Best way to stop fermentation for backsweetening?

I am brewing a hard cider. I want to backsweeten when it hits my desired %ABV. How do I backsweeten it without having the yeast breakdown the sugar. I want a sweet carbonated hard cider.

Are you planning on kegging it?

If you are, then it's easy. Ferment it out as dry as it'll go. Backsweet it with whatever you want, and then keg it and keep it cold. It won't ferment out anymore, especially if you let it clear out nicely and do a good racking job.

If you are bottling it, then you will need to ferment it out, back sweeten it, and figure out what you want in volumes of co2 for carbonation. You can simply over sweeten it, and allow the yeast to eat that, and get the carbonation you want. You'll have to try them periodically until you are happy. Once happy.....

From there, you have a couple.. well, mainly 2 options.. Pasteurize them, or keep them ALL cold, ALL the time.

Pasteurizing is probably the best bet, but it can also be a bit of work as well.

jkbrewski said:

I am brewing a hard cider. I want to backsweeten when it hits my desired %ABV. How do I backsweeten it without having the yeast breakdown the sugar. I want a sweet carbonated hard cider.

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Here's everything that comes to mind. Plenty of info out there on these techniques so I won't go into detail.

No keg required:
- non-fermentable sweetener (sucralose, stevia, etc)
- pasteurize (see sticky post on this forum)
- store in fridge to stop fermentation
- backsweeten in the glass (stir in a spoon of simple syrup/honey/apple juice concentrate)

Keg required to force carbonate:
- potassium sorbate
- sterile filtration
- centrifuge (used by commercial breweries)