Looking to make a sweet hard cider

[Ciderboy23]

I've been trying to make a sweet hard cider this year and havent had much luck so far.. in the beginning i let the cider ferment out way too long and was left with a dry cider and then tried to back-sweeten but didnt quite like the taste of it.. So now I decided to add 9lbs of sugar to 6 gallons of cider to bring the specific gravity up from 1.4 to 1.6. My question is how far should I let it ferment? I was thinking an SG of 1.2?? and then to put it in the fridge to cold crash... what is your best advice?? Thank you!!

 

[kgressler]

I've been trying to make a sweet hard cider this year and havent had much luck so far.. in the beginning i let the cider ferment out way too long and was left with a dry cider and then tried to back-sweeten but didnt quite like the taste of it.. So now I decided to add 9lbs of sugar to 6 gallons of cider to bring the specific gravity up from 1.4 to 1.6. My question is how far should I let it ferment? I was thinking an SG of 1.2?? and then to put it in the fridge to cold crash... what is your best advice?? Thank you!!

9lbs of sugar

Why not just try making cider with no additional sugars. This should result in a more drinkable cider in a much faster time table.
I dont even think you can even call that cider with 9lbs of sugar. lol

 

[Yooper]

I've been trying to make a sweet hard cider this year and havent had much luck so far.. in the beginning i let the cider ferment out way too long and was left with a dry cider and then tried to back-sweeten but didnt quite like the taste of it.. So now I decided to add 9lbs of sugar to 6 gallons of cider to bring the specific gravity up from 1.4 to 1.6. My question is how far should I let it ferment? I was thinking an SG of 1.2?? and then to put it in the fridge to cold crash... what is your best advice?? Thank you!!

Well, if you put it in the fridge to cold crash, the yeast may not stop completely. And if you ever take it out of the fridge, BOOM! so I'd rethink some of that strategy.

You're missing a decimal point on your readings. I'm sure you mean that the SG was 1.040, and you boosted up to 1.060, and are thinking of having it finish at 1.020? I'm not sure how you'll get the yeast to stop, but you could consider bottle pasteurization (see the sticky thread in this forum) if you want it carbonated.

1.020 is SWEET, like dessert wine sweet to me, but if you have a sweet tooth you may like it.

 

[kgressler]

Well, if you put it in the fridge to cold crash, the yeast may not stop completely. And if you ever take it out of the fridge, BOOM! so I'd rethink some of that strategy.

You're missing a decimal point on your readings. I'm sure you mean that the SG was 1.040, and you boosted up to 1.060, and are thinking of having it finish at 1.020? I'm not sure how you'll get the yeast to stop, but you could consider bottle pasteurization (see the sticky thread in this forum) if you want it carbonated.

1.020 is SWEET, like dessert wine sweet to me, but if you have a sweet tooth you may like it.

Wouldnt 9lbs of sugar bring it up much more then that? I usually use between 2-3 lbs fermentable sugars (honey) to raise my cider up to 1.06 or so.

 

[j1n]

My method is:

4.5 gallons of apple juice
3 cans AJC
2lbs sugar
2 packets of notty
3 tsp of DAP
ferment at 60*
SG is 1.075
FG is 1.012 (takes roughly 2 weeks)
Stop fermentation by cold crash
Filter the yeast out with a .5 micron filter.
back sweeten with 2 cans of AJC.

 

[Crash21]

To the OP.

You didnt mention what yeast you were going to use but..
I used 10 lbs of corn sugar in app. 4.5 gallons of cider (leaving headspace for fermenting).
I used 1118 yeast and nutrient.
The SG was 1.15 and ended at 1.005. It did not ferment dry because( I think) the yeast reached its ABV limit. It is around 19 %.
I'm pleased with the results.
I dropped in some cinnamon sticks and so far it is getting good reviews from friends.
I plan to add a caramel syrup to one gallon with the cinnamon and see what happens.

 

[Yooper]

Wouldnt 9lbs of sugar bring it up much more then that? I usually use between 2-3 lbs fermentable sugars (honey) to raise my cider up to 1.06 or so.

Hmmm, let's see, 9 pounds of sugar certainly would. It would be approximately 1.110. Pretty high octane wine, since with wine yeast it would finish at .990 or so, or near 15%.

The OP plans on stopping this wine at 1.020 (although I don't know how), so that's more like a very sweet 11% wine.

Either way, this isn't something I would recommend doing for a cider. Some apple wines are absolutely lovely, though. A bit of tannin powder, a tad of acid blend, and some aging, and it could be a very nice pinot grigio-type wine.

