Sweetening after conditioning?

[z-bob]

I bought a bag of erythritol and monkfruit sweetener at Costco and want to experiment with it. I like my cider almost dry. Second best is dry (like I have), and I don't really want to go sweet with it. I have some screw top 500ml bottles of dry cider ready to drink.

I know I could put the sweetener in the glass, dissolve in a bit of water or cider, then pour the rest. But I'm wondering if I can sweeten it in the bottle and seal it back up? My idea is to refrigerate it first. Then put it in the freezer for a bit to get it almost frozen; this is maximize the solubility of the CO2 so it doesn't all fizz out when I add the powder. Open the bottle, add a teaspoon of sweetener, and close it up real fast. Do another with 3/4 tsp. Wait a day or two before I try them. Think it will work, or will it all foam over even though it's cold?

Ultimately I want to find out how much to add to each bottle at priming time, this is just a way to test it.

 

[JimRausch]

I don't know anything about monkfruit sweetener, but erythritol is nonfermentable, so this should work. You will lose some of the carbonation, but if you do as you suggest, I think it would work. Here's another thought though. Rather than add a powder which may cause a fizz-explosion, why don't you steal some of the cider (maybe sacrifice 1 bottle) and dissolve the powder in that. Adding liquid will give you two benefits- 1. less fizz, and 2. you can better control the amount of sweetening you add.

 

[z-bob]

I don't know anything about monkfruit sweetener, but erythritol is nonfermentable, so this should work. You will lose some of the carbonation, but if you do as you suggest, I think it would work. Here's another thought though. Rather than add a powder which may cause a fizz-explosion, why don't you steal some of the cider (maybe sacrifice 1 bottle) and dissolve the powder in that. Adding liquid will give you two benefits- 1. less fizz, and 2. you can better control the amount of sweetening you add.

I like that. Steal a little of the ice cold cider, warm it up so the sweetener will dissolve. Pour the liquid back in the bottle.

Although if I'm going to do all that, it makes more sense to just sweeten a glass of cider at serving like I do sometimes with simple syrup. :doh:

 

[ZugaSweetener]

I am not a practiced beer maker, but I am a provider of erythritol. I just wanted to say that I appreciate how much support for each other goes into this site.. pretty rare ( I do belong to a lot of fishing sites and its soo hush up and screw off in comparison. )
here are some things about erythritol i did not see in your threads or would like to put things all in a single post from a subject matter expert on erythritol
erythritol ;
Does not lose sweetness as it cooks (all conventional sugars do)

Does not ferment or feed yeasts - perfect for back sweetening​

Does not add calories or carbs​

Does not mess with the digestive system (like xylitol or other sugar alcohols) the human friendly amount is 1 gram per Kg of your body weight but many​

Is tolerated much more with no digestive problems because 90% is absorbed in the blood before getting to the lower GI so this is why it does not cause gas or bloating. (for most people.. there are always exceptions)​

Creates more stability in your finished product since it does not encourage other molds or bacteria to grow​

Is good for your teeth ( does not promote the bacteria that causes cavities​

Dissolves better at lower temperatures if you powder it down in a blender, spice or coffee grinder first - this also reduces crystalization​

Can be used to make a simple syrup to add to cocktails and perhaps your beers depending on your goals. (2 cups distilled water to 1 Cup erythritol plus 1/8-1/4 tsp of xanthan gum ( or other thickening agent)​

Distilled water is better so that the properties that make it re-crystalize don't adhere to hard water particles.​

​

and since I saw many people talking about the importance of temperature, Erythritol lowers water temperature by 4 degrees ( which is why if you put it on your tongue many people experience the " cooling effect" which is an enhancement if you are making a minty something ​

​

I am a Canadian brand and am not trying to sell you on buying my product... but when I came across these threads , I wanted to impart some knowledge in case it helps any of you make a better beer or improve what you are already happy with.​

​

-Darren​

​

​

​

 

[z-bob]

I am not a practiced beer maker, but I am a provider of erythritol. I just wanted to say that I appreciate how much support for each other goes into this site.. pretty rare ( I do belong to a lot of fishing sites and its soo hush up and screw off in comparison. )
here are some things about erythritol i did not see in your threads or would like to put things all in a single post from a subject matter expert on erythritol
erythritol ;
Does not lose sweetness as it cooks (all conventional sugars do)

Does not ferment or feed yeasts - perfect for back sweetening​

Does not add calories or carbs​

Does not mess with the digestive system (like xylitol or other sugar alcohols) the human friendly amount is 1 gram per Kg of your body weight but many​

Is tolerated much more with no digestive problems because 90% is absorbed in the blood before getting to the lower GI so this is why it does not cause gas or bloating. (for most people.. there are always exceptions)​

Creates more stability in your finished product since it does not encourage other molds or bacteria to grow​

Is good for your teeth ( does not promote the bacteria that causes cavities​

Dissolves better at lower temperatures if you powder it down in a blender, spice or coffee grinder first - this also reduces crystalization​

Can be used to make a simple syrup to add to cocktails and perhaps your beers depending on your goals. (2 cups distilled water to 1 Cup erythritol plus 1/8-1/4 tsp of xanthan gum ( or other thickening agent)​

Distilled water is better so that the properties that make it re-crystalize don't adhere to hard water particles.​

​

and since I saw many people talking about the importance of temperature, Erythritol lowers water temperature by 4 degrees ( which is why if you put it on your tongue many people experience the " cooling effect" which is an enhancement if you are making a minty something ​

​

I am a Canadian brand and am not trying to sell you on buying my product... but when I came across these threads , I wanted to impart some knowledge in case it helps any of you make a better beer or improve what you are already happy with.​

​

-Darren​

​

​

​

thanks for the post. I haven't tried it yet. I did try adding a teaspoon of erythritol to my glass, pouring in a bit of cider and sloshing it around, then pouring in the rest. It didn't dissolve very well so was a poor test. Next time I bottle some cider I will add varying amounts to some of the bottles at bottling time and mark them, and see which I like the best.