Wow mind boggling

[mtnman68]

When I decided to make apple cider I spent 3 days looking at recipes for hard apple hard cider on the computer and I found a whole bunch of them. All of them said how easy it is to make. Now I will admit that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, however I also would like to think that I am not the dulles in the draw either. Now after reading everything posted in this forum I am not so sure about that last statement.
Most of the chemicals in this forum I have never heard of, and I don't have a clue as to what they are used for. Some of them I have figured out what they are used for. I tried one one of those simple, can't be messed up.YEAH RIGHT, I made a gallon and it looked orange after being bottled, so I taste tested it, didn't taste too bad, pretty tart for me, but let me tell you it had a kick, I mean a big kick. I let it sit in the frig for about 2 weeks and tested it again. It was still orange color to it, still smelled alright, and if any thing happened it still had if anything about doubled the kick the first one had. I have drank 100 proof whisky that had less of a kick than that batch of cider did. I am going to start over and do another batch and try to do it until I have something that tastes decent and you can drink more than a half of a cup with out getting falling down drunk.
Now I have said all of that to say this. Please don't get upset with me when I ask a lot of stupid questions. I know I will get it eventually, so any help you can give me will be very appreciated.

Thank You

mtnman68

 

[JimRausch]

Welcome Mtnman.
I think you'll find that most of the folks on this forum are helpful without being judgemental.
And remember, the only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask and screw something up because you didn't ask.
I'll start you off. Not knowing the recipe you followed(it's always a good idea to post as much info as you can when asking a Q) , if it tasted like a high octane Kickapoo joy juice, then I'm guessing it had you add a bunch of sugar. Recommendation #1- don't spoil your cider with too much sugar. It just gives you alcohol without any flavor. A good cider is all about flavor.

 

[mtnman68]

The recipe called for 2lbs of sugar.

Thanks for the information.

mtnman68

 

[ErickJ]

The recipe called for 2lbs of sugar.

Thanks for the information.

mtnman68

I'll assume it's a 1 gallon batch?

Maybe get a cheap campaign yeast or a more expensive cider yeast, 1 3qt bottle of apple juice, and a can of frozen apple juice concentrate. (get creative, I'm using a frozen apple/cherry concentrate next time. with a teaspoon of nutmeg on a 5 gallon batch)

Get a 1 gallon glass or plastic jug (glass preferred).
1 size #6 bung.
1 airlock.

Add it all, top up with a little bit of water, shake the heck out of it! pitch the yeast. wait for 3 weeks. Rack it off the lees, let it set for a couple more, bottle or keg it. I personally back sweetened my last batch. I added 1 can of frozen apple juice concentrate per gallon to back sweeten.

Now, if you want to bottle carb the cider when it's back sweetened read this thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=193295
I recommend filling brown 12oz glass bottles and 1 12oz bottle that's plastic with screw on cap. Squeeze the plastic bottle every day until you feel that it's the perfect level of carbonation. Then stove top pasteurizer or an even easier method. Just pop them in the fridge, the cold temp will make the yeast go dormant, whatever you do, don't let the bottles warm up, if you do, the yeast will wake up and start producing Co2 and turn your bottles into cider bombs.

You can slowly get into the pectic enzyme, yeast energizer and yeast nutrient. Just keep reading. There's so many people on here with awesome information. They've all been really helpful and even answered some of my questions I asked in more than one thread.



Here's the recipe that I followed. (it's just awesome) https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=85887

I made 6 gallons of cider at 8% alch for 28 bucks. I purchased all my apple juice from Walmart. I used nothing but the great value brand cheap stuff.

In all I purchased 7 bottles of apple juice, 14 tubes of frozen apple juice concentrate.
I added in all my apple juice, and 7 cans of concentrate, let it warm to 70 degrees. Dry pitched 1 pack of red star champagne yeast. It was done fermenting in two weeks. I back sweetened with 6 cans of frozen apple juice concentrate, then kegged it. (i held off on the 7th can.)

