First Cider Help

[oifvet]

Just started my chest cider yesterday. 2,1 gallon batches. 1 with apple cider that was UV treated. I did the following: yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme as per instructions, 8 oz brown sugar to kick up ABV. OG was 1.062. 1/2 packet Nottingham Ale yeast. At 3 pm. Airlock active when I got up this morning.

2nd Gallon was Apple juice with no preservitives. 6 oz corn sugar. Everything else the save as above. I dissolved the yeast nutrient and pectic in a little warm water and added to my 2 gallon fermenting buckets.
Plan is to allow fermentation to slow/stop, transfer to 1 Gallon jug fir a week then add camden tablet ( crushed? ) And potassium sorbate to both then start to sweeten each with whatever sugar I choose to sweeten to taste if it's not where I want it ( I'm making these for the wife. She's not into good beer, sorry I'll brew that for myself ).

Does this all sound like I've researched it right? And how do I get sparkling cyst if I rant one to have some fizz? I Don't have kegs.

 

[spitfire44]

I am a Noob as well, this beginning the second season I am doing cider. It's fun and you'll enjoy experimenting with flavors.

I've been dosing my cider with sugar at generally a 1lb/gal. Depending on what I am starting with, fresh pressed or store bought, I would use some combination of dark and light brown sugar and white refined to influence color. As I understand it, when the sugars get all eaten up by your yeast the sugar isn't much of a determining factor on flavor. I have never used campden tablets on already pasteurized cider. If you're supposed to it's never affected my ferm.

You can back-sweeten with almost anything you like....I imagine. Sugar, more apple cider or juice, etc. I thought of adding some pineapple juice to see what happens.

I just moved 6 gallons out of primary into a 5 gallon secondary and the remainder (a little under a gallon) went into the fridge to cold crash and drink in the next couple days. I added 300ml of the original apple cider into the 1 gallon sample to sweeten it a bit.

If you want the fizzy stuff, then you'll need to go pretty much dry then prime the cider in bottles and wait it out - checking from time to time the amount of fizz, before putting the bottles in the fridge to stop the fermentation. BE CAREFUL though.....too much sugar and you and wife will be cleaning up your cider off the walls of the kitchen rather than drinking it in the living room in front of the TV.

Overall, I am just starting to play around since I am only 4 batches into my cider "career".

To me, you look like you're on the right path.

Have fun.....I sure am,

Eric

 

[Maylar]

Just started my chest cider yesterday. 2,1 gallon batches. 1 with apple cider that was UV treated. I did the following: yeast nutrient and pectic enzyme as per instructions, 8 oz brown sugar to kick up ABV. OG was 1.062. 1/2 packet Nottingham Ale yeast. At 3 pm. Airlock active when I got up this morning.

2nd Gallon was Apple juice with no preservitives. 6 oz corn sugar. Everything else the save as above. I dissolved the yeast nutrient and pectic in a little warm water and added to my 2 gallon fermenting buckets.
Plan is to allow fermentation to slow/stop, transfer to 1 Gallon jug fir a week then add camden tablet ( crushed? ) And potassium sorbate to both then start to sweeten each with whatever sugar I choose to sweeten to taste if it's not where I want it ( I'm making these for the wife. She's not into good beer, sorry I'll brew that for myself ).

Does this all sound like I've researched it right? And how do I get sparkling cyst if I rant one to have some fizz? I Don't have kegs.

With Nottingham I'll let primary ferment for 10-14 days (S.G. 1.005 - 1.010) then transfer to a secondary jug. Let it sit in secondary until the cider clears, usually another 10-14 days. You'll have a small layer of lees in the bottom at that point, and all bubbles should be gone. S.G. will usually be below 1.000.

Then rack to your bottling pot and deal with whatever sweetening or flavoring that you have in mind. I've never used sorbate or campden because a one gallon batch only yields 8-9 bottles and I can easily keep that much in my fridge. I would use the chemicals if I wanted to bottle still sweet cider long term without refrigeration, but cider never lasts that long around here...

For fizzy sweet cider, the simplest method is to sweeten with non fermentable sugar like Xylitol and add fermentable priming sugar and wait for the yeasties to do their magic.

 

[MindenMan]

oifvet, the more you rack the cider, the greater the chance of oxidation and/or infection. For the small amount of time the cider is on the yeast, there will be no off flavors developed. If you leave the cider alone, and let it clear on it's own, you can be 99% sure the fermentation is done. I don't know how much head space your 2G buckets have with 1G of cider in them, and as long a there is undisturbed CO2 layer on top of the cider, for short term you should be okay. A completely dry cider does not have giant apple flavor; a slightly sweet will taste more apple-y. I know your final bottle total will be relatively small, but if possible, put 1 bottle of each away for 3 months or more, and those 2 ciders will not taste like they did when they were young. Statistically speaking, they will be much better.
Sweet and fizzy cider is most easily done with a non-fermentable sweetener to taste, and priming sugar according to the amount of CO2 you want when carbonated.