Need some input on cider lowering the ABV.

[eluterio]

Im doing an apple cider for a wedding at the end of June. I used the good ol' Tree Top Cider you can pick up at costco. Disclaimer, Im better at making beer then cider and this is my second attempt.

So, I added about 2 lbs of sugar to 5.5 gallons of tree top and pitched yeast. Yeast took off and I ended up with 11% hard cider. Although high alcohol for a wedding would be great for the single guys out there but Its for the bride and dont want her to be knocked out before the wedding even starts.

Is this possible to add fresh tree top to back sweeten and lower the ABV at the same time?? I understand I need to add campton tables to put the yeast at rest. Im not worried about priming sugar since I keg. Can one figure 1 gallon to 2 gallon ratio would be a good starting point?

Please help!!

 

[Bearfoot]

I often back-sweeten ciders as I keg. Usually I pull a sample of the fermented cider and blend into a 1 oz sample to find a good ratio and then scale up.

 

[eluterio]

Does this also lower the alcohol when you mix. Sorry a newbie question I just don't know and havent found a thread that say yes it does.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Bearfoot]

It will lower the alcohol and increase the sweetness, so finding the right balance is essential.

You might also consider diluting with distilled water to maintain the dryness you're looking for

 

[bernardsmith]

So, I added about 2 lbs of sugar to 5.5 gallons of tree top and pitched yeast. Yeast took off and I ended up with 11% hard cider.

I am unfamiliar with this brand of juice but I find it very surprising that the addition of 2 lbs of sugar in 5.5 gallons would result in an ABV of 11 percent. That would mean your must's starting gravity would have been about 1.085.

Four pounds of sugar would add only about .015 per gallon in 5.5 gallons of must so the original gravity of the juice would be about 1.070. This sounds very high for commercial apple juice. Are you certain that your hydrometer reading was accurate? If it was accurate I need to join Costco... my local orchard's pressed apples provide a gravity of about 1.050 or an ABV of about 6.5%.

 

[eluterio]

I stand corrected, I was looking at the wrong scale to determine my ABV. My wedding cider is sitting at 9%abv. My OG was at 1.068 and my final a few weeks ago was at 1.000. Im sure there is a chance that it would have dropped even more and ill check it tonight. Ill be adding some tree top to bring in some sweetness and drop the ABV.