 

[Maylar]

Do yourself a favor and don't add any sugar. Zero. No matter what the recipes say. It serves absolutely no purpose other than adding alcohol and making the cider hot. Starting with juice at SG 1.050 you'll get cider with 6.5% ABV and that's higher than commercial ciders.

 

[sashurlow]

Agree with Maylar and Jim. You made an apple wine. Now age it for a year and you will have a very nice wine. My cider is making me very "happy" with zero sugar added to it. Don't ruin the taste with more alcohol.
See... cider is incredibly simple. Apple juice, yeast and time. I you want to get more complicated worry about what kind of apples to put in your mix. Researching orchards and apple varieties is where the complication comes from. Its also where the really good cider comes from.
As far as chemicals... Campden is for killing off unwanted bugs before you start. 1 tablet per gallon and wait 24 hours. Its also only needed for fresh pressed cider. That is the only chemical that is really needed. There is also wine stabilizer (sorbate) that can be added ONLY if you have a keg to force carb you brew. Campden produces "rhino farts" that will dissipate with time.

 

[barnaclebob]

Do yourself a favor and don't add any sugar. Zero. No matter what the recipes say. It serves absolutely no purpose other than adding alcohol and making the cider hot. Starting with juice at SG 1.050 you'll get cider with 6.5% ABV and that's higher than commercial ciders.

We should have a sticky that says DO NOT ADD SUGAR TO YOUR CIDER UNTIL YOU CAN MAKE IT WELL WITHOUT SUGAR.

 

[CKuhns]

Use the recipe Erick recommended...

The only additions:
I would suggest is that if you use apple juice from the grocer ensure it has no preservatives other than vitamin C or Ascorbic Acid. (any other ingredients or preservatives will not let your yeast do their job.)

Consider using Safale S-04 Yeast (Yes it is an ale yeast but has worked very well for me.) At 1.055+- a bit Specific Gravity will give you a very nice cider after three or so weeks.

Then once you have done this a few times successfully, experiment and have fun!

 

[mtnman68]

I really would like to thank everyone for the information. I did not know you could make hard cider without adding sugar. So there is enough sugar in store bought cider to keep it from becoming sharp or really sour? I bought another gallon today and I am planning on giving it another chance in the morning. AND no sugar at all, Right? Well here I go again,wish me luck.

Thank all of you

mtnman68

 

[slym2none]

If you want the most bang for your buck, I have found Musselman's cider has the most calories per serving amongst the store-bought brands I can find.

 

[Yooper]

Here are some helpful tips if you're interesting in learning more why/hows of cidermaking: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508303

 

[MarkKF]

The sugar, either in the juice or added, doesn't make it tart or sour, it just makes ethanol.

 

[bernardsmith]

Campden produces "rhino farts" that will dissipate with time.

I am not sure that I agree. Campden simply kills wild yeast and inhibits oxidation so you might want to add a tablet crushed in a little water if you intend to age the cider. The active ingredient of Campden tabs is potassium meta-bisulfite or K-meta, and K-meta in solution produces sulfur dioxide and sulfur dioxide used in greater concentration is used by wine makers to sanitize tools and equipment. That said, so -called rhino farts are caused by the yeast's production of hydrogen sulfide (not sulfur dioxide) and yeast produces hydrogen sulfide when they are stressed - so for example, yeast is stressed when it does not have enough organic nitrogen - which is why many wine-makers add nutrient (DAP or Fermaid K or raisins or even boiled bread yeast).
So more accurately, I think, poor protocol results in hydrogen sulfide being produced not good practice. And the addition of Campden tabs can be good practice if you are using apple juice (or fruit juice) that has NOT been pasteurized (UV pasteurization does not involve heat and it effectively kills all the bacteria and wild yeast ) so there is in fact no need to add K-meta (or Campden tabs) before the cider is ready for bottling...

