Questions from a new comer

[mak]

Hi everyone,

I have been reading this forum extensively and am trying my second batch of Cider :rockin:

My first batch pretty much exploded violently so now I am afraid, very afraid.

First batch
1. Bought 2 gallons of apple juice
2. Threw in recommended amount of nottingham yeast
3. Allowed fermentation till dry for 10 days
4. Boiled the cider and re added more apple juice to back sweeten
5. Bottled immediately

Initially it tasted pretty fine for a first try. After about a week or so my glass bottles started exploding! In order to save my life, I opened the rest. They popped open with fearsome explosiveness.

Putting fear aside, I am planning on my second batch. This is what I plan to do.

1. Buy 5 gallons of apple juice
2. Throw in nottingham yeast
3. Ferment till 1.030-1.010
4. Prime and bottle
5. Pasteurize using stove technique


Questions (You need not answer all if you could answer just one that would be excellent!)

1. Because my fermenter is 5 gallons big, there as a lot of head space when I made 2 gallons previously. Is this a cause for concern?
2. I use the cooper's fermenter with a built in tap. To get all the juice out, I have to tilt the fermenter which kicks up the sedimentation. Should I change to another fermenter?
3. How much sugar and what kind of sugar should I use for priming?
4. I read that nottingham yeast can be cleared by secondary fermentation. Potassium Sorbate vs Secondary fermentation vs Pastuerising. What are the differences?
5. I do not have enough space for cold crashing. Is it useful for cider? What temperature should it be done at? After cold crashing, is kegging the only way to carbonate the cider?

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[Pappers_]

As you experienced, you can't backsweeten with apple juice or any other fermentable sugar, because the yeasties will eat up the sugars. You would need to either: 1) stop the yeast chemically before backsweetening with juice (but then you can't bottle carbonate) or 2) backsweeten with a nonfermentable such as Splenda.

To prime, you can use regular table sugar (cane sugar), 2/3 cup per 5 gallon batch.

In my experience, Nottingham clears nicely in cider. I don't secondary but my cider turns out nicely cleared.

 

[mak]

To backsweeten with splenda would mean that I have to ferment the original juice till dry. Any ideas how I can maintain the natural sugars found in the apple juice? Say if I would like to stop fermentation at 1.010?

 

[Calder]

Make it easy for yourself.

Ferment until it stops (about 1.000), and prime with 1 cup of apple juice per gallon (2.5 pints per 5 gallons).

See what it is like before you try stopping fermentation early. Personally, I like it dry.

 

[Pappers_]

To backsweeten with splenda would mean that I have to ferment the original juice till dry. Any ideas how I can maintain the natural sugars found in the apple juice? Say if I would like to stop fermentation at 1.010?

That's about my favorite, around 1.010, and use the pasteurization method to stop fermentation.

 

[Hex]

To backsweeten with splenda would mean that I have to ferment the original juice till dry. Any ideas how I can maintain the natural sugars found in the apple juice? Say if I would like to stop fermentation at 1.010?

You either have a live product or a dead one.
If it's live, you can only back sweeten with unfermentables like splenda, nutrasweet.
You can kill your cider if you pasteurize in the bottle (search function is your friend), basicly wait a few days until properly carbonated, then put bottles in 160-5 deg water until the internal temperature reaches 160 deg f.

You can also kill your cider with camden tabs (potassium metabisulfide) back sweeten with fermentable sugar of your choice, and force carbonate.

Those are your choices. I prefer bone dry cider, like champagne.

 

[Hex]

You can always make some 'simple syrup' and sweeten in the glass.

 

[mak]

Thanks for the help guys!

I think I will try the pasteurization technique. I am pretty afraid of any bombing after seeing a glass bottle burst and shatter during bottle conditioning.