I've played around with different cider recipes/processes for a couple of years but now I'm interested in bulk pasteurization. My plan for the current 5 gallons i've got going was to check the gravity when fermentaion was near complete, I like it around 1.014 or so. Once I reached that level, I was going to bottle it and then stovetop pasteurize it in the bottles. I'm now considering letting it ferment out completely, backsweeten with more juice, and then rack into my brewpot to bulk pasteurize on the stove. My question is whether or not I would be better off stopping it at 1.014 and then pasteurize and bottle or let it ferment out, backsweeten with more juice, and then bulk pasteurize? I've been stopping my ciders at the desired level, cold crashing, and kegging, so this is new territory for me. I'm using store bought juice and US-04 and I want it still so I'm not concerned with carbonation.
