HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

For any alcoholic brew that doesn't fit into any of the above categories!
User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:05 am

By special request from Laripu, here is how I do it. I have tried a number of ways and recipes to introduce non fermentables to leave a residual sweetness. Spray malt and lactose will help but only to a point.

My method is very simple, obvious and nothing particularly new. Many of you will have done it by accident and read many posts on how to prevent it or remedy it..........This is starting to sound like the drivel you get at the start of a get rich quick scheme before you part with your credit card details :lol:

Anyway, prepare your recipe to whatever you normally do. For the purpose of this "lesson" for Truckers Anti-freeze, I will just explain the method rather than the recipe.

Regular supermarket apple juice is about S.G. 1046. If this is fermented to dryness it will finish about S.G.1000, giving an ABV of around 6%.

METHOD
In addition to your apple juice, add about 30g of sugar per litre (raising the S.G to about 1056)and pitch the yeast as normal. Ferment the brew as normal checking the S.G. REGULARLY When it has dropped to about 1020, bottle it.............Yes you heard me, bottle it! Use PET bottles for your fist few attempts so you can monitor it.Keep the bottles at fermentation temperature for 12 to 48 hours. Squeeze the bottles REGULARLY to check the pressure build up (carbonation) You should be familiar with the feel/pressure associated with the level of carbonation you prefer.

Once you have the pressure/feel you desire..............(here's the catch) move the bottles to a fridge. They MUST be kept below the fermentable temperature of the yeast!

Allow a week to "condition" and for the CO2 to enter the solution .....Bingo....Truckers AntI-Freeze. ABV approx 5.6%

You must remember that you need to store the bottles at a temperature low enough to prevent fermentation re-starting.

With a little experimenting you can control the temperature and time to give consistency and allow the use of glass bottles. All the above figures and times are approximate and suit MY taste. You can tailor the sugar/gravities to your preference for taste, alcohol, carbonation or bottle bombs :lol:
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

kay-jay

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by kay-jay » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:19 am

there seems to be a bit of a risk with that process.

i just ferment to dry.

just apple juice is very dry and to this i just add about a cm of cordial to a pint.

if i add jam or honey as additional fermentables i find that even after its finished fermenting it is not too dry but again can be sweetened to taste with cordial ,lemonade or whatever you fancy.

not a fancy method by any stretch of the imagination. but it protects me from the the catastrophic effects of wastage thru potential bottle bombs. (i never underestimate my capacity for human error :lol: )


KJ

User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:39 am

Kay-jay, like you I have added cordial etc for a long time. There have been many discussions on how to sweeten TC (if that's your preference) I just thought I would share my method as it popped up in another thread. I didn't mean to start another debate ...............sorry , that sounds like I'm objecting to your response, that's not the case at all :oops: It's a forum go for it!

The risk of bottle bombs is almost zero. Remember I recommend PET bottles and checking regularly. Once refrigerated, they are pretty dormant (and consumed quickly :roll: )
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

Yelnahs

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by Yelnahs » Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:38 pm

Thats a very good idea... every time I make TC its too bitter for everyone elses taste (I don't mind it) and for me I don't like adding a dash of whatever, I just want to serve it straight out of the bottle.

The thing is I make batches of 25 liters at a time bottling to 1 litre PET bottles. No chance of fitting them in a fridge...

User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:44 pm

Yep, the volume is a problem. Many people have brew fridges. As long as it is stored cold enough to stop the yeast working, then you have achieved your goal :wink:
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

adm

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by adm » Wed Sep 15, 2010 6:57 pm

The time I made TC it came out bone dry - but with the addition of a shot of Creme de Cassis to the glass, it ended up as poor man's Kir Royal.

Very nice indeed. Even the wife liked it although she hated the mouth-puckeringly dry TC it was made from.

User avatar
Laripu
So far gone I'm on the way back again!
Posts: 7117
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:24 am
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by Laripu » Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:55 pm

trucker5774 wrote:By special request from Laripu, here is how I do it. I have tried a number of ways and recipes to introduce non fermentables to leave a residual sweetness. Spray malt and lactose will help but only to a point.

<snip>

Once you have the pressure/feel you desire..............(here's the catch) move the bottles to a fridge. They MUST be kept below the fermentable temperature of the yeast!

Allow a week to "condition" and for the CO2 to enter the solution .....Bingo....Truckers AntI-Freeze. ABV approx 5.6%
=D> Of course! Thanks for posting this, Trucker. :D

Like some of the others, I don't have the fridge space to refrigerate a 23 litre batch. So I'll rely on DME and lactose. Oh, well.
Secondary FV: As yet unnamed Weizenbock ~7%
Bulk aging: Soodo: Grocery store grape juice wine experiment.
Drinking: Mostly Canadian whisky until I start brewing again.

User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 8:54 am

Lari, you are welcome. I know the fridge is an issue for many people, me included. Where you live will not be as forgiving as the UK as winter approaches. Try taking a couple of litres from the FV early and see what the difference is compared to the rest. I tend to do it that way so I have a large dry batch and several litres replacing the salad in the fridge!
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

Swiller

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by Swiller » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:32 am

Could this be done?

I read this method years ago but not sure where or
if my memory is completely accurate.
For 23L.
Ferment as usual then rack to another fv with 400g
of white sugar leave until finished. Fill a measuring jug
with .5L of the finished cider and add sugar to your liking,
transfer to a cornie keg to force carbonate with pro rata
amount of sugar keep cold in kegerator?
Ok if you have conies and a fridge big enough.

User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:40 am

Swiller wrote:Could this be done?

