to the juice, and shake it.
At this point, you want to oxygenate your juice, so the yeast can reproduce, so shaking the juice helps in that, while your sugar gets dissolved.
The reason why, at priming, you dissolve your sugar in some extra water, is because oxygen is the last thing you want in your beverage, when bottling, as it might cause it to oxidize.

 

[Big-J2000]

Thanks for the welcome!

Shaking to oxidize does make sense. I'm worried about contamination from the sugar. Normally when I dissolve priming sugar (3 batches of beer under my belt so far!), I figured the boiling water would sanitize it to get rid of any nasties. I'm guessing one doesn't have to worry about it as much with cider?

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

I'm worried about contamination from the sugar.

Don't.
That's the beauty of sugar. As counter intuitive as it may sound, no nasties can live on pure sugar.
That's why it doesn't spoil, and why it's been used for centuries as an antiseptic.

Just shake it in with confidence. As long as you keep everything else properly sanitized, you're good.

 

[Big-J2000]

Great! Thank you so much for the information! I will let you know how it goes.

And may I say that this has been a great first experience with this forum

 

[Inodoro_Pereyra]

Glad I could help.
And, yeah, pictures would be much appreciated.

Stick around. There are lots of information available here, and a lot of people who know a helluva lot more than I could ever dream to know about brewing. :rockin:

 

[Big-J2000]

Well I finally did it! I used 2 gallons of Whole Food's Organic Apple Juice and one packet of Safale-04 split between the two. The jug on the left has only the yeast added, OG of 1.049. The one on the right has a 1/4 cup dark brown sugar added, OG of 1.055. Will post more as things progress.

BTW... SpongeBob was there for moral support!

 

[Dert]

I though I was the only one to foil my stoppers!

 

[alwhite77]

I'm currently working on my first batch of cider. The articles that I have been able to find, all said for a "dry" cider add about 1 pound of sugar per gallon of juice, and for a sweeter cider, increase to 1-1/2 pounds of sugar per gallon. This is pre-fermentation. I hope, I got some good information, I'm not interested in vinegar!

 

[Pappers_]

I'm currently working on my first batch of cider. The articles that I have been able to find, all said for a "dry" cider add about 1 pound of sugar per gallon of juice, and for a sweeter cider, increase to 1-1/2 pounds of sugar per gallon. This is pre-fermentation. I hope, I got some good information, I'm not interested in vinegar!

That won't work, if I'm understanding correctly. All of the sugar, in both cases, will get eaten up by the yeast, leaving both ciders dry.

 

[Big-J2000]

Dert: I noticed that my stoppers weren't staying in place, so I added the foil to try and keep them from moving. So far they're holding!

 

[Dert]

I always foil mine to keep any dirt or debris out of the sanitized hole...

 

[Big-J2000]

Check my gravites last night. The one with no sugar came in at 1.012, while the one with sugar was 1.010. That's around 4.9% and 5.9% respectively, assuming the same formula for calculating ABV for beer applies. Both were rather fizzy as I poured the samples. Not much of an apple taste but a tart finish, with the sugar added one being less tart. Going to let it go for a couple more days then figure out what I'm going to backsweeten with, bottle condition for a week, then store them in the fridge.

 

[Yooper]

Check my gravites last night. The one with no sugar came in at 1.012, while the one with sugar was 1.010. That's around 4.9% and 5.9% respectively, assuming the same formula for calculating ABV for beer applies. Both were rather fizzy as I poured the samples. Not much of an apple taste but a tart finish, with the sugar added one being less tart. Going to let it go for a couple more days then figure out what I'm going to backsweeten with, bottle condition for a week, then store them in the fridge.

I highly recommend checking the SG again in about 5 days, as I doubt it's done at 1.010 or 1.012.

 

[Big-J2000]

I highly recommend checking the SG again in about 5 days, as I doubt it's done at 1.010 or 1.012.

That's my plan Going to check on Saturday. I may have to check and see if WF sells their organic juice in smaller containers. I'm thinking about backsweetening with some of the same juice that I used. Perhaps a cup per gallon, just enough to give it a hint of apple.

Question though... I'm planning on using corn sugar and letting them sit in bottles at room temp for a week to carb. With ambient temp in my house being 78º they should carb quickly. If I backsweeten with AJ, do I need the sugar or just let whatever yeast that's in suspension eat the sugars in the AJ to create carbination?

 

[puhisurfer]

The sugar in the AJ should do the trick. Unless you've racked and cold-crashed, or treated with chemicals, you won't be back sweetening, though, just carbonating.

When I first tried this, some 20 years ago, I had no idea that the yeast would eat the AJ and carbonate. So I bottled into wine bottles, and stored them on their side in the back of a closet. We were hearing them go off, 2-3 a night, for a few weeks, but couldn't figure out what was making that strange popping sound...