Back Sweeten Once In Keg and Carbed

[Jay-Brew]

I haven't been able to find the information I am looking for to be confident enough on what I think is the deal with my situation.

Did basic hard cider which ended at about 1.003. I kegged it a few days ago, carbed it for about 48 hours and it is in the fridge where it will remain.

It has a bit of tartness and a very slight taste of apples, but it also feels very thin for some reason. For these reasons I am thinking of back sweetening with a can of frozen apple juice.

Given that it's in the fridge and fermented out quite low (between fermenter and secondary has probably been about five months), do I need to be concerned about fermentation starting up in keg?

Thanks.

 

[insanim8er]

Yes... Use potassium sorbate and crushed campden before back sweetening.

Try doing a graff if you're finding the cider to be thin.

 

[johnsnownw]

No, you do not. If we're talking about normal fridge temps here (32-40°) fermentation will not start up.

 

[farmskis]

+1 temps are too low if it remains in fridge.

 

[Jay-Brew]

Thanks for the replies! While there is a difference in opinion it sounds like I am good to go with throwing some juice in the keg and being done with it. This is only my second batch of cider and I liked the first one better. Will try again but looking forward to what the juice in the keg does.

 

[jflongo]

Just to put it in perspective, I had a 5 gallon batch ferment down to 1.000. Added two cans of thawed apple juice concentrate, and that carbonated my bottles quite well. So even 1.003, there is still a small amount of yeast. But yes, if you keep it close to 40F or less, then it "probably" won't create any CO2, hard to say though. However, the last batch I just did and kegged, I treated mine with sorbate first.

 

[TopherM]

I backsweeten my cider in a keg. I always ferment 4.5 gallons of cider to full attenuation, transfer to the keg and chill down to fridge temps, then add 1/2 gallon of sweet juice to sweeten.

I use S-05 for my ciders, and S-05 yeast are very dormant at 40F. I have aged backsweetened cider at 40F for 4-5 months and stayed at the same FG.

Also, remember that you don't HAVE to use apple juice to backsweeten. I've backsweetened with tart cherry, cranberry, grape juice, etc. to make some interesting ciders.

I have one going now that is 4.5 gallons of Sam's Club apple juice. It is aging on cherry wood right now, then I plan on backsweetening with 1/2 gallon of cranberry juice.

Good luck!

 

[Jay-Brew]

Thanks everybody for the input, you guys are awesome. For now I just ended up adding 1 litre of 100% pure apple juice. The keg was at about 18 litres so now full again. Don't think it made any notable difference. I'm not necessarily looking to add a lot of sweetness as I prefer it dry, but I would like a bit more of the apple taste and the whole part of it tasting thin isn't working for me. Maybe I am confusing dry with it feeling thin or almost watery. I think my first batch of cider went down to about the same gravity. The main difference with that one was I added about a kilogram of dark brown sugar. This batch I just used a kilogram. The first seemed a lot better to me. Aside from different brand of 100% pure apple juice between batches everything else I think was similar, but this one I left close to four months in the secondary after about a month in the primary. Didn't wait so long the first time. Yeast was Nottingham Ale. Thought with cider longer is better so left this, but it is a bit underwhelming.

Anyway, I may add a can of frozen apple juice yet or more apple juice. I guess part of the fun is learning so it's all just part of the experience.

Thanks again!

 

[TopherM]

I find that the apple presence will get more prominent with time. I make my ciders at about 6.5% ABV, and they always seem to peek in apple flavor at about 4-5 months. If you have time to age it, you'll be rewarded!

 

[Jay-Brew]

Thanks regarding the suggestion about aging.

See that my post yesterday had a mistake. Meant to write that I added half a kilogram of sugar to this one. Time and amount of sugar were main differences between the two batches.


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