To prime, or not to prime?

[RichardFootman]

So this may be a dumb, and asked before question, but I am new to all this so please bear with me.

I am making an apple cider from freshly squeezed apples, it has been in my primary for 12 days, I back sweetened with some fresh apple juice, and left if for 2more days, it's at a point now where I'm happy, and it taste real good. I have chosen to cold crash it to get a clearer cider and to "stop" fermentation, so it's currently in the fridge doing that. But here is my question: as I have not let the fermentation process end naturally, do I still need to add priming sugar to carbonate? Or will the process start up naturally again from the remaining yeast/sugar that didn't drop out during child crashing? Any other tips, tricks or advice will be appreciated.

 

[ncbrewer]

I don't make cider, but since you haven't gotten any responses I'll give it a try.

I back sweetened with some fresh apple juice, and left if for 2more days, it's at a point now where I'm happy, and it taste real good. I have chosen to cold crash it to get a clearer cider and to "stop" fermentation, so it's currently in the fridge doing that.

Back sweetening with time left in the fermenter won't really sweeten - that sugar will ferment out.

Cold crashing won't totally stop fermentation - just slow it way down. This could cause the bottles to explode when all the sugar ferments.

as I have not let the fermentation process end naturally, do I still need to add priming sugar to carbonate? Or will the process start up naturally again from the remaining yeast/sugar that didn't drop out during child crashing?

The juice that you added to back-sweeten has partly fermented, but you don't know how much is left. It would be dangerous to bottle even without adding priming sugar. I think I would let it warm back up and ferment out naturally. And I would check gravity when you think it's finished. Check twice, three days apart, to be sure it's stable. And I would consider this a little questionable as far as the fermentation, so I believe I would just skip the carbonation just in case fermentation re-starts in the bottles. "Still" cider is good, too.

I hope this helps.

 

[RichardFootman]

Thanks for the advice, I have already stopped the cold crashing and I am letting the fermentation end, I will do a plastic test bottle for a few days to try and get an idea on carbonation level. Appreciate the response

 

[Gnomebrewer]

You can bottle now if the flavour's where you want it, and pasteurise the bottles when the carbonation is good. There's a thread (I think it's a sticky) on easy stove-top pasteurising of bottled cider. Put a couple in plastic to gauge when carbonation is where you want it. Otherwise, the only other ways to get sweetened, carbonated cider in bottles is to use artificial or non-fermentable sugars, or force-carbonate then bottle from keg (after chemical or physical halting of fermentation).

 

[Gnomebrewer]

Also, you're better off putting cider questions in the cider forum, rather than the General beer homebrew forum. You'll get more replies from people with more experience.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forums/cider-forum.32/