Is my plan for a sweet cider going to work?

[mattsearle]

I've brewed beer for a while but next week will be my first attempt at a cider. I don't want it to be too dry, but I don't want to add splenda or anything to the finished product as I don't like the taste.

I have 2 ways I'm looking at achieving my goal so I'd like to know if either (or neither) will work...

1. Use a lower attenuating ale yeast (thinking S04).

2. Remove a portion of the cider after a couple of days of fermentation (so hopefully most of the oxygen in it has been used up by the yeast), and adding campden to halt the fermentation. I would then allow the main batch to ferment out completely before adding campden to this batch. I would then add back some of the sweeter cider that I removed early until I got the sweetness I wanted and hope that the campden would mean that the sugar in it would not ferment out?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Yooper]

I've brewed beer for a while but next week will be my first attempt at a cider. I don't want it to be too dry, but I don't want to add splenda or anything to the finished product as I don't like the taste.

I have 2 ways I'm looking at achieving my goal so I'd like to know if either (or neither) will work...

1. Use a lower attenuating ale yeast (thinking S04).

2. Remove a portion of the cider after a couple of days of fermentation (so hopefully most of the oxygen in it has been used up by the yeast), and adding campden to halt the fermentation. I would then allow the main batch to ferment out completely before adding campden to this batch. I would then add back some of the sweeter cider that I removed early until I got the sweetness I wanted and hope that the campden would mean that the sugar in it would not ferment out?

Thanks in advance.

Well, S04 will still bring the cider to 1.004 or so, since cider is all simple sugars.

Campden doesn't kill yeast, so your plan is flawed with #2. Campden is used as an antioxidant in winemaking/cidermaking.

You could use sorbate, but it doesn't work during fermentation and is used afterwards to stabilize the cider. Then it is sweetened. You can use anything to sweeten that you'd like, including more juice or honey or something.

 

[JJ900]

Have you checked out the post called 5" day sweet country cider?"

 

[mattsearle]

Well, S04 will still bring the cider to 1.004 or so, since cider is all simple sugars.

Campden doesn't kill yeast, so your plan is flawed with #2. Campden is used as an antioxidant in winemaking/cidermaking.

You could use sorbate, but it doesn't work during fermentation and is used afterwards to stabilize the cider. Then it is sweetened. You can use anything to sweeten that you'd like, including more juice or honey or something.

Sorry my mistake so its sorbate I need. Ah so rather than reserving some cider and trying to halt fermentation I can just use something else. Sounds a lot more straightforward to be fair!

Thanks a lot. Your posts have helped me a lot in the beer forums and here you are proving to be essential on the cider side too ☺!