Camden Tabs and Cold Crashing to keep apple sugars

Hi there!

I have not brewed cider for many years and in the past when I did it was very crude (store bought juice, slurry, or liquid yeast, yes this is crude after doing AG beer).

Going to be doing some batches of cider here and have a few questions that I have not found any answers to (yes, I use search and google quite well).

When using Kirkland Juice or Treetop is there any real need to use camden tablets as these are juices are predominantly bug free already?

What are some good FGs to cold crash at using either one of these types of juices? I am under the assumption (like beer) that if you cold crash your cider it will leave sugars intact, imparting more mouth feel and a sweeter flavor (more like apples). Am I correct in this?

thepathlesstaken said:

When using Kirkland Juice or Treetop is there any real need to use camden tablets as these are juices are predominantly bug free already?

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They can be helpful at racking to prevent oxidation and infections at that point and beyond, but you are correct that when using shelf stable juice they're not really needed at the beginning.

thepathlesstaken said:

What are some good FGs to cold crash at using either one of these types of juices? I am under the assumption (like beer) that if you cold crash your cider it will leave sugars intact, imparting more mouth feel and a sweeter flavor (more like apples). Am I correct in this?

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You pretty much got it!

Here's how I approximately beak things down:
1.000-1.006 Dry
1.006- 1.016 Semi-dry to semi-sweet
1.016 < Sweet