How much campden to use in cider

To do this, add some simple sugar. Each sugar will impart its own unique flavor profile to the cider. Brown sugar is a common addition, adding about 0. You can use any form of sugar you like. Each type of sugar gives a slightly different flavor.

Fresh, unpasteurized, un-preserved juice will have natural yeasts in it. There is debate about how important it is to stop these organisms before pitching your own desired yeast. Some have great experience pitching the preferred yeast right away, without any preventative action. Others suggest adding a small amount of potassium metabisulfite, commonly found in Campden Tablets.

Campden Tablets should be crushed and dissolved in a bit of water or juice prior to adding to the unfermented must. After adding potassium metabisulfate, the must needs to sit for several days to let the resulting gasses escape prior to pitching the desired yeast. Generally speaking, cider does not contain adequate nutrients for the yeast to properly and completely ferment out. To counter this, yeast nutrients are added to the cider to help provide a more desirable environment for the yeast.

Typically, yeast nutrient and yeast energizer are both used. Two schools of thought exist regarding when to add these. One method is to add all the nutrient and energizer right away when you pitch your yeast. The other method suggests that you stagger the additions over three days.

The first addition occurs when the yeast is pitched, the second addition occurs 24 hours after the yeast addition, and the third addition occurs 48 hours after the yeast addition. This method is referred to as a staggered yeast nutrient addition and is commonly used in making meads. There is an element of uncertainty when you do it this way.

As a beer brewer it felt a bit risky, but go for it if you want to try it. One year I waited six days and nothing was happening. That was as long as I felt comfortable waiting so I finally pitched a wine yeast and fermentation was going soon after. There are lots of different yeasts to pick from at the store. We have wine, cider and mead yeasts that will do a nice job with higher alcohol contents.

Champagne yeast is probably the most popular choice. It ferments out very crisp and dry. It is also a good choice is your house is cool, but I would still recommend keeping the fermenter at least 60F during active fermentation.

I sell other white wine yeasts, Premier Cuvee, Chablis, or D, if you want crisp and dry, but not as dry as the champagne yeast. We carry dry yeast and Wyeast liquid yeast. As a beer brewer, I use mostly the Wyeast yeasts so I am comfortable using them in my ciders and wines.

I am particulary happy with the port wine yeast when I make my New England barrel style cider. Please ask us if you have any questions. You will run across recipes that encourage you to add campden tablets, or potassium metabisulphate, to your cider.

If you want to make sure wild yeast is not participating in the fermentation, campden tablets should be added. One tablet per gallon, crushed, goes into your cider. You should then wait hours and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Your decision now is whether that is what you want. Light colored dextrose, or corn sugar, will not change the color or flavor of your cider, it will just add alcohol. In the end, there is nothing left for the wild yeasts and they die without propagating. This causes the wine to oxidize if antioxidants are not present to prevent it from happening. SO2 is a powerful antioxidant but it dissipates over time, so we add more Campden to the wine when we rack to prevent oxidation.

The same antioxidant protects the wine from airborne bacteria and molds. About 1 crushed tablet per gallon of must is typical. The tablets should be crushed and dissolved in a small amount of sanitary water before adding.

Many home wine and cider makers dose the must with Campden tablets a day or so before pitching the primary fermentation yeast. This is a great way to kill off unwanted bad-guys. Yes, but no. It would take a massive concentration of Campden to truly kill of the yeast and stop fermentation. Clearly, whether you are making homebrewed beer, wine, or cider, it pays to have a supply of Campden Tablets on hand.

Table of Contents. See larger image. Campden Tablets sodium metabisulfite — 1 Pound Bulk Misc. Buy Campden Tablets and more at Love2Brew.