Strongbow Dry Cider Recipe??

[Bizier]

Thanks doc, I am much the same re: lactose/sweetener; because I just don't think it is right except for milk stout.

You and the sodium met on the other hand... you remind me of an old industrial chemist I used to maintain gardens for in my high school days. There was a scientific reason for everything he did, however dubious it seemed. I gather that the sodium met evaporates itself off as a gas of some sort.

How about trying for a perfect underpitching rate, so that the yeast tires? OR will a yeast never tire of simple sugars?

Maybe Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni? - although I imagine it might have a similar taste sensation to saccharine/phenylketonurics to it, I don't know how to describe this other than slippery and cold and unpleasant for me.

[drsmurto]

Sodium metabisulphite was used to sanitise back in the early HB days.....

Well, not that long ago and i believe it is still sold. Not good for asthmatics.

One of the by products of Na2S2O5 when dissolved in water is SO2 (a gas) which is toxic to yeast. SO2 is used in the wine industry to halt fermentation once the desired sugar levels are reached.

As for underpitching, i dont want any undesirable flavours/aromas from a stressed yeast.

If a winery can do it then so can I.

[Bizier]

I have some sodium met, but have never used it, as I prefer a multitude of substances before it to sanitise.
On reading up, it all makes sense - though you may have to place "contains sulphites" on your tap - I may follow suit on this one, I have seemingly consumed many bottles of wine prepared in this manner, I am still alive (until that black hole kills us all).

[drsmurto]

I've used campden tabs before when i juiced up some apples to make cider. Crushed the tab and dissolved in water and added it to the juice and let it sit overnight. This kills any wild yeast present on the apples.

Racked it to get just the juice and then pitched a yeast.

Hoping adding another tablet once i hit the desired FG it will kill the yeast and keep some sweetness in the cider.

Noticed my local greengrocer is selling 3 different varieties of apples at $1/kg. Might buy a few and do a 5L trial batch this weekend.

[Bizier]

Yeah, I got a couple of bags of sundowners @ $1.82 a kg - very good for sydney prices, where they get to about $7 per kg.
I figured they have a nice tartness to them, which will hopefully show up in the finished brew. I think there is also pink ladys, which I think would make nice cider.

[Bizier]

Just ordered the 4766, I think I will give the experimenting with ale yeast a miss...