Cider Done! Advice Needed...

[MikeAdz]

Hi all, I have brewed my first cider! It was a Youngs Cider Kit, Raspberry & Mango, started it on 28 Feb, bottled it 8 March, tried it last night 31 March. It's nice but I was expecting it to be a little sweeter/fruitier. Is there any advice for my next batch on what to add to it to make it a bit sweeter/fruitier? Or does it just need to condition for longer?

 

[An Ankoù]

No. Conditioning won't make it sweeter, but it might make it fruitier. I've never made cider from kits, only from apples, and sometimes the cider is really sour. Keeping it longer allows the malic acid to degrade and it mellows down nicely. But I would have though the kit makers would have sorted that out already.

 

[Cyberjip]

Not an expert on this subject, however to get it sweeter you have a couple of options,

1, to stop the fermentation befor it finishes. Not an easy thing to do especially if you then want to bottle condition,

2, potentially you can add a small amount of non fermentable sweeter to the batch befor you bottle other people may be able to advise on this.

To make it fruitier not sure, try a different kit, plenty of reviews on here,

For this batch maybe by some mango juice and add a little to each glass as you pour it, should make it sweeter and fruitier.

 

[johncrobinson]

Cyberjip has about nailed your options

Over the years though i have got to the point i cant stand sweet wine,Its quite common i belive so changing tastes may solve your problem for you.

 

[dwhite60]

I've just added sugar or honey to sweeten it in the glass before I drink it. I've done this with wine too.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[nixhaz]

There's always the option of adding a bit of fruity cordial to it when you drink it, or you could use an artificial non-fermentable sweetener (you can buy wine sweetener at the home brew shops) to sweeten the whole batch.
Sometimes if it is too acidic it can make it taste too dry. I had a batch of cider that I had to add a bunch of chalk to to make it palatable if I remember correctly (years ago).

 

[johncrobinson]

Yeah dont make bottle bombs

TBH i dont think i have ever made cider,Gallons and gallons of delightful apple wine yes.
But cider no.

 

[MikeAdz]

can I add some cordial to it before bottling? or will it cause problems?

 

[Cyberjip]

You can, however you need to be mindful that any sugar in cordial will probably be fermented out,

This then would, not add any sweetness to the finished product, may over carbonate the brew, potentially if the pressure gets too high make bottle bombs.

 

[nixhaz]

I guess if you could find a sugar free cordial it would work?

 

[MikeAdz]

why would it ferment out? I thought fermentation is finished at this point? sorry for the newbie question!

 

[Cyberjip]

why would it ferment out? I thought fermentation is finished at this point? sorry for the newbie question!

Yes it has, because the yeast has used up all the fermentable material, however it will start again if/when you add anything else that is fermentable (normally sugar of some sort)

Sugar free cordial could well work, again be cautious is it "sugar free" or "no added sugar" which will have some sugar from the fruit.

Don't worry about the questions. We are all still learning

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I guess if you could find a sugar free cordial it would work?

Or one with preservative.

 

[nixhaz]

Good point!