Lots of work for 5 quart bottles of cider. Bottling was done after almost two weeks of bubbling. Washed the bottles with the Star-san, rinsed with water and then bottled water. To the empty bottles I added 1/2 t of dextrose and three packets of xylitol. It was not sweet. I dumped the sediment at the bottom but did not bother with the repeated racking and aging suggested by the main web reference. Maybe with more juice that would make sense. After the bottling, I finally bought the hydrometer. It looked to me like the sp gravity was essentially 1.0, even with the added sugar. However, it was impossible to read because of the cloudiness of the brew and the bubbles…I had already added the sugar for the secondary fermentation. Next time, I will measure sp. g. before fermenting and add the pectin enzyme for a bit clearer brew.
For now I need to wait at least two weeks to develop some bubbles. I did not add extra yeast. I’m fairly confident I didn’t do that last year either 🙂
kastriebel says
Unfortunately, this batch is only marginally bubbly and NOT very sweet. Some like it, not really my style. Next year I might just drink the cider.