Tart, bitter, tart, wow!!

[cmoewes]

As with everyone else in the world, I jumped onto a club apple cider purchase and got 5 gallons to make hard cider for SWMBO.

After adding some honey to bump up the OG I pitched 1/2 pack of Nottingham (seemed like a decent choice from my reading).

5 days later I pulled a sample and it has gone from 1.060 to 1.000. Pretty quick. Tasted it (and let my wife taste it as well) and wow! Tart tart tart... the cider not my wife.

So clearly needs to be back-sweetened. I did add some table sugar to the sample and could see how it tasted with a little sweetness added.

My plan is to keg this cider so I thought I would just back sweeten with some frozen concentrate.

Do I need to knock out the yeast first with a couple camden tablets (Potassium Metabisulfite)?

Also, do I need to give the cider the same length of time I would for a beer to clean up the fermentation off-flavors diacetyl and such?

 

[solbes]

Generally this stuff takes awhile to really "pop". Not that its bad young, but if you can wait 6 months it really starts to come into its own. That was my experience with the first 2 batches I made. No need for camden, though you could rack it or use gelatin to help drop the yeast.

I have a carboy full of pastuerized unfilitered cider that finished fermenting a couple of weeks ago, but I won't bottle until the 5-6 week mark after it starts to clear. I've always enjoyed the dry carb'd version, but with this one I might sweeten, bottle, carb, and then stovetop pastuerize to try something different.

 

[Yooper]

If you're going to keep the keg cold the entire time, you won't need to use sorbate to stabilize it as long as it's under the yeast's fermentation temperature. Campden doesn't do it, by the way. It's used as an antioxidant after fermentation starts, and not to harm the yeast.

I don't like sweet things, but for those who do honey and apple concentrate seem to be well liked.

That "clean up" phase for beer lasts about 24 hours after FG is reached, but I don't think I've ever tasted diacetyl or other yeast byproducts in cider. If it tastes good to you, you can keg it and chill it now.

 

[schwiz]

The tartness may mellow if you can be patient. Also, if the juice wasn't heat pasteurized you can set it out at 60F+ and may get a malolactic fermentation which will help to mellow it as well.

 

[WVMJ]

Is it actually bitter like from tannins or is that just part of being to tart? Also your CO2 in there is going to add to the tartness. WVMJ