Sugar in cider

I've got a question about the initial sugar added to my cider mix. I tried searching, but it didn't quite answer my questions, so I'll try to be clear. This is my first batch of cider.

I picked up five gallons of unpasturized cider from a local orchard thru my local brew shop and I just set it up in my 6.5gal plastic bucket setup with the airlock on it. I added the yeast this evening. My initial hydrometer reading was 1.050.

Here's my questions: What exactly does the added sugar do? I know it increases possible alcohol content, but how much does it affect taste? Can I still add sugar tomorrow if I desire? What is the difference between this corn sugar and regular table sugar, or 10x sugar, or sugar in the raw? Anything else I need to be concerned about at this point in the game?

Thanks ahead of time from a rookie-

joshv98xj said:

What exactly does the added sugar do?

Click to expand...

It helps make it taste bad. There's no reason to add it unless you're looking for a cheap buzz.

'Real' cider doesn't have added sugar unless there's not enough natural sugar to get a decent OG. Your 1.050 is excellent.

What's the approximate ABV of cider without any sugar added?

4-5% depending how dry it ferments

The only extra I ever added to a cider was in the form of honey.
I only put in a small amount to get the O.G. up a little.

Corn sugar is dextrose, table sugar is sucrose (the others you named are "brands" of table sugar). Corn sugar will raise your ABV and/or carbonate without changing the flavor. Table sugar will raise the ABV and add a "cidery" flavor. For cider that isn't that isn't a problem. As you raise tha ABV, you'll need to increase the aging time. Add a pound per gallon and you will need 6-8 months.

You can add the sugar tomorrow, but I would wait 4-5 days to let the yeast work through the sugars in the cider.

Can't you just boil the sucrose in a little water and citric acid to change it to invert sugar (breaks down large molecules into tiny ones, leaving little unfermented) instead of buying expensive corn sugar?

I think for the most part ciders don't need sugar. Some people like their cider sweeter. So to get rid of the sour pucker they add sugar but I think this just raises the alcohol level. I read in one of my brewing books you can add frozen apple concentrate to sweeten the cider.

Schlenkerla said:

I think for the most part ciders don't need sugar. Some people like their cider sweeter. So to get rid of the sour pucker they add sugar but I think this just raises the alcohol level. I read in one of my brewing books you can add frozen apple concentrate to sweeten the cider.

Click to expand...

Yea I've heard of people using the apple concentrate to sweeten cider too, but it still raises ABV if the cider is still fermenting, that is if u don't just add it afterwards to back sweeten and u r going to force carbonate or have it still.