Some Cider newby questions

[cutlass1972]

Hello everyone, my first post here at HBT.

A little background on me:
I have brewed soem beer over the years and made some wine as well. I have made a semi successful pass at cider once before following some fairly generic brewing rules and red star champaine yeast. I was not super crazy about the resultant cider as it was very tart.

I am making this batch of cider starting tomorrow. I am getting a 6 gallon carboy of fresh pressed juice from a local orchard.
FYI: I have a refractometer, hydrometer, dextrose, xylitol, sulfides (camden tablets), no rinse cleaner, pectin enzymes, sugar, racking equipment.
I have been doing a lot of reading today and have come up with the following rough plan. Can you experienced cider makers look it over and see how it looks?

1. crush 6 camden tablets per carboy and add before cider is filled
2. fill carboys and let stand 24hrs with sulfides to kill wild yeast
3. check Specific gravity and add sugar to bring level to between 1.045 - 1.050
4. add yeast, pectic enzyme, and air lock
5. ferment until fermentation JUST stops
6. Rack into secondary fermenter and let rest for +/-21 days
7. Add priming sugar and xylitol then bottle

 

[Yooper]

1. crush 6 camden tablets per carboy and add before cider is filled
2. fill carboys and let stand 24hrs with sulfides to kill wild yeast
3. check Specific gravity and add sugar to bring level to between 1.045 - 1.050
4. add yeast, pectic enzyme, and air lock
5. ferment until fermentation JUST stops
6. Rack into secondary fermenter and let rest for +/-21 days
7. Add priming sugar and xylitol then bottle

1. Yes, or just crush and dissolve them in 1/4 cup boiling water (helps dissolve them better) and you can pour that in after the cider is in the carboy. Either way is fine.

2. Yes. But, go ahead and add the pectic enzyme after 12 hours, and then the yeast after the 24 hours. Pectic enzyme is more effective when not added with the sulfite, and not added with the yeast. That 12 hour addition works great.

3. Yes, or no sugar at all for a less "wine" taste.

4. Add yeast, and airlock, or at least cover. You don't need an airlock but you do want to keep out fruitflies and such, so it isn't a bad idea at all. Use some yeast nutrient in your cider, if you have some, at about 1 teaspoon per gallon. That will help prevent some sulfur odors from stressed yeast.

5. Yes, but you don't have to sweat it. Sometime after fermentation slows is fine.

6. Or longer. Fresh cider will often drop a ton of lees, so you may have to rack again after 45-60 days to make sure you won't have a ton of crud in your bottles.

7. Yuck to the zylitol, but if you like it that's fine.

I would suggest a different yeast strain that champagne yeast if you like a fruity sweet finish. You could try an ale yeast, for example, instead of a wine or champagne yeast. You may like the results better. We have lots of info in our cider forum on different uses of different yeast strains.

 

[cutlass1972]

1. Yes, or just crush and dissolve them in 1/4 cup boiling water (helps dissolve them better) and you can pour that in after the cider is in the carboy. Either way is fine.

2. Yes. But, go ahead and add the pectic enzyme after 12 hours, and then the yeast after the 24 hours. Pectic enzyme is more effective when not added with the sulfite, and not added with the yeast. That 12 hour addition works great.

3. Yes, or no sugar at all for a less "wine" taste.

4. Add yeast, and airlock, or at least cover. You don't need an airlock but you do want to keep out fruitflies and such, so it isn't a bad idea at all. Use some yeast nutrient in your cider, if you have some, at about 1 teaspoon per gallon. That will help prevent some sulfur odors from stressed yeast.

5. Yes, but you don't have to sweat it. Sometime after fermentation slows is fine.

6. Or longer. Fresh cider will often drop a ton of lees, so you may have to rack again after 45-60 days to make sure you won't have a ton of crud in your bottles.

7. Yuck to the zylitol, but if you like it that's fine.

I would suggest a different yeast strain that champagne yeast if you like a fruity sweet finish. You could try an ale yeast, for example, instead of a wine or champagne yeast. You may like the results better. We have lots of info in our cider forum on different uses of different yeast strains.

I scored some nottingham yeast at the local homebrew supplier this evening, so gtg on the yeast.

I am not a fan of the zylitol either. I just dont want my cider to turn out too tart. Yhe lasy batch I made (years ago) was almost not palletable it was also tart. I wonder if that was because I used Champaign yeast, and it was able to eat souch sugar due to higher alcohol tolerance?

 

[Yooper]

I scored some nottingham yeast at the local homebrew supplier this evening, so gtg on the yeast.

I am not a fan of the zylitol either. I just dont want my cider to turn out too tart. Yhe lasy batch I made (years ago) was almost not palletable it was also tart. I wonder if that was because I used Champaign yeast, and it was able to eat souch sugar due to higher alcohol tolerance?

Just about any yeast you use will take the cider dry. If you want a sweet, carbonated cider, you could try pasteurizing (see the "sticky" on the top of this forum). I like dry cider (and wine) so it's not something I deal with.