# Backsweetening cider/ginger beer with Stevia



## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

Hi guys.

I'm looking to backsweeting a batch of cider and ginger beer, avoiding lactose. Word on the street is that Stevia is a reasonable alternative if I'm looking for a sweeter, bottle carbed brew.

The supermarket has a number of brands I'm looking at, so any advice or guidence would be appreaciated.

SteviaSweet:

Comes in granulated form, volumetrically equal to sugar (1 cup stevia = 1 cup sugar)
Contains Stevia and Maltodextrose which many people add to their brews anyway.
Contains "Fructofibres"... anyone know what that is?

Natvia:

Volumetrically equal to sugar in granulated form.
No Maltodextrose added as a filler, but it does contain "Erythritol" which according to the pack is a nectar found in melons and grapes.

The other alternative is pure stevia from a health food shop.

Is anyone able to point me in a good direction? At the moment I'm thinking SteviaSweet due to the Maltodextrose, but I have no idea what Fructofibres are, and it they're fermentable it'll mess up my brown sugar priming calculations.

Thanks,

Fish.


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## Bizier

If they are of unknown fermentability, add to fermenter and wait a few days before bottling, also allows you to evaluate sweetness.


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## technobabble66

+1 to Bizier's suggestion.

Though i personally would go for pure stevia if it's available.
I've used it once (ginger beer). I'd agree Stevia seems the best of the sweetener options. Can potentially be tricky to get it to dissolve fully. The time i used it i dissolved it in hot, pre-boiled water [though the stevia was already v finely powdered]. That worked perfectly (maybe the finely powdered bit was more important, though) & put measured doses of the liquid into bottles instead of the regular priming sugar/drops.
The Stevia was good as a sweetener. I generally don't like the taste of sweeteners, so i found it best used at a low dose - about 1/2 to 3/5ths the recommended amount in the ginger beer i made.
Unfortunately i don't remember the amount in the kit: 15-20g pure stevia, i guess, for a 23L batch.
So i'd guess ~10g per 23L batch suited my tastes?


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## 431neb

I used a granular stevia in a turbo cider made with Aldi juice. Before I used the sweetener I made a cuppa with my usual 1 tsp of "sugar" - it was a 1:1 product - and I found it to be bloody awful. Blatantly obvious and overly sweet in a different way to sugar. I still used it but I only used 11 grams in 20 litres. 

Don't be fooled. That shit is as light as air so 11 grams is a fair bit. Just nowhere near what I would use if there was real sugar that was unfermentable. 

Use some, for sure but back-sweetening is gonna do the heavy lifting if you want sweet cider.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

The bloke at the local hbs cracked open a ginger beer kit. It had a sachet of 4g of Stevia for sweetening, and I'm assuming a 23L batch.

From research, people are suggesting 1/2 cup for 5 Gallons. 

5 Gallons being just under 20L, and an metric cup being 50 teaspoons. That equates to about 1.3 teaspoons per litre. 

Research also brought up that Stevia is 10 times more sweet or lighter than sugar, meaning that 1 teaspoon of Stevia is the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. 

431neb: What do you mean by real sugar that was unfermentable?


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## technobabble66

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> The bloke at the local hbs cracked open a ginger beer kit. It had a sachet of 4g of Stevia for sweetening, and I'm assuming a 23L batch.


Was it "Old Fashioned Ginger Beer" by Beer Essentials, in a smallish plastic tub?

That's the one i used & i'm v v keen to find out what weight of Stevia was in it (the only thing i forgot to record <_< )


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## 431neb

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> 431neb: What do you mean by real sugar that was unfermentable?


Yeah sorry, bit confusing. Simply that it would be bloody nice to have something that was unfermentable but tasted like real sugar. All the substitutes are flawed IMO, hence the low dose I used. Stevia is useful but not a silver bullet.

I would be wary of the additives supplied with some cider kits. Little plastic packets with misleading labels like "Real cider flavour" written on them, containing chemicals with names I can't pronounce.

Edit.

Just be careful not to compare the 1:1 stevia products (ie one teaspoon is supposed to substitute one tsp of sugar) with more concentrated products. A mistake there could cost you the brew.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

Well I bit the bullet and bought a 40g jar of Stevia Equal, ingredients also contain maltodextrin and "flavourings". 

I have a couple of bottles left of my first dry batch that have conditioned, so I'll use them to experiment on getting the right balance, then use that to bulk sweeten my latest 18L batch when I prime and bottle on Wednesday. 