 

[Yooper]

I am not sure that I agree. Campden simply kills wild yeast and inhibits oxidation so you might want to add a tablet crushed in a little water if you intend to age the cider. The active ingredient of Campden tabs is potassium meta-bisulfite or K-meta, and K-meta in solution produces sulfur dioxide and sulfur dioxide used in greater concentration is used by wine makers to sanitize tools and equipment. That said, so -called rhino farts are caused by the yeast's production of hydrogen sulfide (not sulfur dioxide) and yeast produces hydrogen sulfide when they are stressed - so for example, yeast is stressed when it does not have enough organic nitrogen - which is why many wine-makers add nutrient (DAP or Fermaid K or raisins or even boiled bread yeast).
So more accurately, I think, poor protocol results in hydrogen sulfide being produced not good practice. And the addition of Campden tabs can be good practice if you are using apple juice (or fruit juice) that has NOT been pasteurized (UV pasteurization does not involve heat and it effectively kills all the bacteria and wild yeast ) so there is in fact no need to add K-meta (or Campden tabs) before the cider is ready for bottling...

Correct- campden doesn't produce those famous "rhino farts"- stressed yeast does that. Stressed yeast can take "rhino farts" to H2S, and ruin the cider- so that should be avoided.

I disagree with not adding k-meta as bottling though. It is well known to be an antioxidant, and during racking and bottling, oxygen update is likely. To prevent oxidation at that point, using 50 ppm of sulfites (k-meta or campden) can be a lifesaver. Or rather, cider saver.

 

[bernardsmith]

I disagree with not adding k-meta as bottling though. It is well known to be an antioxidant, and during racking and bottling, oxygen update is likely. To prevent oxidation at that point, using 50 ppm of sulfites (k-meta or campden) can be a lifesaver. Or rather, cider saver.

Apologies if my language was confusing. I WAS recommending the addition of K-meta (or campden tabs) as you bottle, just not before pitching the yeast if you are using pasteurized apple juice for the must

 

[Maylar]

I really would like to thank everyone for the information. I did not know you could make hard cider without adding sugar. So there is enough sugar in store bought cider to keep it from becoming sharp or really sour? I bought another gallon today and I am planning on giving it another chance in the morning. AND no sugar at all, Right? Well here I go again,wish me luck.

Thank all of you

mtnman68

All the sugar in apples is fermentable, which means that when the process is complete you will have dry tart cider. Adding sugar up front does not change that, since that sugar will also be fermented and turned into alcohol. You've already experienced what that tastes like. It's wine, not cider, and it takes a long time to mellow out.

If you want to sweeten the cider at the end there are methods of doing that. Do check out the link that Yooper posted.

 

[sashurlow]

Thanks Bernard and Yooper for clarifying the rhino farts comment. It should have said "CAN produce rhino farts". Its nice to know how to avoid it too.
Even with using campden I am pretty certain I'm still getting some wild yeast so I'm beginning to believe that it kills most or all the bad stuff but can still allow some hardy yeasts to live through the process. I really like my cider so I'm happy that I have something extra happening.

 

[sashurlow]

I really would like to thank everyone for the information. I did not know you could make hard cider without adding sugar. So there is enough sugar in store bought cider to keep it from becoming sharp or really sour? I bought another gallon today and I am planning on giving it another chance in the morning. AND no sugar at all, Right? Well here I go again,wish me luck.

Thank all of you

mtnman68

Sharp and sour are not the flavors that will come out of it. Its more bland and plain. Store bought cider is full of sweet, which makes it taste great. Once the yeasts act on it, the sweet goes away and leaves you with your hard cider taste. Getting the flavors you want is the trick with brewing cider. Either start with better apples or change the techniques in brewing (back sweetening or stopping the brew early, oak aging, time, etc) is the art in it. Start simple and learn from there.
good luck.

 

[Yesfan]

The last cider I've done was about 2-3 years ago. It was Ed's Aplefein and it tasted "meh". Mine was very very thin tasting and had a hot bite to it. I know that's more me than the recipe. I also did a 2.5G batch of JAOM and that was a bust....Again, more me than anything (used too much cloves on that one).


