Slow fermenting cider

Sorry if my english is not verry good.

Last thuesday I started my first batch of cider. I used 4,23 gallon (16 liters here in Canada) of fresh pressed apple juice, unpasteurized ,no additives and I added 0,5 kg of dextrose (1,1 lbs). The apple juice had a gravity of 1.050 so with the sugar it was around 1.062. I mixed everything togheter , added a pack of US-05 yeast then puted my fermenter in my fermentation unit. I setted the temperature controller at 17C (63F) and let it there until today.
I want my cider to be kinda sweet so today, after 4-5 days of fermentation, I took a little sample and checked the gravity (because I want to stop it around 1.015) and it was at 1.056. I only lost 0.006 points in all those days, I never maked cider before but I never had a beer fermenting as slow as that. Is it normal ? Should I had another pack of yeast in it ?

I tasted the sample and it was good, nice apple taste so I don't think there would be an infection in the juice. It's smells apple, caramel, butterschotch.

Thank you,
Alex

I forgot to mention that the juice is a bit carbonated at the moment. Theres a lot of bubbles in it and I felt the carbonation in my mouth when I tasted it. It strange because my fermenter is not sealed, it have an airlock on it.

Alex

It's only been four days, correct?

Relax. It probably took a little while for the yeast to start eating the sugar. I recently made a similar cider, and it took 3 weeks to go from 1.062 OG to 1.012 FG.

Here is a thread from a few weeks back where I was having the same anxiety as you. Almost the same thread title.

Same here, after two weeks with US05 I was at 1.020 from 1.065. Now at three weeks and still have a bubble here n there. Just give it time

Thank you for your reply. Next time I will search the forum deeper to be sure to not posting something that has already been discussed.

I will wait a couple of days, take a new gravity reading and tell you what is going on.

Thanks again,
Alex

Another question, is the buttescotch / caramel like smell normal when fermenting cider ? I know that in beer this off flavor is caused by diacetyl is it the same reason my cider is smelling like that ?

It's really not supposed to taste good while it's fermenting. Mine tastes terrible for at least the first month or so.

Well I assume that if mine taste good it's not a bad thing

Another question again, I used fresh apple juice not filtered (the brown apple juice), is it gonna clarify by itself or I will need to filter it to get a clear yellow color ? If I need to filter it, what type of filter do I need to use to get a crystal clear color ? I have a 0.5 micron that I use for my pilsners, would it be ok ?

Alex

In the future, a good way to clarify better is to add pectic enzyme before pitching the yeast. Also, I believe the haze should age out eventually.

As far as running though a filter, I don't have any experience there.