A few hopefully easily answerable questions from a beginner?

[Bootcutboy]

Hi all

Well as i say i am just new and very keen to this whole homebrew world. I am currently brewing a cider homebrew kit but next weekend I will be juicing my own apples and making my first ever proper cider so i have a few basic and probably daft questions that I hope should be easy to answer.

The most important thing i need clarification on is sweetening and adding fizz to my cider. Does sweetening and carbonating both happen after fermentation and just before bottling?
I will probably want a medium cider so can i use artificial sweetener such as splenda in order to sweeten the cider? Any how do i avoid making bottle bombs when I carbonate the bottles?

Next question, can I use screw top wine bottles for storing fizzy cider. Would i need to use their original screw caps or would corking them be ok? Only asking as i threw the screw tops away from a dozen bottles yesterday, but i do have corks.

Any finally (for now haha) if i were to add a spice or a flavouring such as cinamon, vanilla, orange etc... I have read that i would need to soak the spices/flavourings in alcohol and then add and mix just before bottling, would you all agree with this method?

If anyone can help with any of the above i would appreciate it, I never knew there was so much involved but am loving the whole learning process! Thanks in advance chaps!

 

[RobWalker]

welcome!

1 - splenda won't ferment and will stay sweet, so use it to your taste. use 0.5tsp per pint for a lightly fizzy cider. you shouldn't get bottle bombs :)

2 - screw caps can let air in and.ruin your cider. corking is fine for wine buy I don't know if it will hold carbonation? naturally, beer bottles and crown caps are best.

3 - vodka extraction is fine. you can also dangle a spice mix.in using a small muslin teabag, or just add powdered spices and wait for them to sink. extracts are fine too, just avoid boiling your cider or adding water if possible because it will reduce flavour.

 

[LeithR]

Well as i say i am just new and very keen to this whole homebrew world. I am currently brewing a cider homebrew kit but next weekend I will be juicing my own apples and making my first ever proper cider so i have a few basic and probably daft questions that I hope should be easy to answer.

The most important thing i need clarification on is sweetening and adding fizz to my cider. Does sweetening and carbonating both happen after fermentation and just before bottling?
Yes, do it once fermentation is finished and before you bottle/keg.

I will probably want a medium cider so can i use artificial sweetener such as splenda in order to sweeten the cider? Any how do i avoid making bottle bombs when I carbonate the bottles?
Yes you can use Splenda to sweeten cider but to get fizz you need to use sugar or another fermentable form of sugar to condition your cider. see HEREfor further useful info

Next question, can I use screw top wine bottles for storing fizzy cider. Would i need to use their original screw caps or would corking them be ok? Only asking as i threw the screw tops away from a dozen bottles yesterday, but i do have corks.
You can re-use screwtops but they tend to be a bit flimsy so can only be used a couple of times, you also need to be scrupulous in keeping them clean. If the bottles were used for fizzy liquid previously then they will be ok for more fizzy drinks but don't use them if they had still liquid in them previously.

Any finally (for now haha) if i were to add a spice or a flavouring such as cinamon, vanilla, orange etc... I have read that i would need to soak the spices/flavourings in alcohol and then add and mix just before bottling, would you all agree with this method?
Yes, using Vodka is a good way to extract but you can boil them and add the tea from that.

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Hi all

Well as i say i am just new and very keen to this whole homebrew world. I am currently brewing a cider homebrew kit but next weekend I will be juicing my own apples and making my first ever proper cider so i have a few basic and probably daft questions that I hope should be easy to answer.

The most important thing i need clarification on is sweetening and adding fizz to my cider. Does sweetening and carbonating both happen after fermentation and just before bottling?
I will probably want a medium cider so can i use artificial sweetener such as splenda in order to sweeten the cider? Any how do i avoid making bottle bombs when I carbonate the bottles?

Sweeten to taste with artificial sweetener immediately before bottling, and add one teaspoon of sugar per litre (roughly 1.5 oz/45g per gallon) dissolved in a little water.

Next question, can I use screw top wine bottles for storing fizzy cider. Would i need to use their original screw caps or would corking them be ok? Only asking as i threw the screw tops away from a dozen bottles yesterday, but i do have corks.

Wine bottles are not suitable for fizzy drinks, and screw-cap bottles are the worst of all as the glass on them is often much thinner than on corked bottles since they don't have to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of being corked and uncorked.

Screw-cap bottles aren't really suitable for corks either, as the glass around the neck is thinner, resulting in a less-snug fit for the cork.

The best types to use are beer/cider bottles (you'll need 27mm crown caps and a capper to fit them) champagne bottles (you'll need plastic stoppers and cages, or 29mm crown caps) or PET fizzy drinks bottles of the type used for lemonade, cola etc.

Any finally (for now haha) if i were to add a spice or a flavouring such as cinamon, vanilla, orange etc... I have read that i would need to soak the spices/flavourings in alcohol and then add and mix just before bottling, would you all agree with this method?

IMO the best way to get spice flavour into the cider is to add them once the cider has been fermenting for four or five days, and leave them in for up to a couple of months. There are a few things it's best to avoid, notably star anise - even a small amount will overpower all other flavours.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Hi all. All perfect answers thank you all so much for taking the time to get back to me.

Can i just ask is Splenda the best artificial sweetener to use or would anybody recommend any other product? I do need to order some stuff online so I could buy an alternative.

Also I need to order bottle caps, a hammer capper, a 2nd fermentation bucket preferably with hole and grommet already in, champagne yeast, tannin and a couple of other bits and bobs, where is the cheapest place for all this please?

Thanks again all!

 

[RobWalker]

they're all about the same mate, just made of aspartame anyway. the alternatives can be unappealing in their own one...for example, xylitol has a laxative effect - and if it's cheap and it works, it's fine. but keep in mind, you'll need to measure it by the teaspoon as the weight is different to sugar.

 

[Bootcutboy]

Thanks again Robwalker, just what I needed to know, cracking stuff!

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

xylitol has a laxative effect

It can also cause strange-smelling farts.

 

[nook6]

It can also cause strange-smelling farts.

May i ask what you compared it to so you knew it was the xylitol that made them strange-smelling? :lol:

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

Whenever I had xylitol in my coffee, I started producing odd-smelling gasses from my rear end, which stopped when I switched back to sugar.