My unique cider technique?

Ok, so I've made 12 - one gallon cider batches now and have read the forums for couple months here and i'd like to know what you guys think about my way of making cider.

1. I start with 1 gal Kirkland juice and add 3/4 cup sugar which turns out OG of 1062/1064 or %8.1/8.3 or so...

2. Add 1 tsp Nutrient and 1/2 tsp Petic enzyme and pitch whichever yeast I'm using. So far I've stayed with Safale US-04 and US-05.
(but I'm currently trying Lallemand BRY-97 American west coast yeast and White Labs English Cider yeast.) And let ferment in my closet.

3. I do a SG reading on day 4 or 5 and check to see how far its gone in %, but i usually only go to day 5 or 6 because that gets me around %5 or %6 ABV and at this point there is a lot of carbonation and i like the taste and all the carbs.

4. So i rack it into 750ml swing top bottles and pasteurize and let it sit for a couple days and drink whenever.

So my question is that I'm not sure if this is normal or not? Am I stopping it too early or should i let it age more? Should i rack it twice? Am i drinking cider that's too young?
I really like the finish product and my wife's aunt who visits England every year says she loves it too. I'm just not sure if this is the normal cider experience or not.

Any comments or critiques would be appreciated. Thank you

P.S. I live in Northern California if you were curious.

Well, that isn't the most common methodology. Halting the fermentation before it completes rather then fermenting dry and back sweetening. It isn't unique though. For the ABV targets you are looking at, it's perfectly fine. If you want to make some cider that has a higher ABV target then I would allow it to age more then you are after pasteurization. Otherwise the "new" alcohol flavor tends to mask the apple flavor. I have found that ciders in the 14-16+% range do best with 6-8 months, or more, conditioning time.

EDIT: If you want to try a different flavor profile. Try omitting the sugar, fermenting dry, then adding 1/2-1lb of fruit to a 2 gallon food grade bucket with the cider. Leave it on the fruit for about 2 weeks, then back sweeten and bottle pasteurize. Lots of options with a fairly subtle flavor like apple as a base.

If you like it, do it...if you don't like it, than search for something else.

Sounds like you like it, so keep it up.

Yep if you like it why change because someone else does it different I make Skeeter Pee no where near the way everyone else does and it comes out great why change what works just because someone doesn't like it. If I were to change my method for my LD (my Skeeter Pee name) my wife and her friends would be very upset. Go with what works for you thats the fun of homebrewing

Well the biggest reason i stop fermentation is because i like a lot of carbonation and that seems to be the best way to get it without having to bottle prime, use or CO2. I really only want ABV around %5/6 and so the method seems to work well for that.
It seems like a lot of people let it ferment out to a high % like 8-14? I might try a %14 or so with some champagne yeast but i'll need to figure out the back sweetening and priming time. My biggest worry is bottle bombs, but i guess if its %14 i wouldn't need the carbonation and it would be more like apple wine.

So my next question is what is the average ABV for ciders that people are making here?

Mine is 14-15%ish, and I prime with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per 12 oz. bottle or a heaping teaspoon per 750mL bottle...that's for a dry, champagne like cider. If you want it sweet and pasturize at that strength, I'd say try 3 teaspoons, and pasturize when they're carbed to you liking.

Recipe starts with 1 lb. sugar per gallon of juice...should have an OG of around 1.092-098

If it makes you happy, keep it up!

gabe713 said:

Well the biggest reason i stop fermentation is because i like a lot of carbonation and that seems to be the best way to get it without having to bottle prime, use or CO2. I really only want ABV around %5/6 and so the method seems to work well for that.
It seems like a lot of people let it ferment out to a high % like 8-14? I might try a %14 or so with some champagne yeast but i'll need to figure out the back sweetening and priming time. My biggest worry is bottle bombs, but i guess if its %14 i wouldn't need the carbonation and it would be more like apple wine.

So my next question is what is the average ABV for ciders that people are making here?

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My cider is usually pretty strong stuff. 12-16%. If you want a dry cider, then just use a priming sugar calculator. For sweet cider, back sweeten before you bottle. Bottle mainly in glass, with a couple PET tester bottles. Once the PET bottles are hard to the touch, bottle pasteurize the rest. You really don't lose much sweetness if you are shooting for normal co2 volumes.

Is your 12-16% cider still? No carbonation? Or do you prime?
I have a English cider yeast going right now, I think i'll let some of it ferment out for 2 weeks and back sweeten and see how it turns out. I think i could get used to some %14 cider

gabe713 said:

Is your 12-16% cider still? No carbonation? Or do you prime?
I have a English cider yeast going right now, I think i'll let some of it ferment out for 2 weeks and back sweeten and see how it turns out. I think i could get used to some %14 cider

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Yeah. I usually bottle still and dry. If I want to sweeten it later I keep a bottle of simple syrup around. It's good for mix drinks too. I also make a spiced apple syrup that is perfect for sweetening cider.

I go strong and do both kinds, sparkling and still. It all depends on what I'm brewing. I like a dry sparkling around 14%, I also do still ciders if I'm adding fresh fruit to the brew, or if I go so strong it's not possible to carbonate it. I keep my cysers still, I did a cinnamonn clove cyser that was still and was one of my wife's favorites...thus making it one of my favorites....

Sewer_Urchen said:

I go strong and do both kinds, sparkling and still. It all depends on what I'm brewing. I like a dry sparkling around 14%, I also do still ciders if I'm adding fresh fruit to the brew, or if I go so strong it's not possible to carbonate it. I keep my cysers still, I did a cinnamonn clove cyser that was still and was one of my wife's favorites...thus making it one of my favorites....

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SWMBO!!! Lol
I bought some local cider to make a three gallon batch. It's like 5$ a gallon, so I don't use it often. I wanted to make some "special" with it and have it drinkable by fall. Any suggestions?

Leadgolem said:

Yeah. I usually bottle still and dry. If I want to sweeten it later I keep a bottle of simple syrup around. It's good for mix drinks too. I also make a spiced apple syrup that is perfect for sweetening cider.

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So now I MUST have your apple syrup recipe and I need to find some different kinds of AJ around Sacramento. Costco brand is %4.50 per gallon, but more variety would be nice. Also I need to find some still cider for sale and try it. I don't think I've tried that yet.

gabe713 said:

So now I MUST have your apple syrup recipe and I need to find some different kinds of AJ around Sacramento. Costco brand is %4.50 per gallon, but more variety would be nice. Also I need to find some still cider for sale and try it. I don't think I've tried that yet.

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I spike my juice with table sugar. Not good if you want to drink it fresh, but give it 6+ months to mellow and it's great.

I've actually already posted my apple pie syrup recipe. It isn't ground breaking, and it makes around 3 gallons so you might want to scale it down.