I'll post results then.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

First test wasn't too bad. I had a half bottle of still apple cider sitting in the fridge, the bottle hadn't sealed property. I measured 500mL into a jug and added the Stevia sweetener by the 1/2 tsp, sipping from a straw. Bearing in mind that the brew was fairly nasty to begin with, it started to lose it's edge at around 1 1/2 tsp, and was overly sweet at 3 tsp. Based on that I'll add 3 tsp/L to my larger batch at the same time that I bottle and prime on Wednesday.


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## Glengine

My first and only cider brew I tried using a couple of different sweeteners. I tried using stevia and splenda and left some dry to compare the differences. I bought the little tablets which you are supposed to put in your coffee. Put one tablet in each bottle along with a carb drop on bottling day. I preferred the stevia over the splenda ones but from memory my wife preferred the splenda. The bottles without the sweetener were drinkable but I preferred the sweetened ones.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

Well, I screwed up. 

Rather than bookmarking a priming sugar calculator, I relied on my brewing notebook. Big mistake, 'cause my handwriting is terrible. Long story short, I over primed the entire 18L batch of cider and had to toss the whole thing rather than risk bottle bombs. 

On the positive side I drank some of the over-primed, back sweetened cider, and I believe that the stevia/maltodextrin blend available from the supermarket is pretty good at about 2-3 teaspoons p/Litre. It was sweeter than I like due to the unfermented brown priming sugar, but there was no chemical back taste or odd flavours. 

Also thinking that people recommend 1/2 cup splenda to 5 gallons cider, and both splenda and this Stevia blend are 1=1 with sugar tsp wise, it's pretty close. 

I'm thinking of trying some smaller scale experiments using those 3L bottles of juice from the supermarket. That way if I mess up again I minimise the damage. 



technobabble66 said:


> Was it "Old Fashioned Ginger Beer" by Beer Essentials, in a smallish plastic tub?
> 
> That's the one i used & i'm v v keen to find out what weight of Stevia was in it (the only thing i forgot to record <_< )


That's the stuff. The stevia (I'm assuming pure and powdered) was in a small foil packet, with "Stevia 4g" printed on it.


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## Airgead

Why toss it? Uncap, release the pressure and recap. Or if its really bad, uncap, (quickly... as soon as you realise), dump into a fermenter, let it ferment back out then re-prime (correctly) and re-bottle.

Its a lot of work but better than tipping a batch.

Assuming the batch was drinkable anyway...

Cheers
Dave


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## Glot

Does inverted sugar ferment?


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## Airgead

Yes.


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## JoeyJoeJoe

BUMP

Guys anyone used this succesfully ? I want to try but I would like to hear from someone first?

Thanks

JJJ


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## GalBrew

It is gross, do NOT use stevia to backsweeten cider. I have done it and it results in quite an off putting back taste.

I wouldn't even put it in my coffee.


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## Airgead

I think there are 2 kinds of person in the world... those that find stevia inoffensive and those that really can't stand it.

If you are type 1, then go for it. If you are type 2, best not.

Cheers
Dave


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## JoeyJoeJoe

That sounds like excellent advise.... Except that I dont make cider for me... I keep it available more for its ability to.....Well lets just say it isn't for me. I dont need it super sweet but I would like to avoid having to use lactose (that could end badly who knows?) Should I mix a 1/3 stevia with a 1/3 splenda with a 1/3 Aspartame ?? What about maltodextrine? What is the mystery chemical people are saying comes with the kits?

Any help is appreciated. Come on guys I need all the help I can get !!!

JJJ


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## GalBrew

Go all aspartame. I have used that method with much better results. Only issue can be that it can turn bitter over several (6+) months in the keg.


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## nathan_madness

I did a 23L batch and added 50g of the Natvia to it and it tasted great for the first couple of bottles then it really wears on you (where did the puke emoticon go?). Not only that most of these products have a laxative effect too.


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## Airgead

We don't need the laxative emoticon...

Sweet cider is not an easy thing to do. If you want to sweeten in the bottle then you pretty much need to go artificial (unless you do funky stuff like pasturise or sterile filter and force carb) trouble is, many people find the artificial sweeteners offensive. Lactose works well but as you say, can end badly if the drinker is lactose intolerant. Maltodextrin is only partially unfermentable so that's not a good way to go unless you add it in fermentation.

There are some traditional methods for making sweet ciders but they rely on you pressing your own juice. If you keg and can force carb you can do it slightly easier as you can kill off the yeast through heat or chemicals then carb it up.

