Looking for a simple cider recipe using storebought ingredients

Apple cider is expensive here in Hawaii, ie apple juice is cheaper. I'd like to use both but more juice to save. Also I have no problem adding sugar to up the alcohol level.

I'd like this to be semi-dry
Potent
Carbonated

Inputs?

most people on here just use regular store bought apple juice, so that should be no problem. The problem comes up when you want semi-dry and carbonated. unless you have a keg setup, (or you don't mind using artificial sweetners) you are going to be stuck with either a sweeter, but still cider, or a dry and carbonated cider. Its tough without a keg to have a carbed cider that isn't dry.

on the bright side though, the potent part is really easy to achieve, just add sugar

Can I do something like boil the bottles after the desired carbonation is reached?

yes you can bottle it before you reach your desired FG and keep an eye on the carbonation levels and and soon as you reach the desired carbonation, you can run the bottles through a diswasher or heat pasturize them with the method of your choice. Doing it this was can be a bit risky if you don't monitor the levels of carbonation very closely and i would reccomend doing a good deal of research before you actually do it. I have never done this so i can't give any pointers, but it has been discussed a few times on the forum if you search around for it.

Do you have any simple recipes from the grocery store?

i don't know if you have a home brew shop around to get some good yeast, but if you want to go really basic just pitch a packet of yeast ( i use nottingham ) into a gallon, 3 gallons, 5 gallons, of store bought applejuice (no preservatives except adbsorbic acid) and let it ferment.

You could also the the apfelwein recipe. 5 gallons of juice, 2 lbs sugar, and montrachet wine yeast. Just watch the SG so it stays in the range you want it at.

These are the simplest ways to make a cider you could think of. You can also check the recipe section to see if anything in there catches your eye.

I have access to good yeast, I mail order it. Do you have a link for any recipes? I don't know when to boil, use campden tablets, ect.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f81/ theres the link to the cider recipe forum. Generally, unless you are using fresh pressed cider, you wont have to boil or use campden tablets at all, since store bought juice should be sanitized already. The last batch of basic cider i made, all i did was sanatize the carboy, airlock, and bung, poured the juice in and pitched the yeast. Cider is very basic in the "brewing" stage

The recipe in my pulldown, besides the yeast, can be bought in the store, and turns out off-dry somewhere around 1.002 or so, which for me is prefect.

The proper yeast for the job is really needed, if you can mail order a few packs of dry yeast, then look at the "Yeast Washing" sticky in the "Fermentation and Yeast" forum, you can keep going for quite some time, for possibly years if you figure it out right, saving and washing your cake, maybe longer if you do an acid wash to deter contaminants.

Here is a quick one I used.. Came out pretty good.
1 gallon 365 organic Apple cider (Whole foods store)
1 can Seneca apple juice concentrate
1 packet Nottingham ale yeast.

Mix juice and concentrate in a sterile 4L wine bottle. Pitch yeast. Cap with airlock.

Store in a cool, dry place.
Initial SG was 1.070

I like sweeter cider, so I stopped at 1.025. Should have stopped it at 1.030.

Rack and cold crash in fridge. Bottle and pasturize at 160F for 30 min.

Yummy, fast, cheap. 1 week from Store to Bottles...

Thanks

John