Intrigued by Great Value lite

[teddyearp]

I am not a master brewer. I use Walmart juice and ec-1112, lol.

I am intrigued by the lite version as it has malic acid. Picture of ingredients below.

 

[DBhomebrew]

The sucralose isn't fermentable.

 

[PCABrewing]

Do you suppose they added that to ensure a certain level of sweetness throughout the shelf-life?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Nah. Sucralose, stevia, etc are standard sugar replacements in 'lite' foods & beverages.

 

[Lampy]

@teddyearp if you do ferment some give us an update. My typical cider is with the regular version.

 

[teddyearp]

@teddyearp if you do ferment some give us an update. My typical cider is with the regular version.

I just may try it. I use the regular myself and always add sugar anyways so that will 'overcome' the sucralose situation.

 

[Lampy]

I just may try it. I use the regular myself and always add sugar anyways so that will 'overcome' the sucralose situation.

How much sugar do you add / what is your final ABV?
I usually make it in 1gal batches, so I use a 3qt jug + 24-30oz of sweetened tea. I typically try to get the tea sweetened to the same SG as the juice.

 

[teddyearp]

How much sugar do you add / what is your final ABV?
I usually make it in 1gal batches, so I use a 3qt jug + 24-30oz of sweetened tea. I typically try to get the tea sweetened to the same SG as the juice.

I used to take strict measurements, but found that the ABV still varied a tiny bit. I do one gal batches also, I use a 3qt as well, then, add about 1-1/3 c sugar and about 1.5g EC-1118, top it off, ferment two weeks, siphon with backsweet, bottle in 12oz swing tops. After about 9 days I have perfect carbonation.

My end ABV is about 8-9%.

 

[z-bob]

I bought some GV lite juice recently and it was awful. It wasn't apple juice; I think it was pineapple and passionfruit, or something like that. It was very watery with not much flavor. Kind of like Gatorade without the electrolytes. I have not tried the lite apple juice, but I suspect they added malic acid and sucralose to bring it back to the right tartness and sweetness after they water-down the apple juice.

Buy one half-gallon jug and see if you like it before buying a bunch of it. I bet it's almost useless for fermenting. The Great Value regular apple juice is fine for making cider.

 

[fluketamer]

although this is an interesting idea and will defianetly work to replace backsweetening the problem is that sucralose tastes like ......sucralose.

 

[teddyearp]

Thank you all. I was intrigued mainly because of the malic acid. I think I'm going to just continue with the regular and maybe toss some citric acid via lemon or lime juice and give that a shot.

I usually cut mine with a bit of 7-up anyways, otherwise I'd get shiiii faced in a hurry, lol

 

[Raptor99]

Thank you all. I was intrigued mainly because of the malic acid. I think I'm going to just continue with the regular and maybe toss some citric acid via lemon or lime juice and give that a shot.

Malic acid is the main acid in apples. If you add malic acid rather than citric acid, your cider will taste more like apples. Sometimes I use a combination of some acid blend plus some malic acid. Each acid has a distinct flavor.

 

[teddyearp]

Malic acid is the main acid in apples. If you add malic acid rather than citric acid, your cider will taste more like apples. Sometimes I use a combination of some acid blend plus some malic acid. Each acid has a distinct flavor.

So, the final question. Put the acid in the fermentation or ?

 

[Rish]

Since there's already some in it, I'd probably do a small batch (1/2 gallon?) to see what I get before adding more. Good luck!

 

[Raptor99]

So, the final question. Put the acid in the fermentation or ?

Before starting fermentation, I measure the pH, and add acid to lower the pH to around 3.4. With grocery store apple juice, you always need to add some acid.

 

[waynetempro]

The problem that I have seen with a lot of the “Lite” juice type drinks is that they are watered down. So adding sucralose crap brings some sweetness back to the watered down juice and keeps the sugar content low. You would be much better off with straight apple juice or cider than any “Lite” stuff.

 

[An Ankoù]

When making cider from apples, ie by pulping them and then pressing to extract the juice, there's often a surplus of malic acid which makes the cider taste tart. Over time, the malic acid can change into lactic acid through the action of certain bacteria in the juice, and this produces a much more "rounded" cider.
My question is why is malic acid being added in the first place? Is it to counteract the cloying sweetness of the sucralose or are the apples used to make concentrate deficient in acidity.
In any case, if avoid anything containing artificial sweeteners.

 

[Raptor99]

When making cider from apples, ie by pulping them and then pressing to extract the juice, there's often a surplus of malic acid which makes the cider taste tart. Over time, the malic acid can change into lactic acid through the action of certain bacteria in the juice, and this produces a much more "rounded" cider.
My question is why is malic acid being added in the first place? Is it to counteract the cloying sweetness of the sucralose or are the apples used to make concentrate deficient in acidity.
In any case, if avoid anything containing artificial sweeteners.

Cider apples have quite a bit of malic acid. The sort of apples used to make grocery store apple juice have very little acid, and need to have acid added to give it a good flavor. Good cider needs a balance between tart, sweet, and astringent (tannic) flavors. Grocery store apple juice is mostly sweet, without the other flavor components of a good cider apple.

Like @waynetempro I would not make cider from "Lite" apple juice. Look for apple juice that does not contain any additional ingredients.

 

[slanderkin]

If you are already at Walmart, try Musselman's apple cider. I've made a few good batches with it. It needs acid and tannin like the rest but has apple bits in it which is good. SG is normally ~1.05.

 

[teddyearp]

The problem that I have seen with a lot of the “Lite” juice type drinks is that they are watered down. So adding sucralose crap brings some sweetness back to the watered down juice and keeps the sugar content low. You would be much better off with straight apple juice or cider than any “Lite” stuff.

Yeah ^^^ this is pretty much where I am now after all the help you folks have given me in this thread.