sweet cider doable w only yeast

[balto charlie]

Hey ciderers(is that what they call cider brewers). I have been informed that I will be receiving 5-10 gallons of cider next weekend. The cider man asked me to turn it into sweet apple tasting hard cider. From everything I have read sweetness must be added later in the process. My cider man says he would like it to be all apple and yeast. So what's a brewer to do?
Has anyone "stopped" fermentation before it gets toooo dry and "unsweet". If so , how? 10 gallons would be hard to chill down.

If apples are pressed on a clean press and the yeast is pitched immediately then we are done until ferment is done? Am I correct here?
Thanks folks. I will be bugging you again soon. Best, Charlie

 

[Picobrew]

You could stop the fermentation with some potassium metabisulfite, I believe. This is an additive, of course, but it is a very commonly used one (like in most wines).

 

[CvilleKevin]

Cold crashing will do the job but you can also stop the ferment with multiple rackings

 

[balto charlie]

So: Once I like the flavor I put the carboy into the fridge. The yeast will stop and flavor preserved. Now if I bottle it what will happen if the cider warms to room temp? I'm thinking bottle bombs?? Once cold it should stay cold?
Thanks Charlie

 

[balto charlie]

You could stop the fermentation with some potassium metabisulfite, I believe. This is an additive, of course, but it is a very commonly used one (like in most wines).

Thanks I read somewhere here that it interferes with the apple flavor. My friend really wants sweet apple flavor.

 

[Yooper]

So: Once I like the flavor I put the carboy into the fridge. The yeast will stop and flavor preserved. Now if I bottle it what will happen if the cider warms to room temp? I'm thinking bottle bombs?? Once cold it should stay cold?
Thanks Charlie

Right- there really isn't a way to reliably stop fermentation once it starts!

Here's what I'd do:
Take the cider and add one crushed campden tablet per gallon (dissolved in a little water) to kill any wild yeast/bacteria in the fresh juice. If you don't do this, wild yeast will ferment the cider- it might be good, but it more likely would be spoiled.

Wait 24 hours, then take out one to two gallons of the fresh cider and freeze it. Add yeast to the rest, and allow it to ferment out. It might take a couple of months. You'll have a ton of sediment on the bottom, so after you get at 1.020 or below, rack the cider and top up to the top to reduce headspace. Rack as needed, or whenver there are lees 1/4 inch thick. Within a couple of months, it should clear and be finished. Check the FG to make sure it's not changing. Then, rack the cider into a new carboy into which one campden tablet per gallon and 1/2 teaspoon of sorbate per gallon have been added. Wait about 3-4 days. Campden and sorbate don't kill yeast- but the sorbate inhibits yeast reproduction, and it works best with campden. Then, take the frozen cider out of the freezer, and add it to the hard cider. It shouldn't ferment any more, and the fresh cider will give a fresh apple cider taste to the hard cider. The hard cider will taste quite a bit like white wine, dry and without much apple cider- but adding the fresh cider will make it sweeter and apple-ly-er.

 

[theguy]

Right- there really isn't a way to reliably stop fermentation once it starts!

Here's what I'd do:
Take the cider and add one crushed campden tablet per gallon (dissolved in a little water) to kill any wild yeast/bacteria in the fresh juice. If you don't do this, wild yeast will ferment the cider- it might be good, but it more likely would be spoiled.

Wait 24 hours, then take out one to two gallons of the fresh cider and freeze it. Add yeast to the rest, and allow it to ferment out. It might take a couple of months. You'll have a ton of sediment on the bottom, so after you get at 1.020 or below, rack the cider and top up to the top to reduce headspace. Rack as needed, or whenver there are lees 1/4 inch thick. Within a couple of months, it should clear and be finished. Check the FG to make sure it's not changing. Then, rack the cider into a new carboy into which one campden tablet per gallon and 1/2 teaspoon of sorbate per gallon have been added. Wait about 3-4 days. Campden and sorbate don't kill yeast- but the sorbate inhibits yeast reproduction, and it works best with campden. Then, take the frozen cider out of the freezer, and add it to the hard cider. It shouldn't ferment any more, and the fresh cider will give a fresh apple cider taste to the hard cider. The hard cider will taste quite a bit like white wine, dry and without much apple cider- but adding the fresh cider will make it sweeter and apple-ly-er.

+1 on Yoopers comment. I am doing the same thing as balto and like the method you suggest. Thanks!

 

[CvilleKevin]

Cold crashing will reliably stop fermentation if you use an ale yeast like S04. You dont need need chemicals. Rack the carboy, refrigerate it for a couple days, the yeast will flocculate and the cider will get nice and clear. Rack it again, being careful not to get any of the sediment, and it will be stable at room temp. There are some pics on the last page of the sticky.

I dont know why everyone seems to think this is so hard. I have crashed hundreds of gallons this way. Hundreds and hundreds of bottles. I have had one single bottle crack a few years ago - that was with a wild yeast ferment that I crashed at 1.020. It lasted about 8 months at room temp, until the middle of the summer. I've never had any problems with ale yeast. Right now, I have 25 liters in the basement that have been at room temp since last fall. There were plenty of days when it got over 80 in my basement this summer. No problems.

Adding k-meta before fermenting will make your cider bitter and it will take several months to wear off. If you press good apples on a clean press and pitch immediately, you dont need it. If you trust that your cider man runs a clean operation and you get the cider within a day of pressing, you dont need k-meta. If you are saving the cider for more than 6 months, then you may want to add half a dose at the end of the ferment. The taste is less obnoxious if added at the end. The taste of sorbate is even more prominent, although a little less objectionable - sorta like vanilla and cinnamon. I dont like it. It isnt needed.

 

[balto charlie]

Yooper and Cville: thanks for you replies even though they are different methodologies. I will pass it on to my friend and see what he thinks. What the heck does he know, he's just the grower, not the brewer. Thanks again

 

[CvilleKevin]

If you are getting 10 gallons, you can do one of each and see what you like. I can tell you from a lot of experience that the one with no additives and cold crashed will taste great within a few weeks. The one with the chemicals added will taste OK also, but not for another 6 months to a year.

 

[pilotdane]

Has anyone tried adding an artificial sweetener along with priming sugar at bottling? I'm wondering if the yeast would carbonate with the sugar and the artificial sweetener provides sweetness in the finished product?

 

[wreckinball9]

yes people do this all the time. be careful not to overdo it with the artificial sweetener. the beverage will naturally mellow and sweeten with time anyway.

in other words, make it a little less sweet than you want it, and in a few months it will be about right.