Other than that, your best bet is to sweeten in the glass as you serve.

Cheers
Dave


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## nathan_madness

Yeah, I sterilise then back sweeten in the keg. It's just so much easier!


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## JoeyJoeJoe

Yeah I dont know how that would go.... Here my dear just let me slip this in your drink .......

I was just hoping to find an sweetener that tasted alright it small doeses. Oh well thanks for the help guys.


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## technobabble66

Hey JoeyJoeJoe,

FWIW, i found the stevia to be good when it was used in very small amounts - it meant the sweetness took a little edge off the heat in the Ginger Beer (i know you're doing Cider, but should be kinda similar), but without being prominent enough to be nasty.

From what Hyper.Intelligent.Fish was writing earlier, the dosage i'd go with is 2g pure stevia in a 18L batch. (The regular dosage is 4g - this was too much for me).

Either which way though, we're still talking an artificial-type sweetener/flavouring - Stevia's just the better choice in this group IMHO. So if your drinking partner cannot stand artificial sweeteners, like in a Diet Coke, then this won't work.


[edit: corrected the batch size to 18L]


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## proudy

Hello I recently kegged a mangrove jacks kit and did not add the sweetener pack as i like a dry cider. turned out dryer than i could handle.just bought a 200 tablet pack of stevia and crushed half a tap to a pot and stirred , spot on now


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## simchop84

Has anyone tried using a combination of artificial sweeteners? For example some lactose some stevia etc. I also like things on the sweeter side, not just cider coffee etc too. Im thinking of buying some sorbitol from Melbourne food depot.


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## JoeyJoeJoe

I just put a 5L brew down consisting of 4.8L of woolies apple and pear juice (74/26) and 5 teaspoons of the equal stevia spoon for spoon stuff. I also did a graf, 4L of apple juice with 1 L of wort.
Sorry for huge picture I am not at home  Cider on the left Beer in the middle Graf on the right


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

*Update.

Combining multiple experiments. 

I've had 4 batches of 3L ciders fermenting since Aug 21 consisting of Apple with Bakers yeast, Apple with Champagne yeast, Apple with Ale yeast and Apple Blackcurrant with Ale yeast. 

Each batch was racked into 5 475ml Grolsch swingtop bottles, bulk primed with brown sugar at 13g/L.

2 bottles from each batch were backsweetened with 1 level teaspoon of the Splenda Stevia/Maltodextrin blend I mentioned before. 

2 bottles from each batch were backsweetened with 1/2 teaspoon Stevia/Maltodextrin blend.

The remaining bottle was left unsweetened as a control. 

Obviously there won't be any concrete results until after 3-4 weeks of maturation, but I'm hoping to be able to compare batches against each other, and also compare the amount of stevia additives within each batch. Against all of this I'm trying to work out whether champagne or ale yeast is preferable for a sweeter cider. 

My next experiment will be to add the stevia/maltodextrin blend at the same time as the yeast is pitched to determine whether the fermentation process makes a difference to the final brew. 

Stay tuned.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

simchop84 said:


> Has anyone tried using a combination of artificial sweeteners? For example some lactose some stevia etc. I also like things on the sweeter side, not just cider coffee etc too. Im thinking of buying some sorbitol from Melbourne food depot.


You might end up with the worst of all of them. 

I'm experimenting with Stevia because I want my brews to be enjoyed by everyone, even the lactose intolerant. I'm no expert, but I believe that lactose is the preferred method of backsweetening because it's a natural sugar that's unfermentable. Artificial sweeteners are artificial, and add unwanted tastes and textures to the final product. 

To clarify though, Lactose and Stevia are not artificial sweeteners. They're both natural sugars that aren't fermentable. 

I'm interested to hear your opinions about sorbitol. It was another option I'd considered, but heard that it may be a laxative...


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## law-of-ohms

Awesome, nice to see your experimenting and 'taking one for the team'


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## JoeyJoeJoe

I am really interested to hear how you go. I am just a bit worried as 13g/l of sugar is already pretty high and I think maltodextrin is partially fermentable. Maybe put the bottles in the fridge after a week to drop the pressure?
Worst comes to worst you will be able to tell us what the failure mode of a grolsh bottle is( I have always wondered if the swing top would let go before the glass broke would be like a safety fuse!)


