Brewing Cider with Agave

[YeastieBoi13]

Just started a new cider brew with half gallon pineapple juice, half gallon mango juice, about a pound of agave nectar and some red star yeast. Original gravity reading was about 1.080. I threw it all in just last night and it was bubbling within an hour, going like crazy now. I'm still very new to the brewing process but have heard that agave takes a little longer to ferment. I have a few questions for the more experienced brewers...
1. I've read that most brewers prefer to ferment their cider to about 1.00 gravity reading but was wondering if racking it earlier might keep some sweetness to the cider and if so, about how long would an agave cider take to ferment compared to regular sugar?
2. I've also heard that you should add flavors during secondary fermentation and am wondering how much sugar or honey or agave is appropriate to add without having to worry about over-carbonation if I wanted an A) decently carbonated cider and B) a sweeter or not overly dry cider?
High alcohol content is not a high priority for this brew as I'm just focused on making something that tastes good and can share with my friends and family.
I was just curious if there is some advice some of the more experienced brewers could share with me.
Appreciate any help, thanks!

 

[YeastieBoi13]

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[JimRausch]

Welcome!
You say you don't necessarily want a high alcohol brew (hard to call it a cider since there's no apple in it) but with a starting OG of 1.080, you'll wind up with a 8-9%ABV, somewhat depending on what yeast you pitched. Once yeast start fermenting, it's difficult to get them to stop, so it's much easier to start with a lower OG if you want a lower ABV. There are ways to do it (cold crashing+adding chemicals or filtering) and you have a couple days to do the research. Otherwise, you are going to have to let it go to completion (and this is actually the recommended route) and then stabilize and backsweeten, maybe diluting with more juice to get the ABV down where you want it. If you want it somewhat sweet and carbonated, then you'll have to either keg, or bottle; testing the carbonation and pasteurize before bottles start to blow. It can be done, but I think you will need to do some more reading. The good news- it's all on this part of the forum. Good luck!

 

[JimRausch]

I've used agave syrup in limited amounts, basically substituting it for honey. I can't say anything about any differences it's fermentation might have.

 

[papz]

Save yourself the headache and get into kegging now.
Force carb your beverage whilst it is sweet.
Look for a yeast that is known for lower attenuation such as WL-02 or US-05
Best of luck.

 

[MarkKF]

I've used agave syrup in limited amounts, basically substituting it for honey. I can't say anything about any differences it's fermentation might have.

Ever made a cyzer like agave+cider?

 

[JimRausch]

Ever made a cyzer like agave+cider?

Nope. With the major exception of my graf I prefer my ciders to start with just fresh apple cider from a local orchard-----when I can find it!