Adding dextrins to hard cider

[Chris_J]

I'm going to be making a cider pretty soon. I'm gonna use my old Mr Beer kit as a fermenter. But I want to make a sort of tea with sugar and christmassy spices then add it to the juice and add yeast. I know this is going to result in a really thin and dry cider so I'm thinking of adding malto dextrin to get a bit of body. Would that work? On the same note, could I just steep some carapils in water and add that mix to the cider? Or does carapils have a grainy flavour that wouldn't go well with the cider?

[DannyW]

I put 250g of malto dextrine in 5 gallons of root beer and it really seems to add some creaminess to the mouthfeel and makes the foam stick around more than on other sodas. It will not add much sweetness, so don't expect it to do much to help a bone dry cider.

You might have better luck adding one of those wine stabilizer things (metabisufite?) and then sweetening with juice. You could also just sweeten in the glass with juice, then you could tailor servings to the drinker's preference.

[Chris_J]

I actually did sweeten the cider in the glass last time I made a batch. You think it would even be worth it to add 250g of malto dextrin?

[satansbrewery]

I know this is going to result in a really thin and dry cider [...]

Only if it ferments all the way out. You can:

• use a yeast that won't ferment all of the sugars
• filter the yeast out
• pasteurize it when it gets to the desired sweetness
• add non-fermentable sugars (e.g. lactose)
• add non-fermentable sweeteners (e.g. sucralose or aspartame)
• let it ferment out, then add sugar/spices before you serve it

From what I've read, metabisulfate won't stop a fermentation, it will only prevent a stopped fermentation from restarting. Also some people are allergic to sulfites (a true buzzkill).