Newbie here, happy to be joining such a informative community!
I'm in the middle of my first batch of cider and it is going very well! I am still undecided of what I am going to do when it comes time to bottle it, so that is the topic of this post.
Some info:
-8 gallons of freshly pressed cider, split into to two batches. Added campden tablets and sat 48hrs before adding pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, and pitching the yeast. The juice was very sweet to start with (sg 1.054) so I did not add any sugar. One batch is Nottingham and the other is S-04.
-Sat in primary for 2 weeks, then racked to secondary (sg 1.000). It started clearing up very nicely just a few days after racking. Currently at 2 weeks in secondary.
I have been reading up quite a bit what comes next, and the different methods people seem to follow. Here are the options that I have come up with. Also I should note that my end goal is to have slightly sweet, carbonated cider (I enjoy commercial ciders in the 3-6g of sugar/12oz range).
1. Sweeten with alcohol sugar (e.g. xylitol) and back-carb with sugar (e.g. dextrose) when bottling. Wait for carbonation, then straight to the fridge.
2. Same as number 1, but bottle pasteurize after desired carbonation is achieved.
3. Sweeten with fermentable sugar when bottling. Wait for desired carbonation before going to fridge or bottle pasteurizing.
These seem to be the only option for carbonated cider since I don't have any force-carbing equipment, otherwise we get into cold crashing until the yeast has settled out...or using sulfite/sorbate...before back sweetening.
My original plan was to go with option 1, but the idea of bottle pasteurizing sounds appealing since 8 gallons of cider is a lot to keep cold. Or can it be stored at room temp (un-pasteurized) without worry, as long as I am careful with the amount of back-carb sugar I add?
I didn't consider option 3 because it seems like a bit of a guessing game.
Any input would be appreciated!
I'm in the middle of my first batch of cider and it is going very well! I am still undecided of what I am going to do when it comes time to bottle it, so that is the topic of this post.
Some info:
-8 gallons of freshly pressed cider, split into to two batches. Added campden tablets and sat 48hrs before adding pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, and pitching the yeast. The juice was very sweet to start with (sg 1.054) so I did not add any sugar. One batch is Nottingham and the other is S-04.
-Sat in primary for 2 weeks, then racked to secondary (sg 1.000). It started clearing up very nicely just a few days after racking. Currently at 2 weeks in secondary.
I have been reading up quite a bit what comes next, and the different methods people seem to follow. Here are the options that I have come up with. Also I should note that my end goal is to have slightly sweet, carbonated cider (I enjoy commercial ciders in the 3-6g of sugar/12oz range).
1. Sweeten with alcohol sugar (e.g. xylitol) and back-carb with sugar (e.g. dextrose) when bottling. Wait for carbonation, then straight to the fridge.
2. Same as number 1, but bottle pasteurize after desired carbonation is achieved.
3. Sweeten with fermentable sugar when bottling. Wait for desired carbonation before going to fridge or bottle pasteurizing.
These seem to be the only option for carbonated cider since I don't have any force-carbing equipment, otherwise we get into cold crashing until the yeast has settled out...or using sulfite/sorbate...before back sweetening.
My original plan was to go with option 1, but the idea of bottle pasteurizing sounds appealing since 8 gallons of cider is a lot to keep cold. Or can it be stored at room temp (un-pasteurized) without worry, as long as I am careful with the amount of back-carb sugar I add?
I didn't consider option 3 because it seems like a bit of a guessing game.
Any input would be appreciated!