 

[Ciderboy23]

.

 

[Ciderboy23]

When I took my initial reading from the hydrometer the starting gravity was 1.04 sorry for the confusion. Then I added 9lbs of sugar and got it up to 1.06 but i didn't stir it that well so that could have been why it was still low after adding the sugar. I have two other gallons that I just picked up from a hard cider company in my area and the starting gravity is 1.06 without any sugar added. What would be the best way to make sweet hard cider out of it? When should I cold crash the cider, at what SG? I have been using Safale S04 yeast which is a slower fermenting ale yeast. I have also not been using any potassium metabisulfate, yeast nutrient, or potassium sorbate because it tends to add a weird taste to the cider.. Im just tired of ending up with cider that is bitter and not really appley. Thank you so much in advanced for all the advice!

 

[Maylar]

I think you're going in the wrong direction for what you want to accomplish. Adding sugar in the beginning doesn't make it sweeter, it just adds to the alcohol level. And the more alcohol, the less it'll taste like apples. With that much sugar you're making wine, not cider. And apple wine doesn't taste like apples.

It's not really practical to stop fermentation at some specific gravity. I know some people have done it by cold crashing and filtering, but it's complicated.

Follow the established protocols. Start with 1.045 - 1.055 juice with no added sugar. Ferment at below 70°F with an ale or cider yeast. Do a secondary if you want and let it finish. Yes, it'll be dry and tart. Then add non fermentable sugar like Xylitol to taste.

This process works. You get good tasting cider in the 6% ABV range. There are other options for sweetening and /or carbing when you get to that point.

 

[MindenMan]

With a 15% ABV it won't taste much like apples... You could always put some in the freezer and make applejack, and after sufficient aging it will become nectar of the apple gods.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

Why not use campden tablets along with cold crashing to make sure you don't end up too dry or with bottle bombs?

 

[Yooper]

Why not use campden tablets along with cold crashing to make sure you don't end up too dry or with bottle bombs?

Because campden doesn't kill yeast?

 

[ericbw]

My method is:

4.5 gallons of apple juice
3 cans AJC
2lbs sugar
2 packets of notty
3 tsp of DAP
ferment at 60*
SG is 1.075
FG is 1.012 (takes roughly 2 weeks)
Stop fermentation by cold crash
Filter the yeast out with a .5 micron filter.
back sweeten with 2 cans of AJC.

This is pretty much the method we have used, except the added sugar. Only because I like to keep the alcohol lower. At that point you can carbonate with gas or natural.

I would also use campden after the cold crash, just as added protection.

Cider is what got us started with kegs, because that's the easiest way to make sweet carbonated cider.

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

Because campden doesn't kill yeast?

Quite true, but when used along with cold crashing it will inhibit and weaken healthy yeast that may survive the cold crash. It's really quite common with Mead and Cider, just not on this forum as much.

 

[Yooper]

Quite true, but when used along with cold crashing it will inhibit and weaken healthy yeast that may survive the cold crash. It's really quite common with Mead and Cider, just not on this forum as much.

It works sometimes. But not always, and not dependably, and most people don't like bottle bombs very much.

 

[JJ900]

I might have missed something about what you are trying to do but what about this thread:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=265986
for "5 day sweet country cider"
where you let it ferment half way down, then pasteurize the bottles to stop the yeast.

I made a one gallon batch of this using S-04 for yeast, 8oz brown sugar, half a cinnamon stick, let it get down to about 1.030 and it came out very well. I pasteurized most bottles at 180 degrees and threw a few in the fridge instead of pasteurizing just in case pasteurizing screwed things up. Both options worked fine. I was not intending to keep these long and drank the non-pasteurized ones first. Given that you want to make a larger batch just pasteurize any you don't want to drink soon, although I remember someone in that post saying that at least for s-04, fridge temps will really stop its activity. The thread refers you to the sticky on pasteurizing bottles.

 

[BeeRRunBrewery]

My method is:

4.5 gallons of apple juice
3 cans AJC
2lbs sugar
2 packets of notty
3 tsp of DAP
ferment at 60*
SG is 1.075
FG is 1.012 (takes roughly 2 weeks)
Stop fermentation by cold crash
Filter the yeast out with a .5 micron filter.
back sweeten with 2 cans of AJC.

I just did something very similar, but for a 3 gallon batch (for my 3 gallon keg). My OG was 1.052, cold crashed at 1.014, kegged (did not backsweeten). Tastes good! Just enough residual sweetness....