Thanks so much Big Cat and tx-brewer.
I've been checking the bottles every day or so and last night I caught one 32 ouncer just in time, I think! I put it in the fridge last night so it wouldn't keep carbonating overnight.
I backsweetened it with fresh pressed cider and it was the bottle that got the most sediment from the bottom of the jug.
Do you think I should rack it off before I pasteurize it? There is a little sediment now in the bottom of the bottle that has settled overnight. Does it count as lees? Do you think it will affect the flavor if I leave it?
First of all keep in mind that I am very new to brewing and don't want to give any bad information, so take everything I saw with a grain of salt.
But my experience with the my first batch of cider (applejuice) I used 1118 yeast and added homemade caramel syrup and frozen concentrate to backsweeten. The caramel syrup wasn't totally distributed evenly, but even enough that I haven't noticed any difference. All the bottles are going to have some sediment in the bottom from the dead yeast used in carbing. If not careful when pouring and some of the sediment is poured into the glass you can taste some yeasty flavor, but its not too bad.
If its just one or two bottles, it might be worth it to rack off if there is a ton of sediment, but I personally woudn't. Not worth the time to sanitize everything, and you could think of not doing it as an experiment, but that is just me.
One further thing. I back sweetened and bottled mine and in less than 24 hours all the bottles were gushers and I lost about a third of the liquid. I had to open them all and let them settle then consolidated them into bottles to fill the bottles up. After this process I pasteurized them immediately.
Carbonation is there, and they taste great now, but I wish I would have waited a little longer after re bottling them as they are not quite as carbed as I would like. ( I guess I lost more carbonation after they all gushed than i expected.)
But I guess all this trial and error is part of the fun of it all isn't it. Let me know how they turn out.
Sorry about the long post that is probably not very helpful, and like I said in the beginning, take what I say with a grain of salt, I am just as new as you, if not newer.
I am mainly avoiding studying for a final, haha. well looks like I need to go do laundry that has been sitting for months and organize under the bathroom sink now too.....
good luck