I may give ciders a revisit, but have a few questions.

1) The campden that's mentioned, is that the same as the tablets one uses to treat chlorinated water? One tablet is good for 20 gallons, so if I'm doing a 1 gallon batch, do I need to crush it into a powder and use my scale to see what I need for one gallon?

2) I don't have any S-04, but I do have some WY1335, WY1056, WY1469, and WY1968 on hand. 3 of those are British strains, so which one is closer to US-04?

3) I really liked the strawberry/apple cider from Ciderboys. It had a nice thick mouth feel to it I liked. Has anyone done something similar? I used 5lbs for my strawberry blonde I make, so is 1lb too much for a one gallon cider, or does it need more or less.

I may do a gallon of regular first to see how it turns out before I decide to add fruit etc. to one. Going to check out the link Yooper posted (thanks).

 

[Maylar]

The last cider I've done was about 2-3 years ago. It was Ed's Aplefein and it tasted "meh". Mine was very very thin tasting and had a hot bite to it. I know that's more me than the recipe. I also did a 2.5G batch of JAOM and that was a bust....Again, more me than anything (used too much cloves on that one).


I may give ciders a revisit, but have a few questions.

1) The campden that's mentioned, is that the same as the tablets one uses to treat chlorinated water? One tablet is good for 20 gallons, so if I'm doing a 1 gallon batch, do I need to crush it into a powder and use my scale to see what I need for one gallon?

2) I don't have any S-04, but I do have some WY1335, WY1056, WY1469, and WY1968 on hand. 3 of those are British strains, so which one is closer to US-04?

3) I really liked the strawberry/apple cider from Ciderboys. It had a nice thick mouth feel to it I liked. Has anyone done something similar? I used 5lbs for my strawberry blonde I make, so is 1lb too much for a one gallon cider, or does it need more or less.

I may do a gallon of regular first to see how it turns out before I decide to add fruit etc. to one. Going to check out the link Yooper posted (thanks).

I hear ya on the JAOM cloves - they're powerful little critters. But they fade with time. What people don't realize is that a JAOM needs 8 months to mature.

1) Yes. One crushed tablet per gallon is the recommended dose for cider/wine/meads.

2) Of those you mentioned, I think the 1335 might be OK.

3) When we add fruit to cider most of us like to do it in secondary. You get more control over how much flavor is extracted by racking again when it gets to your desired taste. One lb per gallon for 10-14 days seems typical.

 

[bernardsmith]

Wine yeasts like 71B work well with cider and for better mouthfeel you might want to increase the amount of fruit to water (so you could freeze the juice and catch the first runnings to increase sugar /fruit concentration to water. You may not want to start with too high a gravity but the increased amount of fruit may provide better mouthfeel - as may having more sugar in the finished cider (backsweetening). Another trick I have not tried is to add glycerine before bottling... or make a cider-ale (the grains containing unfermentable sugars).

 

[Yesfan]

I'll probably keg instead of bottle. I have a couple of 2.5G kegs I can use. I may just do a gallon of a simple apple cider and use the WY1335 I have on hand.


When I made the apfelwein, I just added 2lbs of brown sugar to a gallon jug of apple juice, then pitched some Nottingham yeast. Should I maybe boil the juice before pitching to kill any potential bugs/bacteria? How long? I was thinking 5 minutes.

 

[Greghark]

We should have a sticky that says DO NOT ADD SUGAR TO YOUR CIDER UNTIL YOU CAN MAKE IT WELL WITHOUT SUGAR.

Absolutely agree. If you want cider don't make firewater! There is a time and place to add sugar but that should only be for specialty ciders not every single batch.

 

[Greghark]

We should have a sticky that says DO NOT ADD SUGAR TO YOUR CIDER UNTIL YOU CAN MAKE IT WELL WITHOUT SUGAR.

