Suspiciously Fast Cider.

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31/3/19
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While trying to chase the holy grail of a sweet and carbonated cider I remembered a post somewhere on here from a user asking if using a yeast with a low alcohol tolerance and adding extra sugar would result in a sweet cider (carbonation can be solved later).
The general consensus was that it wouldn't work, but I gave it some thought and had a go for myself.

My last batch of cider, using Mangrove Jack's Cider yeast (tolerant to 23-25%), was an apple and blackcurrant using blackcurrant syrup and some extra sugar. The hydrometer reading predicted 11% alcohol The result was a cider that fermented to dryness in only one week (I was shown that the full process would take about two weeks before changing the demijohn).
Time is your best friend when making a sweet cider, and at the moment it was tasting like an old boot polished with rocket fuel. Thinking the alcohol content would go down and the flavour would come back I aged it for about two months before another taste test. Time passed and the flavour was a bit more palatable, but it was still too strong. I've left it to age a bit more. coming back to it from time to time.

This current batch with the lower tolerant yeast (tolerant to 9%) seems promising.
I added extra blackcurrant syrup and some raw sugar along with the apple juice (and wine nutrients).
My hydrometer reading hit a predicted 15% (a lot of sugar in the syrup).
Thinking this wouldn't work, I gave it a go anyway. Pitched a teaspoon of yeast activated in apple juice (for a 5L bottle). It took a full day before the airlock started bubbling. It's been a week and the bubbling is starting to slow down. I took a reading/taste test earlier today. I have a significant drop in the alcohol prediction, but I am still in the ball park of what I want. Tastes great at this stage too.
I'll test it again in a few days time. My "butter zone" (to quote Adam Savage) is 5-8%.

I'll keep posting the progress as things come up.
 

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