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

JoeyJoeJoe said:


> I am really interested to hear how you go. I am just a bit worried as 13g/l of sugar is already pretty high and I think maltodextrin is partially fermentable. Maybe put the bottles in the fridge after a week to drop the pressure?
> Worst comes to worst you will be able to tell us what the failure mode of a grolsh bottle is( I have always wondered if the swing top would let go before the glass broke would be like a safety fuse!)


I was aiming at a higher carbed end result than my previous batches. I aimed before for a 2.0 CO2 level, this time I was aiming for 4.5. To get a 4.5 CO2 level at the current temp the required cane/table suger was almost 15g/L. I under-primed deliberately because the stevia/maltodextrin blend is an unknown variable.

That being said, all the bottles are stored in a chest of drawers with nice, solid walls. A popped bottle will be a pain to clean up, but there shouldn't be a lot of damage.


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## JoeyJoeJoe

Wouldn't hurt to test one after a week see if the bottles are gushers


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## simchop84

Sorry hyper my mistake, I am aware that lactose etc is natural. I could have worded it a bit better. 

In regards to sorbitol I haven't done a great deal of research about but from what I can gather its what makes fruit sweet anyway. Stone fruit I believe are on the upper end of the scale. Pears are slightly higher than apples.

Sorbitol is used in a large amount of every day things, even in gum. Im guessing thats why there is a warning on extra gum about it may have a laxative effect. Used in baking a lot because it doesn't burn or is very good at giving that 'golden' colour to the final product. 

As far as brewing is concerned from what I can gather it seems to be the best option for us sweet tooths. The laxative effect I feel would only be an issue if you were adding large amounts.


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## simchop84

Dumb newbie questions but how do I get someone else's comment in my reply? 
Cheers


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

simchop84 said:


> Dumb newbie questions but how do I get someone else's comment in my reply?
> Cheers


At the bottom of every post is a "quote" button. Click on that, and it'll open up a new reply for the thread with the previous post quoted.


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## simchop84

Hyper.Intelligent.Fish said:


> At the bottom of every post is a "quote" button. Click on that, and it'll open up a new reply for the thread with the previous post quoted.


Cheers mate


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## JoeyJoeJoe

I did a back sweeting experiment today. I started with about a litre of super dry pure apple juice cider that I made as part of a starter. I thought it would be a good start as it was very dry .998.
So I measure out three glasses with 100mls each of this dry cider each with one of the above sweeteners.
1. Equal Sachet : contains 1/4 teaspoon of sweetner = to two teaspoons of sugar. Sweet but also had a chemically taste 2/10
2. Equal stevia spoon for spoon: Added 1/4 teaspoon = to 1/4 teaspoons of sugar. Not very sweet but no bad after taste. Added another 1/4 teaspoon sweeter can now taste chemical flavour slightly not too bad. 5/10
3. Splenda Sachet: Sachet contains 1/4 teaspoon = 2 teaspoons of sugar. Very sweet and not too bad (too sweet would add less) this one had no chemical taste though. 8/10
4. Final experiment put 200 mls in a glass and added 1/4 teaspoon of stevia half pack of splenda(1/8 teaspoon ish). Still a bit too sweet but no off taste. 8/10

Conclusion if you are going to add only one I would go with splenda my taste buds agreed with it the best. Stevia is a close secound but the ordinary equal is just bad I would deffinitly not recommend it.

I am probably going to go with one splenda sachet + 1 teaspoon of the stevia per litre of cider when I bulk prime for my batch that is almost finished. 
I dont know how fermenatble either of them are? I am bottling in champagne bottles though so I should be ok.


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## technobabble66

Great experiment, & good to see a bit more anecdotal comparison on sweetener options!

......
Start rant/

However, I ain't puttin' no chlorinated sugar in my body!
Look up what Splenda is: tri-chlorinated dextrose. Wikipeadia has a decent entry on it

Compare that to stevia's wiki entry. 
I'll stick to stevia if I have to use a sweetener. 

End rant/


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## bum

technobabble66 said:


> However, I ain't puttin' no chlorinated sugar in my body!
> Look up what Splenda is: tri-chlorinated dextrose. Wikipeadia has a decent entry on it


Their entry for ethanol is pretty good too.


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## technobabble66

True that. 

But I'm happier with one biologically familiar toxin rather than adding a second biologically unfamiliar one also, for no great reason.


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## simchop84

Just added 200g of stevia to 25L in drum after fermentation had finished. Left it sit for another few weeks and fg didn't move so I bottled a few days ago. Seems really good. Ill give it a month or so in the bottle and see how it is. I usually go the lactose option but looking forward to trying some different options. 
Cheers


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## GalBrew

The one keg of cider I backsweetened with equal brand stevia got dumped due to the foul taste equal brand stevia imparted on the finish of the cider. No one wanted to drink it. Couldn't even force myself to. 

FYI I usually use normal equal to sweeten cider.


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## simchop84

GalBrew said:


> The one keg of cider I backsweetened with equal brand stevia got dumped due to the foul taste equal brand stevia imparted on the finish of the cider. No one wanted to drink it. Couldn't even force myself to.
> 
> FYI I usually use normal equal to sweeten cider.


It tasted really good at time of bottling. Only time will tell I guess. 
Cheers


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

GalBrew said:


> The one keg of cider I backsweetened with equal brand stevia got dumped due to the foul taste equal brand stevia imparted on the finish of the cider. No one wanted to drink it. Couldn't even force myself to.
> 
> FYI I usually use normal equal to sweeten cider.


Can you enlighten us as to ratio of stevia/L you added? I'm interested to see whether your backsweetening ratio is close to mine.


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## Hyper.Intelligent.Fish

First results: Apologies if subjective

3 bottles of apple cider, Fermented with Ale Yeast and conditioned in Grolsch swing top bottles (475ml I believe). One bottle left alone, one with 1/2 teaspoon of the splenda stevia and one with 1 teaspoon of the same. 

Both backsweetened bottles remarkably reduced the sharpness of the final product which has been bottle conditioning since October 16, with about a week in the fridge. The unsweetened bottle retains that strong "ping" in the back of your throat, but to my mind isn't as strong as my last brew with Champagne yeast. Definitely drinkable alone if you like a dry brew.

Neither of the backsweetened bottles have any harsh, chemical or unpleasant tastes, though neither have come out overly sweet. If I had to choose, I'd say the bottle with 1/2 tsp would be my preference, but the bottle with 1 tsp definitely has a smoother taste.

Based on this I believe that 1-2 teaspoons of the splenda stevia blend per litre is a good place to start if you're experimenting. It'd be interesting to see whether this changes if the stevia is introduced into the fermenter before fermentation. I also should try experimenting with higher amounts of stevia to see it I can get close to a sweet brew before it becomes overpowering. 

I still have brews with Champagne Yeast, Bread Yeast and an Apple Blackcurrant with Ale Yeast ready for testing over the next few weeks.


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## simchop84

simchop84 said:


> It tasted really good at time of bottling. Only time will tell I guess.
> Cheers


Cracked one last night. Very happy with the results. Went down very nicely while cooking the bbq. Wasnt to sweet but wasn't dry either. 

Had another brew finish a few days ago. This time I have gone for a combination of lactose and equal sweetener. Had a taste, was very nice. Very similar to just stevia sweetener. Will bottle over the weekend and try in a few weeks.


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## Didge1

Hi all - having prowled around the web re sweetening cider (having brewed and drunk a very dry first attempt) I decided to give stevia a try. I bought pure Stevia from a health food store (the granular forms for sweetening coffee etc have fillers in them that add taste). I guessed that a cup of sugar per 23 litres would cut the 'dry' enough for my taste so I added a teaspoon of stevia (equivalent to a cup of sugar). I have just tasted the cider before bottling it and it tastes great. Will update when it has bottle carbonated.

Pure stevia has a slightly cloying sweetness to my taste but that cloyingness is not obvious in the cider.

Cheers.


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## Mutaneer

Just adding in my thoughts here,
I've just opened my first batch of Apple Ciders
Recipe is simple, 100% fresh apple juice (currently minimum 50% Jonagold and then a mix of Fuji and Golden Deliscious) and either DV10 or EC1118 yeast.
Simple ferment, racked off for 2-3 weeks then bottle conditioned for 8 weeks

It was extremely, mouth-puckeringly (is that a word.?) dry when it went into the bottle, 
I was sure it would need topping up with juice in the glass.
I also cracked on after 3 weeks and the result was fizzy, but still had the very dry taste

But once it had the extra time in the bottle, it has lost all that dryness in the mouth,
it hadn't gained any sugary-sweetness (obviously, carbed only with pure white sugar). but the acidity had smoothed right out so there wasn't any overpowering tang
Just a well balanced clean apple flavour (needs to be warmed to around 8-10 degrees, straight from the fridge was too cold and lacked flavour)
It's very light as far as after-taste and mouthfeel go, so you need to have another swig pretty quickly to keep the flavour in your mouth... a trap being 7% abv..  

