Okay Guys,
Just need a few opinions on this, my original goal in making cider was to produce sweet ciders, not necessarily with a high alcohol content, that can be ready to drink within 1-3 months. I am not worried about carbonation, so this is not a factor in what I am attempting to do.
My first couple of batches were made using wine yeast and added sugars, which goes completely against my original goal. These are now sitting on a shelf in secondary, and will be there for months to come (just an added bonus to all of this fun I suppose).
SO, I would like to get a concrete method down to use with most of my recipes where I can do a main fermentation, no added extra sugars (og around 1.050-60) using a low alcohol tolerant yeast, and add campden with pottasium sorbate going into secondary. Wait a few days for the sulfurs to release, add my sugars and let it age to taste.
For example, I currently have a blueberry/apple juice (50/50) combo that has just about completed primary fermentation I would like to try this method with.
When adding to secondary, do I simply just crush the campden and sorbate and mix in with the must, or do I need to mix it with water first? How long is a proper amount of time to wait after this addition to start putting more sugars in to age in the secondary?
More importantly, does aging the wort with the sugar actually have any affect? Or is it more viable to just simply add it right before bottling?
If anyone has tried anything close to this, or is willing to extend their knowledge on how this can positively/negatively affect the cider, please chime in!