Cider kit sweetening

[Davey H]

Evening all,

My first brew is going well, Brewbuddy cider has been in Primary for nearly 2 weeks and has an sg of 1004 if im reading the hydrometer correctly :wha: It has stopped bubbling so i'm pretty sure that the ferment has completed. :pray:

Anyway, after taking the sg i had a little taste (after reading that most of you on here do!) and it has a nice taste and colour. I do think that it needs to be a little sweeter though.

This being the case and being my first attempt, i want to experiment a little by splitting the cider. I plan to use one demijohn to sweeten 4-5 ltrs, while bottling the rest. ( i might even sweeten some of the bottled stuff so that i can compare)

From looking through the forum i understand that i need to prime the bottles for carbonation to take place and that i need to use non fermenting sugar if i want to sweeten, but im not sure which to use. I have read that Splenda, Glucose, Maltodextrin, lactose, Sorbitol and Suracuse amongst others can all be used. :wha:

I would just wanted to ask which one you would use for cider? Any success/disaster stories, advice would be much appreciated.


:

 

[Eric_S]

I believe Sucralose (Spenda is same) is the one to use these days - doesn't leave a nasty after-taste. I did find my cider improved considerably after leaving it for a while (tasted bone dry at bottling time) although much nicer topped up with a little apple juice at drinking time.

 

[Davey H]

Thanks for the reply Eric,

That sounds good. Splenda was the one that most people mentioned. One thing that i think has come over loud and clear from the threads i have been reading on this forum and others (sorry mods!) is to be patient!

My original plan was to drink as soon as the kit said i could. Now, i plan to leave it in the bottle for at least four weeks before sampling, and only then to see how its going. :party:

 

[Peapodmaster]

the same F.G. came out with my brewbuddy kit. i wish i knew about how to sweeten it without kicking up fermentation again about 4 weeks ago. but 4 weeks on from when i did it, its a very nice cider, even if it is a little bit dry, you shouldn't be dissapointed with this one. i did the 32 pints at 7%.! Handsome ammount!

 

[Davey H]

I forgot to mention that im doing the Brewbuddy pear cider.

As for the earlier suggestion by Eric, could i add pear juice?

 

[Eric_S]

Get some turbo cider on the go! As it only ties up a fermenter for a week or so you can get batches running in sucession.

And yes - the trick is to be patient. I tested mine (well the wife did) at 1 week, 2 weeks, then a month. Gets better all the time. Now got about 25 bottles in store. The only downer is that you still have to buy shop bought (Although that does allow you to build up some bottle stocks) until you have a good process of getting a new one on when a batch is ready to drink.

Shop brand sucralose is massively cheaper than Splenda (I got ASDA's) and as far as I can tell, is exactly the same thing. probably made in the same factory too.

Yes - I guess Pear juice would be ok too - I now prime with suger dissolved in a little apple juice which retains a little sweetness come drinking time.

 

[Eric_S]

P.S. At drinking time just a splash of juice should be enough - I'd say not more than 1/10 of the volume of cider. And lots of ice!

 

[Davey H]

Hello again Pea,

Thats good. Is that 4 weeks bottled of 4 weeks from the start?

I went for the 40 pint option, sounds like im in for a nice pint then!! :drunk:

 

[Eric_S]

As an aside - I bottle the "to be stored for later" in glass - but I also bottle a couple into 500ml plastic coke bottles for the testing period - allows you to see the clarity of the drink, plus the firmness of the plastic bottle is a good indication of carbonation.

 

[Davey H]

Cheers for the advice Eric,

I have been reading with interest the TC threads and fully intend to get some on the go :party: ! :party:

I'll probably start off with a few small batches in a demijohn so that i can make some bitter in my fermenting bin.....yep, only got one at the moment, but i can see that changing!

I must admit, i have never had ice with any cider. :wha: Ive seen everyone in pubs drinking it with ice and i confess that when i bought a Magners in a pub not long ago, the barmaid asked me if i wanted ice. She did look a bit cofused when i asked "why?" :rofl:

I think i will experiment with this batch of cider, adding juice to some and sweetner to other bottles.

I'm also going to pick some Sloes from my garden over the weekend for my first batch of Sloe Gin! :thumb:

 

[Eric_S]

Don't know if this helps, but Wilkos have the Youngs starter kits and often it seems they have two (beer) kits in them, as well as the bucket, syphon, etc. Might be a way to get a new brew on the go AND get some more kit without going crazy on budget

Good luck with the experments - let us know what works and what doesn't!

 

[Davey H]

Update:

Had my first taster of the pear cider yesterday. It was certainly better than before but still not sweet enough. I added a spoon of splenda to make it more drinkable! :)

If i do this kit again i'll back sweeten more!

 

[Waterboy]

hello, just started my own very first kit the other day aswell. john bull cider it was. was wondering how much splenda per litre do you add to sweeten? (if it needs it, of course)

 

[Davey H]

Hi Waterboy,

I didnt sweeten by the litre i did it by the bottle. But in hindsight i think the best way might be to back sweeten the whole batch and then bottle.

I had another three bottles tonight and added 1 1/2 tsp per pint and it was drinkable! :thumb: