Sweetening Apple Cider With Lactose

[Rod]

I make apple cider using the OZ tops method

I would like to sweeten the cider with lactose , which would not ferment

How much lactose would I add per litre

I know , how long is a piece of string

but would like to have a starting point

I wonder what the equivalent amount of lactose to a teaspoon of sugar

 

[taztiger]

Don't know much about the OZ tops method but when i make a normal 23l batch i use 250g Lactose and 750g sugar to make a medium sweet.
cheers

 

[The Giant]

When making my cider I use 500g of lactose to 21 litres of Apple Juice.

Chicks dig it hahah

Its not crazy sweet but more importantly it ensure its not a dry cider.

I would recommend ditching the oz tops to and buy some proper cider yeast. Could make a big difference. You can just sprinkle the yeast in the bottle if you want, done this in the past with pretty good results.

 

[Dave70]

When making my cider I use 500g of lactose to 21 litres of Apple Juice.

Chicks dig it hahah

Its not crazy sweet but more importantly it ensure its not a dry cider.

I would recommend ditching the oz tops to and buy some proper cider yeast. Could make a big difference. You can just sprinkle the yeast in the bottle if you want, done this in the past with pretty good results.

My wife's a chick and digs sweet cider.

Are we talking something like Strongbow (ish) sweet? Do you use a plain old US-05? Does the lactose make it come out hazy?

 

[komodo]

I havent found lactose makes it any more hazy - mind you I've never made a crystal clear cider (though I do have one thats adged nearly 18 months that I'm keen to see how clear it is soon)
I add 250grams to about 30L of cider using S04 and thats plenty sweet for me.

 

[Rod]

Looks like 250 grams per 23 litres is a good point to start

actually 250 grams is how much I add to stout to get a milk (lactose) stout

I use OZ tops because I can make small amounts

http://www.oztops.com.au/

 

[drsmurto]

I did a few calculations in a thread on AHB a while ago that i can't seem to find.

It used as part of the calculation a comparison between the relative sweetness of lactose to sucrose.

About 10 times less sweet from memory. So if you use 1 tsp of sugar in your tea/coffee you'd need 10 tsp to get the same sweetness using lactose.

 

[sluggerdog]

How did you go with this? Did you work out a good amount of lactose into the oztops bottles that suits your tastes? I have just made one with 15grams per litre. It's just gone into the fridge now.

Thanks

 

[sponge]

Slightly different, but when making my ginger beer I use ~200g per 20L which gives it a nice sweetness but isnt sickly sweet.

I'd probably try about the same amount for apple cider as they both probably would work out to be about as dry/sweet as each other without the lactose.



Sponge

 

[Mv Cisar]

Don't know much about the OZ tops method but when i make a normal 23l batch i use 250g Lactose and 750g sugar to make a medium sweet.
cheers

Hello, do you add the lactose at the start of the ferment or part way through? Thanknyou

 

[Dave70]

Hello, do you add the lactose at the start of the ferment or part way through? Thanknyou

Add it whenever you like. Some point in the boil is probably a good idea.
The yeast couldn't care less.

 

[Malchizedec]

Hello, do you add the lactose at the start of the ferment or part way through? Thanknyou

At the end of the ferment before bottling. You want to take a sample and workout how much lactose to add. Then scale up the lactose for your full batch.

For cider I prefer to stabilise by cold crashing below 4c, adding potassium sorbate and potassium Meta bisuphate (camden tablets) and add fresh juice and/or a little honey back in.

If you don't kill the yeast any fermentable sugar you add will just add alcohol as it will be eaten by the yeast.