Absolutely agree! If you want cider don't make firewater! There is a time and place to add sugar but that should only be for specialty ciders not every single batch.

 

[Maylar]

I'll probably keg instead of bottle. I have a couple of 2.5G kegs I can use. I may just do a gallon of a simple apple cider and use the WY1335 I have on hand.


When I made the apfelwein, I just added 2lbs of brown sugar to a gallon jug of apple juice, then pitched some Nottingham yeast. Should I maybe boil the juice before pitching to kill any potential bugs/bacteria? How long? I was thinking 5 minutes.

NO boil. If your juice is not pasteurized then add 1 crushed campden tablet and let it sit for a day before pitching the yeast. If it is pasteurized, there's nothing needed.

And 2 lbs of sugar in 1 gallon is 5 times too much for apfelwein.

 

[AkTom]

@ yesfan, try a Graff. It's in Cider recipes. That is some good, easy to make cider.
Cheers

 

[Yesfan]

NO boil. If your juice is not pasteurized then add 1 crushed campden tablet and let it sit for a day before pitching the yeast. If it is pasteurized, there's nothing needed.

Ok, thanks for the clarification.

 

[Yesfan]

@ yesfan, try a Graff. It's in Cider recipes. That is some good, easy to make cider.
Cheers

That's another one on my list I plan on doing. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[mtnman68]

I think my biggest problem with this batch was the yeast I used. The reason I think this is I made another batch using bakers yeast and it turned out to be about the same as my first batch. I used another type of yeast in my second batch, and it tasted a lot better, and even though I didn't use any sugar in my second batch, It had about 4% alcohol, I would really like abut 6 or 7 %. But the second batch tasted so much better. I am starting my 4th batch, I hope it tastes as good as the second batch.

Thanks

mtnman

 

[Bosh]

One really important thing to know about homemade cider is that it's going to come out pretty sour. The yeast will go to town on the natural sugar in the juice and eat just about all of them and leave a pretty sour drink. Your options then:
-Learn to like sour cider. It's great actually, very refreshing and how cider traditionally tasted.
-Put in sweet stuff that the yeast won't eat. This could be artificial sweetener or oligosaccharides which are a more complex sugar (bacteria will eat them but yeast won't, they're easy to find in Korea as oligo syrup not sure about in other places). Using some beer malt or some commercial syrup with more complex sugars will leave some residual sweetness as well.
-Get rid of the yeast after fermentation and then put in sweet stuff after the yeast are gone. This is how the commercial hard cider makers sweeten their cider. This can be annoying to do on a homebrew level.
-Sweeten the cider when you serve it by cutting it with sprite or some kind of syrup (simple syrup works fine).

Adding table sugar will NOT help since it's a very simple sugar and the yeast will eat all of it so it gives you basically zero additional sweetness, just additional alcohol. Well, unless you add SO MUCH sugar that the alcohol the yeast produces knocks them out but that'll make for a strong drink and require a LOT of sugar.

 

[Yesfan]

.........
-Sweeten the cider when you serve it by cutting it with sprite or some kind of syrup (simple syrup works fine).

Adding table sugar will NOT help since it's a very simple sugar and the yeast will eat all of it so it gives you basically zero additional sweetness, just additional alcohol. Well, unless you add SO MUCH sugar that the alcohol the yeast produces knocks them out but that'll make for a strong drink and require a LOT of sugar.

Isn't simple syrup really 1:1 sugar and water? How would that work if the yeast are going to consume it?





My cider has been going on for almost two weeks now (and no, I haven't messed with it either ). Do you let fermentation finish all the way through or do you add potassium sorbate to stop fermentation to a desired FG? As for the back-sweetening, can you use apple juice? I thought about doing that and just keg it and carb, so does back-sweetening still matter with kegging?


This Thursday will be two weeks, so I thought I'd ask.

 

[Yooper]

Isn't simple syrup really 1:1 sugar and water? How would that work if the yeast are going to consume it?

