tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647355176632077968.post5146725606752876138..comments2024-03-28T19:30:05.381-04:00Comments on Adam's Apples: Drink your fruit: Fatty Bampkins Dry cider Adamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06245776593991049317noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647355176632077968.post-49546231220072765322021-04-07T10:18:09.932-04:002021-04-07T10:18:09.932-04:00Holly, Eliza Greenman has suggested that sorbitol ...Holly, Eliza Greenman has <a href="https://elizapples.com/2016/08/07/water-core-an-argument-for-southern-hard-cider/" rel="nofollow">suggested</a> that sorbitol from watercore might be a way to add non-fermentable sweetness to cider. It's a chemical name, and indeed a chemical, but one that occurs naturally in apples.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06245776593991049317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8647355176632077968.post-74698392516965290022014-07-02T08:40:30.523-04:002014-07-02T08:40:30.523-04:00On the topic of dry cider, from the perspective of...On the topic of dry cider, from the perspective of a small scale home cider brewer:<br /><br />When brewing, it takes extra work to make it NOT very dry. The yeast, even relatively low power stuff like an English Ale Yeast, will eventually consume all the fructose in the sweet cider and leave the product almost perfectly dry. <br /><br />To have some sweetness in the finished cider, you have to either arrest fermentation (e.g. by pasteurization) before it goes to completion, sterilize the cider and add sugar back to it, or add something sweet that yeast can't eat. <br /><br />I've tried adding a splash of fresh (from the freezer) cider to each glass of my dry hard cider. This was ok, but it was troublesome to arrange for the sweet cider to be available in the fridge all year to blend with the hard cider. It doesn't last all that long once you take it out of the freezer, and my kids usually finish it off quickly once it is out.<br /><br />I also tried putting in "wine conditioner" from the brew store, which is a non-digestable sugar like lactose and sorbates. You can also use sucralose (Splenda). This was ok, but it seemed wrong to have to adulterate my natural product with this yucky chemical, and it may have been my imagination but it tasted off to me.<br /><br />I've avoided heat treatments of hard cider, both for the trouble involved, fear of biocontamination from extra handling, and fear of damaging the flavor profile. <br /><br />So perhaps by virtue of drinking a lot of it over a period of years, I've gotten to really like fully dry hard cider. It is the natural state of hard cider, and I think the dryness lets you focus on the more delicate flavors. I find it refreshing and delightful, and I don't feel it is missing anything for the lack of sweetness.<br /><br />So three cheers for dry cider!<br /><br />Here is my friend Ben's writeup on our 2013 cider making:<br />http://fiveislandsorchard.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/cider-year-nine-roundup/Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05413198575104625457noreply@blogger.com