[cheba420]

My wife likes Wyder's Raspberry Cider. I'd like to make a batch of cider with that flavor profile in mind. Sweet, berry flavor, clear...tart.
I'm starting with 5 Gallons of apple cider from the store. Its 100% pressed apple cider. No preservatives. I'll be using White Labs cider yeast that I have going in a starter.

I plan in racking to secondary after two weeks and then letting it go til its done. Heres where my question comes in. How do I get the best raspberry flavor in? I plan to add some sorbate to kill off the ferm and then racking the cider on top of the puree. How long should it sit? Is this the best process? I was told that If I add the fruit in during fermentation, the yeast would convert all of the fruit sugars and the fruit flavor would be lost. Obviously, at the end, I'll also have to back sweeten a bit. Frozen concentrate?

Any tips on this one are greatly appreciated.

[cheba420]

Update:
Its been two weeks. I added 3/4 tsp of sorbate to my 2.5 gallons of cider to stop fermentation. FG got down to 1.004 from 1.058. Could have squeezed a few more points out I think but I intend to back sweeten anyway and 7% is going to be just fine!

I strained the juice from 30 oz of frozen raspberries and placed the juice into secondary and then racked the cider on top of it. After a few hours, I noticed that fermentation has picked back up again. I was under the impression that the sorbate would stop the fermentation. I want the raspberry flavor to remain and not ferment out. Should I add some more sorbate or let it ride? If so, how much?

Any help is appreciated.

[cheba420]

Turned out pretty good. I know everyone says to wait on ciders but this one tastes pretty good. Sweet, Tart and 7%!

[beerrat]

Sounds like a winner.  I'm anxious to try this recipe.  I've made cysers - honey and cider combinations, but no straight cider with fruit. 

I've  also seen fermentations continue after sorbate, but I'm often stingy with the sorbate.  You have to wait a few days and mb sure to mix the sorbate in.

[cheba420]

The Raspberries didnt bring a whole lot of flavor. Some but not enough to overpower the apple. However, the color that it brings is awesome. Its bright pink and brilliant! After pacing ourselves for the last two weeks, we killed the keg last night. This is a great cider that I will make again and again. In larger batches from now on! I did notice that over the last couple of days, the flavors did mellow quite a bit and it was just excellent. I'll be making up another batch of it this weekend and will let this one sit in the keg for a month before we tap it. Cant wait!!!!