So conclusion, that time carbing up and mellowing out in the bottle really balances it out


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## Airgead

Yep. Cider is more like a wine than a beer. Some aging time gives it time to mellow out and get good.A young cider can be just alike a young wine - all harsh with everything out of balance and puckeringly dry and tannic. Sweeter wines, and ciders, tend to be more drinkable young as the sweetness hides the harshness, not because the harshness isn't there.


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## Mutaneer

Good to know,
I've always tried to leave my beers for 3 months before drinking and been trying with the cider aswell, it just gives a much nicer finish to the carbonation, much like a proper Champagne with those very fine bubbles
it's just so hard to resist cracking them until you have a decent stockpile.

I'm actually going to cellar 1 bottle from each batch and try to give them a full 12 months to see how they change (or not) with that larger amount of time.


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## Seanz

Back in the ole days


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## Seanz

My cider making is so outta date looking thru these methods, I use 2 x 20 ltr buckets and 2 Kg of fruits and water leave for 7-9 days till smells like a hospital and strain and add some lemons and sugar, bottle in next few day's drink 2-3 wks time.


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## Airgead

Good Gods man! That's not cider! That's prison hooch!

Seriously.. try a batch with apple juice instead of 2kg fruit and 20l (!?) of water.... you will be amazed.


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## Mutaneer

Yeah, doing it this way is what the local Craft producers are charging $10-$20 a pop for a $750ml bottle.
That's why I started doing my own.

For the same $15 I Can get 20L of fresh juice from local orchards


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## Chookers

What if you had a sour apple cider, and used Miracle Fruit.. then it would be sweet.. just say "here eat this miracle fruit" and then give them the cider.. Im just thinking out loud here (sorta)

Or

instead of backsweetening.. use a low alc yeast and fortify the cider when its done.. May have been suggested already but I haven't read all the posts..

Stevia is worth experimenting with, I grow it in my garden, has its own green flavour behind the sweetness and the sweetness is without body.. sugar has a fuller mouth feel.. if that makes any sense. but if you get the balance right I think it could work well, but I think some other spice or flavour would be good to hide it in.


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## nevle

Nobody seems to have metioned xylitol as a sweetner which l have used in my last couple of brews and seems to be fairly neutral to my taste buds. Any comments?


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## technobabble66

Definitely a reasonable option. 
I think the reservations may've been that as a sugar alcohol, it has a laxative effect (though in the vicinity of 100g/day, better tolerated than sorbitol and lactose); & that it still won't have the proper "full" flavour/mouthfeel of sugar/dextrose. 
I'm not sure I know the flavour/mouthfeel, tbh, but it's possibly as good or better than stevia on the face of it. 
Oh, & accessibility. Is it easy to find?
Thanks for raising a good suggestion.


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## nevle

My local health food shop stocks it, but i don't know how wide spread that may be.Cost seems a little dearer though.


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## H0U5ECAT

Fyi when you do go to the health food shop, make sure you don't ask for sativa instead :/


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## H0U5ECAT

Fyi when you do go to the health food shop, make sure you don't ask for sativa instead :/


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## Mutaneer

Ok, just going to chime in here.

On saturday afternoon i cracked open two bottles from a new batch that's had 6 weeks conditioning,
Still my exact same simple recipe. fresh local juice and yeast
Only difference was one bottle was primed with normal CSR white sugar and the other with CSR brown sugar. Both at a rate of 8g/L.

the difference in the bottle was amazing.
the white sugar version was the usual, dry, quite clear and light in the mouth.
The brown sugar version was full of body, a littrle more cloudy and darker coloured but there was extra sweetness and a real gutsy apple flavour. It was also less fizzy,
No doubt less fermentables in the brown sugar accounted for most of the difference.

We taste tested both between a number of us, some who like the sweet cordial ciders and others like me who prefer the very dry cider.
Those with a sweet tooth were very happy with the brown sugar version.

So, If i were in the position of needing to sweeten up ciders then I'd be using the brown sugar approach before hitting the artificial sweetner shelves.
You could easily add 10g/L and not be over carbed.


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## Airgead

Yep. Brown sugar has molasses added back in which contains a bunch of unfermentables.


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## Mutaneer

Any idea what the fermentable % is?
to help with calculations


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## Airgead

No. I suspect that different brands of brown sugar have different amounts of molasses added. There is also a difference between light and dark brown sugar. I'd guess maybe 80% fermentable but the only way to be sure would be to do a trial fermentation of a brown sugar solution and see what the FG was.

Cheers
Dave


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