finishing cider..help

[The_Dutch]

hey guys,
Im new to the forum so excuse me for being off topic with cider.
I recently made a hard cider so ill give you the specs
5 gallons of 100%apple juice
2 lbs of sugar
yeast nutrient
yeast energizer
lalvin D47 yeast

I took a reading and my hydrometer read 1.070
I pitched the yeast and let it go
about 10 days later fermentation stopped and i took another reading and it read 0.998
I racked into a carboy and I want to finish I just dont know how to I came to the experts for some help.

I want a sweet still cider. So i was planning on stabilizing it, and i want to get rid of all excess CO2. but i do not know how to go about it. Do i degass then stabilize with campden tablets and potassium sorbate? after i stabilize I want to sweeten it i was going to add some apple juice concentrate and some brown sugar and maybe some cinnamon to taste. Since I want a still cider, should i immediatly bottle and pastuerize to kill the yeast? please help I am very confused about this process. Thank you guys very much for any help

 

[Johny99]

I only make dry cider, but I'll try. If you back sweeten you need to do something to stop refermentation in the bottle. I backsweeten to ferment and gate carbonation. So sorbate, sterile filtration, or pasteurize are the options I know of. Haven't done any, but I'd worry about what the heat of pasteurization will do to taste.

 

[Scooter68]

First - You can enlist the help of a vacuum pump to de-gas the 'cider' or let time do the work for you. (May take several months)
Second - Add the Campden tablets and Sorbate before you sweeten, I'd do that a couple of days to a week before you sweeten. I would never try to pasturize after fermentation but that's just me. Others may give other guidance.

Hope that helps.

 

[Forager]

I'd let it bulk age at least a few months as the taste will vastly improve over time as well as get rid of most of the CO2. Having made hard cider a few times the difference in taste after a few months is remarkable. 6 months to a year it's even better.

When you're ready to bottle, and if you want a still, sweet cider, use both Campden tablets and potassium sorbate 2-3 days before you add the juice concentrate and brown sugar. Potassium sorbate doesn't kill the yeast, it just inhibits their ability to multiply. The Campden tablets should be used to prevent oxidation when you rack into bottles. Hope that helps!

I've also never heard of pasteurizing after fermentation is complete. The campden tablets are all the sterilization you need.

 

[Redbird1]

Pasteurizing is done when you want a sweet, sparkling cider in bottles. Backsweeten like normal but don't add sorbate/kmeta. The healthy yeast will start working on that sugar. Once the bottles reach the desired carbonation, pasteurize.

Edit to add. There's are good thread on the homebrewtalk site about pasteurizing bottles. Don't have time to look it up right now.

 

[Scooter68]

Pasteurizing is done when you want a sweet, sparkling cider in bottles. Backsweeten like normal but don't add sorbate/kmeta. The healthy yeast will start working on that sugar. Once the bottles reach the desired carbonation, pasteurize.

Edit to add. There's are good thread on the homebrewtalk site about pasteurizing bottles. Don't have time to look it up right now.

The responses on homebrewtalk suggest that pasteurization will negatively impact the flavor. Further why pasteurizer if you are already adding sorbate? Seems like a case of overkill that appears to many folks to do a number on the flavor. The OP is talking about a still cider as well so there is no need to pasturize if the CO2 is removed and K-Meta and Sorbate are used.

 

[Redbird1]

I read most of the thread on there a while back and don't remember a lot of negative feedback concerning the flavor. Maybe those are more recent or I just forgot. I do remember talk of bottles exploding, which is one reason I never tried it.

Agreed on not needing it for still cider. I was just explaining why someone would want to pasteurize after fermentation based on some earlier responses.

 

[ASR]

I am in the same boat. I started with two gallons of squeezed apple juice (next time buying premade juice), added sugar to 1.06. Pitched yeast and at 1.03 racked from primary to two indivudual gallon jugs. The recipe says when it hits 1.00 to add sugar, but doesn't say anything about stabilizing. It says to then bottle in champange or soda bottles - are they assuming sparkling hard cider?

 

[Redbird1]

Yes, if you add extra fermentables (sugar) and don't do anything to stabilize (sorbate, pasteurize, etc.) you will get sparkling cider. I assume that is why they recommend champagne bottles since they can handle higher pressure