I just made a new batch that was not tart at all when I tasted it before bottling. But after bottling and sitting for a bit, it has a tartness to its taste now. This happens with all my batches. Any idea why the tart taste sets in after bottling? Any solution to minimize or eliminate it?
Tartness
- Thread starter jarret111
- Start date
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One reason might be... Are you bottling above 1.000 (say 1.005 for carbonation)? Fully fermented cider (i.e. FG 1.000) should leave you with zero sugar and a somewhat dry and tart cider. At something like 1.005 there should be about 12g/L of sugar left, which is a bit like half to one teaspoon of sugar in a cup of coffee, but unless you stop fermentation by heat pasteurising or chemical means this sugar will eventually be consumed and turned into CO2 and alcohol.
Ciderman62
Member
I have a similar problem although not yet bottled
I have a batch which appears to have stopped fermenting tested today & have the same SG reading as two days ago, plan to test again Saturday and if there is no change in SG will commence bottling
The brew is on the tart side so need to sweeten before bottling however I understand that if I use sugar to achieve the required sweetness prior to bottling that this sugar will start the fermentation again in the bottle and carbonate the cider
As I want a sweeter cider than it currently s AND I want it carbonated I need to add sufficient sugar for carbonation in the bottle which I can calculate based on the volume of cider produced however this sugar will not affect the sweetness greatly as it will be consumed by fermentation in the bottle.
Can someone recommend a sweetener that does not ferment or leave a bitter after taste.
I have a batch which appears to have stopped fermenting tested today & have the same SG reading as two days ago, plan to test again Saturday and if there is no change in SG will commence bottling
The brew is on the tart side so need to sweeten before bottling however I understand that if I use sugar to achieve the required sweetness prior to bottling that this sugar will start the fermentation again in the bottle and carbonate the cider
As I want a sweeter cider than it currently s AND I want it carbonated I need to add sufficient sugar for carbonation in the bottle which I can calculate based on the volume of cider produced however this sugar will not affect the sweetness greatly as it will be consumed by fermentation in the bottle.
Can someone recommend a sweetener that does not ferment or leave a bitter after taste.
Powder Erythritol.
Be aware that some non-fermentable sweeteners can cause gastric issues. (e.g. pears contain moderate levels of sorbitol and that is why they have a reputation for causing "the runs" and are sometimes used as a mild laxative).
I use waterbath pasteurisation to deal with sweetened and carbonated cider. See Pappers post at the top of the forum, JimRausch 16 April 2018 or my post of 1 Feb 2021 which goes into a lot of detail. Be aware that some caution is needed to ensure that over-carbonation or temperature doesn't take you into "bottle bomb" territory. Carbonation up to about 2.5 volumes of CO2 is O.K. in my experience. Heating the sealed bottles to 65C (149F) for around 10 minutes will do the job of stopping the yeast from any further fermentation, thus leaving sugar and CO2 in the bottle.
It is a bit late for you on this occasion, but a few on the forum (including me) are trying Fermentis' new AS2 and TF6 yeasts which claim to retain some sweetness when fully fermented. I have found this to be the case with S04 which can stop between 1.002 and 1.004.
I have also used Xylitol but am concerned that it can be toxic to dogs. Others may have suggestions.
I use waterbath pasteurisation to deal with sweetened and carbonated cider. See Pappers post at the top of the forum, JimRausch 16 April 2018 or my post of 1 Feb 2021 which goes into a lot of detail. Be aware that some caution is needed to ensure that over-carbonation or temperature doesn't take you into "bottle bomb" territory. Carbonation up to about 2.5 volumes of CO2 is O.K. in my experience. Heating the sealed bottles to 65C (149F) for around 10 minutes will do the job of stopping the yeast from any further fermentation, thus leaving sugar and CO2 in the bottle.
It is a bit late for you on this occasion, but a few on the forum (including me) are trying Fermentis' new AS2 and TF6 yeasts which claim to retain some sweetness when fully fermented. I have found this to be the case with S04 which can stop between 1.002 and 1.004.
I have also used Xylitol but am concerned that it can be toxic to dogs. Others may have suggestions.
WilliammLesly
New Member
I also think you need to test the proportions of the components! I also have a tart taste! I experimented and it became more pleasant!