I read this method years ago but not sure where or
if my memory is completely accurate.
For 23L.
Ferment as usual then rack to another fv with 400g
of white sugar leave until finished. Fill a measuring jug
with .5L of the finished cider and add sugar to your liking,
transfer to a cornie keg to force carbonate with pro rata
amount of sugar keep cold in kegerator?
Ok if you have conies and a fridge big enough.
That seem like a lot of adding then refermenting. It seem more simple to stop the fermentation early (having added sugar at the beginning if you want more alcohol) or simply add sugar at the end to sweeten it. Either way it still needs to be chilled and force carbonated, meaning not just a fridge, but a cornie too!
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

Swiller

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by Swiller » Thu Sep 16, 2010 9:45 am

Yep, I agree trucker too much faffing around, I think
I may have read it in a cider making book somewhere
so that would explain it.

j

Yelnahs

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by Yelnahs » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:22 am

Its such a fine line though...

Fermenting to dry and then back sweetening with dextrose results in a relatively flat cider, correct? Without adding finings the cider is pretty clear.

Stopping fermentation with a campden tablet mostly results in a sediment filled cider thats sweet and flat(ish), also less ABV strength.

Adding finings early enough to clear, bottling (with sugar for SF) while fermentation is coming to an end seems to be the best? Do I have this right? This should result in a more sweet, fizzy and clear cider... well, in theory anyway.

User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 2:17 pm

Yelnahs wrote:Its such a fine line though...

Fermenting to dry and then back sweetening with dextrose results in a relatively flat cider, correct? Without adding finings the cider is pretty clear.

Stopping fermentation with a campden tablet mostly results in a sediment filled cider thats sweet and flat(ish), also less ABV strength.

Adding finings early enough to clear, bottling (with sugar for SF) while fermentation is coming to an end seems to be the best? Do I have this right? This should result in a more sweet, fizzy and clear cider... well, in theory anyway.
I have never added finings. If you go as per your final point and add sugar and finings while fermentation is near the end, then unless the finings inhibit fermentation, it will just ferment to dryness.

The method I have explained will give you a cider at whatever sweetness you want and pretty much whatever ABV you want. It is crystal clear with a little tight sediment at the bottom of the bottle (Youngs beer and wine yeast) Give it a try with a couple of bottles taken from your FV early.
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

User avatar
Laripu
So far gone I'm on the way back again!
Posts: 7117
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 4:24 am
Location: Tampa, Florida, USA

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by Laripu » Thu Sep 16, 2010 5:42 pm

I just thought of another method.

Make your TC, allow it to ferment to dryness. To the batch, add the requisite amount of sugar to sweeten to taste. Bottle immediately and leave to carbonate for x number of days; at this point I'm not sure what x is but lets say x=5 days for purposes of discussion. You want to be careful here so you don't get bottle bombs.

Then, in the oven, heat the bottles, in batches to 162°F = 72°C for one hour, which should pasteurize them, i.e. kill the yeast, leaving residual sweetness. The amount of time chosen is more than necessary for food safety, but I chose 1 hour to make sure each bottle reaches the temperature, and that there is enough time at this temperature to kill all the yeast.

If someone tries this I'd be keen to know what the number of days is for carbonation to take place without causing exploding bottles. :shock:
Secondary FV: As yet unnamed Weizenbock ~7%
Bulk aging: Soodo: Grocery store grape juice wine experiment.
Drinking: Mostly Canadian whisky until I start brewing again.

User avatar
trucker5774
Falling off the Barstool
Posts: 3180
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 12:20 pm
Location: North Devon

Re: HOW I SWEETEN TURBO CIDER (TRUCKERS ANTI-FREEZE)

Post by trucker5774 » Thu Sep 16, 2010 6:23 pm

Laripu wrote:I just thought of another method.

Make your TC, allow it to ferment to dryness. To the batch, add the requisite amount of sugar to sweeten to taste. Bottle immediately and leave to carbonate for x number of days; at this point I'm not sure what x is but lets say x=5 days for purposes of discussion. You want to be careful here so you don't get bottle bombs.

Then, in the oven, heat the bottles, in batches to 162°F = 72°C for one hour, which should pasteurize them, i.e. kill the yeast, leaving residual sweetness. The amount of time chosen is more than necessary for food safety, but I chose 1 hour to make sure each bottle reaches the temperature, and that there is enough time at this temperature to kill all the yeast.

If someone tries this I'd be keen to know what the number of days is for carbonation to take place without causing exploding bottles. :shock:
Sounds feasible, but I'm not going to be the one to heat carbonated bottles. Sugar can, of course, be added (in excess) at the end of the primary fermentation. Once the desired level of carbonation is reached, then off to the fridge with them as before, leaving a residual sweetness from the excess of sugar. I do it the way I do because it is fast, predictable and reliable. The initial fermentation is quicker than doing it as a secondary fermentation. It can be bottled at any time or chosen gravity during the fermentation and also it can be stopped at a chosen level of carbonation/gravity.

I was thinking of leaving a spare hydrometer in a suitable, tall, narrow bottle to monitor gravity as the carbonation takes place. The thing I am unsure of is how the carbonation/pressure affects the reading.

The thing is, I have developed a system which works well for me and can be repeated. Everything after that is purely academic or fine tuning by temperature and time.

If anyone has a go at the bottle in the oven method, let us know...............actually you may not need to post the results........it will probably be on the news :lol:
John

Drinking/Already drunk........ Trucker's Anti-Freeze (Turbo Cider), Truckers Delight, Night Trucker, Rose wine, Truckers Hitch, Truckers Revenge, Trucker's Lay-by, Trucker's Trailer, Flower Truck, Trucker's Gearshift, Trucker's Horn, Truck Crash, Fixby Gold!

Conditioning... Doing what? Get it down your neck! ........

FV 1............
FV 2............
FV 3............
Next Brews..... Trucker's Jack Knife

Post Reply