Newbie question for first post

[GANGGREEN]

First of all, a tiny bit of background. I've done a few 5 gallon batches of beer and a few 5 gallon and 3 gallon batches of wine but that was years ago and I feel like a total beginner. I'm thinking about doing some cider and was curious about using Splenda or lactose to sweeten after fermentation. I've seen 1/2 pound of lactose recommended for a 5 gallon batch but don't know how much Splenda one would use. Any thoughts about the benefits of one over the other?

Thanks.

 

[TipsyDragon]

well i have no idea if splenda is fermentable or not. i know lactose isn't. how many gravity points where you thinking of raising?

 

[Kraghed]

Splenda is not fermentable. I have seen posts where others have used it for Apfelwein, ciders and regular wine for that reason.

I did a bit of searching and haven't found a good comparison of lactose vs. splenda addition amounts, so this looks like it will be trial and error. My advice would be to be VERY careful and only add it in small amounts, sampling with each addition. A little goes a long way.

I did find this, but it is talking about splenda in Apfelwein.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/back-sweeten-splenda-101242/

 

[BrewMath]

I am under the impression that sucralose (Splenda/E955) is non-fermentable by brewer's yeast. I believe it has something to do with yanking out three hydroxyl groups and replacing with chlorine (chlorination), but IANAOC (I am not an organic chemist).

Often the packets contain sucralose and a filler like glucose or maltodextrin - read the label to be sure. Also, sucralose is ridiculously sweet - so add with care My girlfriend loves this stuff, and bakes with it regularly with good results.

One thing I have noticed with splenda is that it does not dissolve in solution the same way a standard sugar does - the solution is cloudy instead of clear. Don't know if this will occur with bottle sweetening or if you even care, just an FYI

 

[TipsyDragon]

you could take 1lb. of splenda. add enough water to get up to 1 gallon. take a gravity reading. that will tell you the ppg of splenda ... then its a simple process of doing the math to figure out how much you need to equal the same amount of lactose.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Thanks for the help all. As you can tell, I'm trying to avoid the scientific/mathematic end of it for now and trying to keep it simple. If this is like most of my hobbies, I'll jump in with both feet and learn what I need to know in time.

Kraghed, your link seems to be suggesting 1/3 cup of Splenda for gallon of Apfelwein. That seems ridiculously strong. I think I'll follow the suggestion to go very light with the Splenda and kind of taste as I go. I also have a couple of soda kegs here but don't have the CO2 canisters, valves, etc. so I'm not sure whether I'll keg or not. I guess with kegging I can just sweeten with apple juice, honey or sugar after fermentation and then refridgerate. I'll have to give it some more thought.

Thanks again for the input everyone.

 

[jcobbs]

ALWAYS make adjustments by taste. Why would you want to rely on math to adjust your brew when you have a perfectly legitimate reason to keep pouring yourself a drink?

"Hmm, was that one Campden tablet or two? Better taste a sample to be sure."

 

[ByCandleLightWinery]

The box of Splenda says that one teaspoon = one teaspoon of sugar. I figured I use one teaspoon per cup of tea (I like my tea sweet), but on the safe side, I decided to under estimate my one gallon of apple wine from The Joy of Home Winemaking and did one teaspoon per 8 oz. I think it turned out fine, but you could be cautious and go 1 teaspoon per 16 oz. Remember, a gallon is 128 oz.

 

[GANGGREEN]

jcobbs, good thinking, I like your perspective. ByCandleLightWinery, that certainly makes sense and 1 teaspoon per 16 ounces might be a good starting point. I'll start slowly and add it if and only if I need to.