Beginner needing help!

[david_white1981]

I've inherited an orchard with a house I've bought and therefore thought if try my hand at making cider.
I used a mix of cooking apples and desert apples and my 1st 4 gallon batch has finished fermenting having been bubbling for 10 days.
I've transferred it into another container to get rid of any sediment and added Campden tablets and potassium sorbate.

The questions I have are as follows:
1. It tastes very sharp so I've so far added 2 grams of acesulphame K however it still tastes sharp.
A) how quickly should the taste change once adding, should this be immediate?
B) Should I add more and keep tasting (a gram at a time?).

2. Does cider get any sweeter once I bottle therefore should I bottle it slightly on the sharp side?

3. If I add granulated sugar will it still go fizzy or because I've added the Campden tablet and potassium sorbate have I stopped any possibility of this? (isn't the fizzing a 2nd fermentation but these chemicals stop that happening?).

4. What should I do with it now? A lot of websites claim to put it in glass bottles but I don't want to do that if it will drop more sediment and I therefore have to transfer it again.

I'm keen to bottle this tomorrow and would therefore be grateful of any help from anyone in the know!

 

[NTXBrauer]

I am definitely not a pro in the cider relm, but from what I do know the longer it ages, the better it gets. For a hard cider, I would leave it in the primary for 3 months, and the bottle condition for another 3 months. The hardest part of course is the wait.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I've inherited an orchard with a house I've bought and therefore thought if try my hand at making cider.
I used a mix of cooking apples and desert apples and my 1st 4 gallon batch has finished fermenting having been bubbling for 10 days.
I've transferred it into another container to get rid of any sediment and added Campden tablets and potassium sorbate.

The questions I have are as follows:
1. It tastes very sharp so I've so far added 2 grams of acesulphame K however it still tastes sharp.
A) how quickly should the taste change once adding, should this be immediate?
B) Should I add more and keep tasting (a gram at a time?).

2. Does cider get any sweeter once I bottle therefore should I bottle it slightly on the sharp side?

3. If I add granulated sugar will it still go fizzy or because I've added the Campden tablet and potassium sorbate have I stopped any possibility of this? (isn't the fizzing a 2nd fermentation but these chemicals stop that happening?).

4. What should I do with it now? A lot of websites claim to put it in glass bottles but I don't want to do that if it will drop more sediment and I therefore have to transfer it again.

I'm keen to bottle this tomorrow and would therefore be grateful of any help from anyone in the know!

1: The acid will taste "sharp" and mellow over time (note that time is going to be a theme here).

2: "sweeter" no. But the apple flavors do tend to re-emerge as time passes. 6months to a year are a good timeline.

3: campden and sorbate do arrest yeast development, but if any yeast are still around they will slowly ferment the sugar you add. Allowing time (not a lot, but a few weeks) for the sorbate and gravity to do their work will give you good results. And yes g he "fizzing" is a second fermentation.

4: my advice is to transfer to container that has very little headspace(very. Little.) and let the rest of the sediment and yeast settle out. Then bottle a few weeks or a month frkm now. Its very tough to wait, and you can (and should) enjoy some of your cider young. Good luck and remember to enjoy your experience!

Ps - very jealous that you have an orchard of your own!