Backsweetening with AJC vs Sugar

[JulianDave]

I think I may have a somewhat controversial opinion, so please share your experience!

I made a mixed berry cider last year. About 3# of frozen berries in 1 gallon of store bought apple juice. As usual, I taste test daily because I enjoy the sensory check to make sure things are going well. It tasted excellent. As it nears completion I stop taste testing and just let it finish up.

It sat maybe another 10 days, then I racked it and gave it a taste. OMG, it was awful. What happened to my delicious cider? It was so bad I was sure it needed to be tossed. As a last resort, I added some sugar to see what sweet awful tastes like. You may know how this ends. It was wonderful again. It was an unbelievable transformation.

This got me thinking that sweetness is really integral to our perception of fruit flavor. If there is no sweetness, you're not getting much fruitiness. Many cidermakers have posted in distress that their newly made cider doesn't have the taste they want. Often times the crowd says you need to add Apple Juice Concentrate (AJC) to get the apple flavor back.

I think I have to call ******** on that. If you made a cider that is 100% apple juice, adding a little more apple in the form of concentrate isn't going to add a significantly more apple flavor. It's all apple to begin with! But the sugar in the AJC is what is giving you the fruit flavor back.

I have not 100% tested my theory out, but with previous experience, I think it's correct. Only sugar is needed to a bone dry cider to give you the apple fruit flavor many are looking for.

Thoughts?

 

[zadamxtr]

I think you are right that sweetness has a big impact on our perception of flavours. However what we smell is also a big contributor. I think the suggestion of AJC is based on the fact that it will add not only sugar but also more of the apple aromas, which will enhance the apple flavour more than just sugar alone. Having said that, I am just a noob so this is just me speculating!

 

[CKuhns]

Apple Juice Concentrate is my prefered. Adds flavor and the needed sugars. As you mentioned sweeter ciders do tend to enhance the flavor too. So does a little tannen and acid if needed to round things out.

 

[JulianDave]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm going to do a test batch, keeping everything the same except method of backsweetening to see if I can tell the difference.

 

[Ciderman62]

Wont the addition of extra sugar at this stage just kick start the fermentation process again which ultimately will result in all the sugar being consumed returning the cider back to the very dry state it was in the first place?

Secondly by adding additional sugar to achieve the desired taste profile thereby restarting fermentation don't you risk the danger of exploding bottles

To achieve bottle carbonation I have been working on 3/4 - 1 teaspoon of brewers sugar per 500ml however

Before adding the sugar I do a taste test and slowly add measured amounts of a non fermentable sweetener (i.e. Brewers Glycerine Erythritol, Stevia) to a 500ml sample until I get the desired taste & then scale this up to add to the full batch. After stirring this is to ensure it has fully dissolved I do a final taste test before adding the sugar for carbonation.

As a rule I sweeten to a level where the cider is slightly drier than I would like as I find once the cider is carbonated it will naturally taste sweeter.

Once the cider is carbonated it changes the impact on our sense of smell. As bubbles form & rise from the bottom of the glass they become saturated with apple aromas, once they hit the surface they burst releasing all these aromas to be taken up by our sense of smell thereby greatly enhancing the final taste.

My first ever batch of cider was drinkable but not a show stopper and there was very little carbonation as I failed to add sugar prior to bottling. As a result I ended up leaving a couple of bottles in the garage. I discovered them this year two years after they were originally bottled. Curiosity got the better of me so I tried one.

When I opened the first bottle was surprise how much it fizzed after pouring into a glass I tasted it and could not believe the difference, it was like a completely different batch.

If you want to see how much our sense of smell effects our ability to taste try this

Take a leaf of fresh mint
Nip your nose really tight so you cannot smell
Put the leaf in your mouth & chew (you will be lucky f you taste any mint)
Now release you nose BOOM!!!! your taste buds will be filled with mint

 

[JulianDave]

Wont the addition of extra sugar at this stage just kick start the fermentation process again which ultimately will result in all the sugar being consumed returning the cider back to the very dry state it was in the first place?

Secondly by adding additional sugar to achieve the desired taste profile thereby restarting fermentation don't you risk the danger of exploding bottles

To achieve bottle carbonation I have been working on 3/4 - 1 teaspoon of brewers sugar per 500ml however

Before adding the sugar I do a taste test and slowly add measured amounts of a non fermentable sweetener (i.e. Brewers Glycerine Erythritol, Stevia) to a 500ml sample until I get the desired taste & then scale this up to add to the full batch. After stirring this is to ensure it has fully dissolved I do a final taste test before adding the sugar for carbonation.

As a rule I sweeten to a level where the cider is slightly drier than I would like as I find once the cider is carbonated it will naturally taste sweeter.

Once the cider is carbonated it changes the impact on our sense of smell. As bubbles form & rise from the bottom of the glass they become saturated with apple aromas, once they hit the surface they burst releasing all these aromas to be taken up by our sense of smell thereby greatly enhancing the final taste.

My first ever batch of cider was drinkable but not a show stopper and there was very little carbonation as I failed to add sugar prior to bottling. As a result I ended up leaving a couple of bottles in the garage. I discovered them this year two years after they were originally bottled. Curiosity got the better of me so I tried one.

When I opened the first bottle was surprise how much it fizzed after pouring into a glass I tasted it and could not believe the difference, it was like a completely different batch.

If you want to see how much our sense of smell effects our ability to taste try this

Take a leaf of fresh mint
Nip your nose really tight so you cannot smell
Put the leaf in your mouth & chew (you will be lucky f you taste any mint)
Now release you nose BOOM!!!! your taste buds will be filled with mint

I agree with everything you said. The reason for the post was to challenge the idea that the only way to get a dry cider to taste somewhat like apples is to add AJC. My limited experience seems to suggest that generic sugar is going to be the same, as the fruit flavor is gone because it's dry, not because it needs yet more apple flavor added to it.

I do enjoy sparkling cider, so to do the test I mentioned I would have to pasteurize the AJC batch after it carbonated. Yet another negative when trying to use a fermentable to backsweeten.