Here's a question, and sorry if it has been covered:
I have this going right now. How is woodchuck back sweetening when they bottle? I want to bottle it, carbed, and am thinking about using splenda like with Apfelwein. I just want to maintain the great flavor.
still looking for an answer ^^
Note: The sulphites will possibly taste funny for about 24hrs, then the flavor will dissipate. If you don't sulphite and only sorbate there is potential for the sorbate to interact with malolactic bacteria causing an unpleasant geranium smell. Sorbate is sometimes attacked by malolactic bacteria. Malolactic bacteria will likely only be present in fresh pressed unpasteurized cider.
My understanding is woodchuck is backsweetened and force carbonated. I would assume that yeast is taken out via filtering and that they use preservatives like sorbate and k-meta.
my best results for making a woodchuck styled cider using backsweetening is to use what I call double sweet cider (process below).
1. Take cider that is fermented dry
2. Add 1/4 rounded tsp of sorbate per gallon of finished product.
3. Rack cider into bottling bucket, onto sorbate leaving any yeast behind.
4. add double sweet cider to taste (this is fresh unpasteurized cider that I have let thaw about half way, then I pour off the liquid and leave the ice chunk behind. this results in a very sweet "double sweet" cider to backsweeten with). I usually end up adding about 1/3 double sweet cider to 2/3 hard cider for gravity in the 1.022-26 range.
5. Once you have it tasting the way you want, add 1 crushed campden tablet per finished volume gallon into your keg.
6. Rack in the cider from the bottling bucket into a keg, force carb and give a couple days before you try.
Note: The sulphites will possibly taste funny for about 24hrs, then the flavor will dissipate. If you don't sulphite and only sorbate there is potential for the sorbate to interact with malolactic bacteria causing an unpleasant geranium smell. Sorbate is sometimes attacked by malolactic bacteria. Malolactic bacteria will likely only be present in fresh pressed unpasteurized cider.
Are there any rough guidelines on how long it takes for the malolactic bacteria to start their attack? I have some friends with sulphite sensitivities who love cider and I would love to be able to make them a sulphite free cider.
I will be kegging this and it will most likely be consumed quickly after force carbonating.
Thanks for the help!
I don't want to keg it
I have read those, my question is more specific. I asked how woodchuck is doing it, because the original is a highly carbonated, sweet hard apple cider. I do not want to make it still, and I don't always have time to monitor the bottles on a daily basis before pasteurizing. I doubt that WC is doing it that way.
I would guess that they keg and force carb it, and bottle from there but I'm looking for the actual answer and not my guess. SWMBO is picky about alcohol and loves WC, so this all interests me greatly.
stujol said:wow, the sg of this cider is 1.070. 10% PA may be a little high for a woodchuck clone.
First of all, thanks to all who post on these boards. The knowledge base is unfriggin believable. I have 5 batches of beer under my belt and I would like to reward SWMBO for her support and patience.
#1 Is there really no boiling this recipe? Hard to believe something that looks so tasty can be this easy.
#2 Fermenting temps. The details on the Red Star are pretty clear 59-86*. I was wondering what the ideal temp is. I would love to do this @ room temp (74*) so i didn't tie up my fermenting chamber.
#3 If i do need to ferment cooler, can I store it in a keg at room temp after 1-2 months of fermenting?
#4 Should I use a starter or is one pack of yeast enough?
Thanks again
---- Doug
I started a 3 gallon batch of this on 10/5. Its fermented down to 1.001 i or so. I did end up putting it into secondary on the 25th. It tasted really good. Like a fruity white wine with apple hints.
1. I plan to back sweet a tiny bit and bottle carb. Can someone explain to me if there is enough yeast anywhere in the liquid for that? Since i racked it off, there is virtually no sediment at the bottom. Will it carb?
2. When planning to bottle carb, is it best to back sweeten and let it sit in the carboy til you know if fermentation starts up again, or just sweeten and bottle immediately?
I have plastics to test for carb once bottled.
Did you ever get it bottled? I'm very interested in making this recipe. Did it bottle carb for you?
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