Author: Alex Shanks-Abel
Simply put, hard cider is fermented apple juice, which is comprised almost entirely of simple sugars, primarily the monosaccharides fructose and glucose with relatively small amount of sucrose. As such, it is highly fermentable, resulting in little if any residual sugars once the yeast has done its job, ultimately leading to a very dry finished product. While some enjoy this wine-like quality, many prefer a touch of sweetness, which is often accomplished through a process referred to as back-sweetening.
Perhaps the biggest consideration when back-sweetening cider is refermentation, hence many use chemical and mechanical methods to keep this from happening. The next thing cider makers often consider is what exactly to use for back-sweetening, with a common option being additional apple juice, the belief being that it further contributes to the apple character of the cider. However, some cider makers opt for the less expensive option of table sugar, claiming it imparts a similar level of sweetness without detracting from the apple flavor.
I enjoy having a simple crowd-pleasing cider on tap for my friends and family who aren’t beer drinkers, and I’ve historically back-sweetened with the same juice used to make the cider. After learning that some were successfully using table sugar to accomplish the same task, I couldn’t help but wonder how that would compare to my regular approach, so I designed an xBmt to test it out for myself.
| PURPOSE |
To evaluate the differences between a hard cider back-sweetened with table sugar and one back-sweetened with apple juice.
| METHODS |
I went with a very simple cider recipe for this xBmt using cheap store-bought apple juice and, for one batch, cane sugar for back-sweetening.
Boyar Bill
5 gallons/19 liters store-bought apple juice
179 g/6.3 oz table sugar (added to both to boost ABV)
½ tsp yeast nutrient
1/4 tsp potassium metabisulfite
2 tsp potassium sorbate
SafAle US-05 American Ale Yeast
Back-sweetening: 224 g/7.9 oz table sugar OR 0.5 gallons/2 liters apple juice
I started off by heading to my local grocery store and purchasing 10 gallons/38 liters of apple juice for two batches.
In order to keep things as equal as possible, and understanding that apple juice contains both sugar and additional liquid, I opted to reduce the amount of juice fermented for the batch that would be back-sweetened with additional juice. Using the nutrition facts label, I determined approximately 0.5 gallons/9.5 liters of juice contain 224 g/7.9 oz sugar, which is the amount of table sugar I would be back-sweetening the other batch with. So, for the batch that would be back-sweetened with table sugar, I combined 5 gallons/19 liters of apple juice with 179 g/6.3 oz table sugar (to boost ABV) in a sanitized fermenter, while I combined 4.5 gallons/17 liters of juice with the same amount of sugar for the batch that would back-sweetened with juice.
Refractometer readings unsurprisingly indicated a slight difference in OG.
Next, I pitched a pouch of SafAle US-05 American Ale yeast into each batch.
The ciders were connected to my glycol system that was set to maintain a fermentation temperature of 68°F/20°C.
With signs of activity absent after 2 weeks of fermentation, I cold-crashed the ciders for 48 hours before pressure transferring them to serving kegs.
I then added identical amounts of potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate to each cider.
The following day, I back-sweetened the ciders, adding 224 g/7.9 oz of table sugar to one while the other received 0.5 gallons/2 liters of apple juice.
The next morning, when checking to ensure there were no signs of refermentation, I took hydrometer measurements confirming both ciders were at the same FG.
The filled kegs were placed on gas in my keezer where they were burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. After another week of conditioning, the ciders were ready to serve to tasters.
| RESULTS |
A total of 22 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 2 samplse of the cider back-sweetened with table sugar and 1 sample of the cider back-sweetened with apple juice in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. While 12 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to accurately identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, only 10 did (p=0.16), indicating participants in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a hard cider back-sweetened with table sugar from one back-sweetened with apple juice.
My Impressions: Out of the 5 semi-blind triangle tests I attempted, I correctly identified the unique sample 4 times. I perceived the cider back-sweetened with table sugar as being a bit more crisp and clean, while the one back-sweetened with juice had a slightly more complex apple flavor. While I loved both of these ciders, if forced to choose a preferred one, I’d go with the one back-sweetened with apple juice.
| DISCUSSION |
There’s evidence that humans have been fermenting apple juice into hard cider for thousands of years, and for good reason – it’s a delicious way to catch a buzz! One issue some have with hard cider is that it can end up being a bit too dry, the solution to which is back-sweetening, which is often done with additional juice, though some prefer using other sugars. Interestingly, tasters in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a hard cider back-sweetened with table sugar from one back-sweetened with apple juice.
In considering explanations for this result, it seems possible the relatively small amount of juice and sugar added for back-sweetening simply wasn’t enough to have much of a perceptible impact. Then again, while tasters were unable to consistently tell these ciders apart, I could, though they were certainly far more similar than different.
Over the years, I’ve made many batches of cider, nearly all of which were back-sweetened with additional apple juice. Perhaps my ability to tell these apart was a function of my familiarity with this drink, or maybe I just got lucky. Either way, given my positive experience with using juice, and the fact it’s not much more expensive than table sugar, I’ll be sticking with that approach for future batches.
If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!
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2 thoughts on “exBEERiment | Hard Cider: Table Sugar vs. Apple Juice For Back-Sweetening”
I’ve never thought of using table sugar. Fun experiment and good to hear that adding juice is probably better. I always use apple juice concentrate to back sweeten, usually 3 cans for 5 gallons. This adds a good amount of sweetness w/o diluting the alcohol as much as simply adding juice. That might make it sweeter than the cider in this experiment would be so you might use 1 or 2 cans.
Wow, I must like my cider sweet! I use about a half-gallon of fresh juice to backsweeten a 2.25ish gallon batch. It certainly makes a big difference in my experience if you’re shooting for that draft-style cider. But obviously I’m using a lot more juice as a percentage of my total batch than you did in the xBMT.
I also use canned apple juice concentrate instead of sugar to boost the ABV of my initial ferment. I’m not 100% convinced that this step makes a detectable difference, but I only make one batch of hard cider a year so I might as well go all-in.