Cider with Grapefruit Juice

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Verac

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Hello all,

So my first batch of homemade cider was allright. It was a little bland (which isn't surprising since I just used grocery store apple juice) and I realized I want a bit more carbonation in it. Since then, I was in SC and had a cider Ship's Wheel (Summer Splash) that I really enjoyed. Apparently they added a touch of grapefruit juice which really gave it a refreshing sour/tart kick.

So, I'm wondering how and how hard is it to incorporate grapefruit juice into a hard cider.

I like my cider's somewhat sweet so I plan on adding sugar (or juice?) after fermentation and then pasteurizing after carbonation. Would it be best to add grapefruit juice pre-fermentation or post fermentation?

Thanks for any advice!
 
Would it be best to add grapefruit juice pre-fermentation or post fermentation?

Either will work... Disclaimer -I have never added grapefruit to cider so take the following suggestions with that in mind.

I generally default to adding things after fermentation. I feel I can control the flavor with small additions and adjust to my liking.

Thinking about Grapefruit - It probably is pretty acidic and may impact your ferment if adding it ahead of the ferment.
 
Same here, post-fermentation. All the flavour won't be destroyed (or Simply changed) by fermentation so you have a pretty good idea of the final result.
My method : When apple juice is fermented and ready to bottle, I add the other fruit juice and sugar to my taste and then add another 7g/l of sugar for bottle fermentation and carbonation. Then I pasteurise after few days (opening a bottle every day to see how it goes) and I get what I wanted.
 
Awesome, thanks for the advice. I'll give it a go post-fermentation.
 
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