A question for the experienced cider makers:
Fourth batch, first time kegging (and pressing my own fruit). I've always just let it ferment out to dry, condition in secondary (for 3+ months), then bottle. This time I'm going for semi-sweet, and I'm considering either 1) fermenting out & conditioning as usual, cold crashing, then backsweetening in the keg with frozen apple concentrate, or 2) cold crashing to halt fermentation somewhere in the range of SG 1.005 to 1.010, then kegging.
It seems like most people backsweeten, but some claim that crashing at the desired SG results in superior flavor. I'm using a mix of pretty tasty sweet/sharp/bitter apples from around the neighborhood, so it seems like preserving some of the flavor of these apples might be a nice thing. I have temp control, so I can take my time to get to the right SG.
On the other hand, I can see a benefit to drying it out and conditioning for a month or two before crashing/kegging. (I plan to bottle some of it dry to set aside in either case.) Plus, my OG was only 1.045, and fermenting it all the way out would give me the higher ABV -- not that this takes precedence over flavor, but it's still a consideration. I'm using Wyeast Cider (4766), and have no idea what sort of attenuation to expect. (Any useful info about this yeast, including the source, would be much appreciated!)
Just hoping to gain some wisdom from adherents to either method. I'd try both, but I only have 1 corny keg...
(A lot of people claim an adverse effect of stabilizers on flavor, and I'm ok with fermentation kicking back up a bit as long as it's slow, so without a compelling reason to use them I'd rather avoid them.)
Thanks!
"These guys look like superheroes... I can't believe I'm the same species as these guys!" -U.S. Olympic swimming trials commentator, just now
Fourth batch, first time kegging (and pressing my own fruit). I've always just let it ferment out to dry, condition in secondary (for 3+ months), then bottle. This time I'm going for semi-sweet, and I'm considering either 1) fermenting out & conditioning as usual, cold crashing, then backsweetening in the keg with frozen apple concentrate, or 2) cold crashing to halt fermentation somewhere in the range of SG 1.005 to 1.010, then kegging.
It seems like most people backsweeten, but some claim that crashing at the desired SG results in superior flavor. I'm using a mix of pretty tasty sweet/sharp/bitter apples from around the neighborhood, so it seems like preserving some of the flavor of these apples might be a nice thing. I have temp control, so I can take my time to get to the right SG.
On the other hand, I can see a benefit to drying it out and conditioning for a month or two before crashing/kegging. (I plan to bottle some of it dry to set aside in either case.) Plus, my OG was only 1.045, and fermenting it all the way out would give me the higher ABV -- not that this takes precedence over flavor, but it's still a consideration. I'm using Wyeast Cider (4766), and have no idea what sort of attenuation to expect. (Any useful info about this yeast, including the source, would be much appreciated!)
Just hoping to gain some wisdom from adherents to either method. I'd try both, but I only have 1 corny keg...
(A lot of people claim an adverse effect of stabilizers on flavor, and I'm ok with fermentation kicking back up a bit as long as it's slow, so without a compelling reason to use them I'd rather avoid them.)
Thanks!
"These guys look like superheroes... I can't believe I'm the same species as these guys!" -U.S. Olympic swimming trials commentator, just now