Adjusting the taste before bottling.

[Rattertat]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to cider brewing (and brewing in general...)

I've recently started my first two batches and they will be ready for bottling in a few weeks.

I just wanted to gather some insights on what you do to your (fully fermented) product in order to achieve a nice taste.

When racking, I always tried a little sip of the cider and the taste was okay - but not awesome. Rather sour. And it could need a little body I guess...

So I got some things that I want to experiment with:

- Xylit (unfermentable sugar) to sweeten it to fight the acidity a little or balance it out
- Wine Conditioner, for the same purpose as above...
- Grape Tannins to get a little body and complexity in it
- lactic acid (but I probably won't need that)

Any advice or information sharing is welcome!

/edit:

Also: Do you measure PH levels and total acidity in your juice/wine? If so: what level do you aim for?

 

[1bottlerocket]

I am relatively new too and have made a few batches of cider. I have been using xylitol (Birch sugar) for sweetening after the initial fermentation. I measure ph and aim for about a 3.6-3.8 reading. I personally like tannins so I add this during primary fermentation. I have never had to add more after primary.

I mix the sweetener into a simple syrup at a ratio of 1:1 (1 cup water to 1 cup sweetener) and add it during secondary. I typically take a hydrometer reading before and after to see the change but mostly rely on how it tastes when making adjustments.

I personally would recommend adding the sweetener a couple days before bottling to make sure you get it mixed in well and give the yeast still floating around in secondary time to settle before bottling. After bottling, let it sit.

I had these grand plans of letting my cider sit for 4 weeks before tasting it but that didn't work out so well. I gave in after a few days! The taste does develop over time and smooths out. I hope this helps!

 

[Rattertat]

Thank you for the input!

I fear that the cider I have this far has the least simple problem to solve: being to acidic.

Should I just let it sit some more?

I've read about encouraging malolactic fermentation by adding lactic acid bacteria - has anyone got some experience doing that?

 

[ozzman]

I'm also newish to this. I've been doing 1 gallon batches to get my process down before moving to 5 gallon batches. I back sweeten with Truvia (stevia) and fruit flavor concentrate from Brewers best. I have apple, strawberry and cherry batches going now. I use 4-5 packets of Truvia per gallon and 2 tablespoons of concentrate. You need to sweeten and flavor to taste, though. We like sweet ciders in our house. The cider definitely mellows with age so the longer you can wait, the better. I know that's hard [emoji3]. Be careful using xylitol. It's deadly to dogs so if you have a dog, go with something else.

 

[1bottlerocket]

I am learning that time is your friend when it comes to conditioning after fermentation.

My first batch is now drinking better than I imagined it developing so that is promising. My hypothesis now is that if you have something that is drinkable now it will get better with age.

I recently bottled up roughly 80 0.5l bottles from various experiments and I am now letting them sit and age. They are okay but if my ideas are correct, they will improve over time.

 

[kkplunk]

I am rather new to cider was well, Doing my second batch this year. I tend to let my cider sit for 7 to 8 months. The flavor changes considerably over that time period. I have close to 30 gallons and just bottled my first 5 gallons this weekend. The flavor on this was a bit thin and not nearly as rounded as it is now. The acidity dropped by a few points (TA) over that period. I expect that was due to Molactic Fermentation. It is a process that takes place when the temperature rises and Malic Acid(harsher) breaks down into Lactic Acid(more mellow). There is probably more going on there, but in any event the long your let it sit, the better. I tried a bottle from 2 years ago that was undrinkable because it was way too acidic, but has mellowed nicely. Key thing in letting it sit is not to have much head space in your fermenter.

 

[MindenMan]

"... yah, yah, just a little patience..." IMHO, when it comes to making ciders you need to be patient, otherwise you won't know what really could have been. I generally bite-the-bullet at bottling and figure what I get is what I get. I mean, that I will leave a portion of the bottles un-doctored, and a few of the bottles with very slight modifications as ciders can really change after a year in the bottle. I have vanilla flavored Stevia in a dropper bottle and I will add one drop to some of the bottles and two drops to some of the others; that way at different time intervals, I can taste all three side by side and see if I like the results or not giving me a guide as to what to do or not next time.