Well, you pour your cider in the glass and then pour in the simple syrup- so the yeast won't consume it before you drink it....................

My cider has been going on for almost two weeks now (and no, I haven't messed with it either ). Do you let fermentation finish all the way through or do you add potassium sorbate to stop fermentation to a desired FG? As for the back-sweetening, can you use apple juice? I thought about doing that and just keg it and carb, so does back-sweetening still matter with kegging?

Most people let fermentation finish, as stopping an active fermentation is like stopping a freight train. Sorbate won't stop an active fermentation, as sorbate only keeps yeast from reproducing. Since reproduction happens very early, before active fermentation, adding sorbate won't do anything to inhibit the yeast, although it could stress them and cause some off flavors. Worse, if concurrent MLF occurs, adding sorbate to that means ruining the cider.

You can use whatever you'd like for sweetening- apple juice concentrate, sugar, honey, etc. It's not "back sweetening" though. Back sweetening is used incorrectly all the time on this forum (and it drives me nuts). "Back sweetening" means holding back a percentage of the must before fermentation by freezing it or otherwise preserving it, and then adding it after fermentation has ended and the cider has been stabilized. So if you were "back sweetening it", you would take the prefrozen unfermented cider you used at the beginning, and adding it "back" to sweeten and enhance it.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

As for the back-sweetening, can you use apple juice? I thought about doing that and just keg it and carb, so does back-sweetening still matter with kegging?

Only if you on bottling some and give it away if the bottles don't stay cold they could continue to ferment the sweetener and cause bottle bombs. Otherwise. No.

Potassium Sorbate won't stop the yeast from fermenting either. It will stop their reproduction of more yeast but it won't stop the yeast you already have present. You would need to filter the yeast out first and as stated above quite impractical on a Homebrew level.

 

[madscientist451]

One really important thing to know about homemade cider is that it's going to come out pretty sour. The yeast will go to town on the natural sugar in the juice and eat just about all of them and leave a pretty sour drink.

The level of "sour", as stated above, is dependent on several factors including the ripeness and type of apples used, the yeast selection, the fermenting temperature and the level of attenuation.
I've tried using very tart apples like Granny Smith and Northern spy, but the cider is just too tart (or sour) I've also tried using all dessert apples and the cider is ok, but kind of "blah" boring. My favorites for the 2015 season is a 10 apple cider using sweet, dessert and tart apples and yeasts that don't ferment all the way to dryness including Brewers best ciderhouse select, WL002, Saison yeast and just wild yeast.

 

[Yesfan]

Well, you pour your cider in the glass and then pour in the simple syrup- so the yeast won't consume it before you drink it....................

Didn't see where he mentioned cutting it....my bad

Most people let fermentation finish, as stopping an active fermentation is like stopping a freight train. Sorbate won't stop an active fermentation, as sorbate only keeps yeast from reproducing. Since reproduction happens very early, before active fermentation, adding sorbate won't do anything to inhibit the yeast, although it could stress them and cause some off flavors. Worse, if concurrent MLF occurs, adding sorbate to that means ruining the cider.

You can use whatever you'd like for sweetening- apple juice concentrate, sugar, honey, etc. It's not "back sweetening" though. Back sweetening is used incorrectly all the time on this forum (and it drives me nuts). "Back sweetening" means holding back a percentage of the must before fermentation by freezing it or otherwise preserving it, and then adding it after fermentation has ended and the cider has been stabilized. So if you were "back sweetening it", you would take the prefrozen unfermented cider you used at the beginning, and adding it "back" to sweeten and enhance it.

So basically, let it ride, then add the sorbate, then sweeten (not back sweeten) with choice of sweetener to taste? Three more. Can using other fruit juice concentrates (ex: cranberry) give you an apple/cranberry flavor? How much do you use? How long is a typical one gallon fermentation last?

Before you say it, I'm gonna go back and read the stickies in the cider section.


Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[Yooper]

So basically, let it ride, then add the sorbate, then sweeten (not back sweeten) with choice of sweetener to taste? Three more. Can using other fruit juice concentrates (ex: cranberry) give you an apple/cranberry flavor? How much do you use? How long is a typical one gallon fermentation last?

Before you say it, I'm gonna go back and read the stickies in the cider section.


Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Sure, you can do all of the above. I don't know what you mean about a typical one gallon fermentation last, though?

The thing with me personally is that I gave up sugar like 5 years ago, so I'm not the one to ask. (I don't even consume ketchup or BBQ sauce because of the sugar). So my answer for the amount is "0". I make lots of wine and ciders and meads- but always dry. I actually hate sweet things now, so anything I sweeten or leave with residual sweetness is for others, so I'm definitely not an expert on these things.

One thing that really helped me is to do a tasting. Take a sample of your cider, and then sweeten it a little, and then another a bit more. So, say you have four tiny samples, from less sweet to sweetest. Taste them, and see which you love the best. Then measure the SG. Ideally, you'd have something like: 1.004 1.010 1.014 and 1.016 as an example. If you love it at 1.014, then sweeten the entire batch to just under that SG. It just seems to get sweeter in the bottle (or keg) with a bit of time. So sweeten the entire batch to 1.012 or 1.013, as an example.

Taste here is huge- since I hate sweet things, any cider over about 1.004 would kill me. But many people find 1.004 hard cider bitingly dry. When I lived in Germany, many cider drinkers added sprite to their (nice) dry cider and that really is the best of both worlds- dry cider for the purists and those who don't like sweet things, and sweet and spritzy for those who do.

 

[Yesfan]

Thanks Yooper. I may give Sprite a shot. Sweetner and co2 in one.

 

[sethscider]

Absolutely agree! If you want cider don't make firewater! There is a time and place to add sugar but that should only be for specialty ciders not every single batch.

Whish i new this two days ago..

I just made 16 gallons of cider and added 2 pounds of suger per 6 gallon batch.

Do you guys think it will turn out alright?

 

[Yooper]

Whish i new this two days ago..

I just made 16 gallons of cider and added 2 pounds of suger per 6 gallon batch.

Do you guys think it will turn out alright?

It'll be very "boozy" and dry. I don't think I even use that much sugar in many of my apple wines. It might turn out very good, as an apple wine, with lots of time, but shouldn't have a ton of apple flavor or be "cider like".

 

[Firewalker11]

After following Yoopers thread on simple cider https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=508303 I found myself in the same boat with a very dry cider and little interest in drinking it because it was just too dry. The last four batches I made I tried four different methods of retaining or reintroducing some sweetness and found what works well for me.

The first batch used Nottingham and all crisp USA apples, OG was 1.058 and finished around 1.00, way too dry for me and I used Stevia to sweeten it back up. It was OK, we drank it but it was not ideal, it still had an "off" taste Stevia can give.

The second batch was Old Orchard Cranberry Pomegranate, 1.072 OG and finished around 1.010, again too dry for us but I had reserved a couple cans of frozen juice and added them back to the keg after racking it off once clear. Well, you can imagine that after bottling, the remaining yeast in the nicely clear cider still ate enough of the sugar to make more CO2 and the bottles form when opened even when very cold. Not a big deal, tasted good and there were no complaints.

The third batch was the same as the second, made and racked at the same time and was used to blend this batch with the second. This one got filtered while racking but what was left after blending remained in the keg and was tapped into glasses, the sweetness remained all throughout the keg and got good reviews by all.

The fourth batch (third pon-crann) was filtered once it hit 1.014 to stop it from fermenting any more but started with a 1.078 OG so it had some hints at sweetness before I added two cans of frozen concentrate back into the cider before filtering. This one is by far my favorite, it is darker due to the higher concentrate (OG) and the sweetness works well with the higher ABV.

Many ways to skin a cat but I just love to tinker and see what I can make with small tweaks!

Cheers!