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Wouldn't potassium sorbate be a much simpler solution since you have the ability to force carb? I assume if you have a keggle and a PID, you have the ability to carb... Or is your method to keep from adding additional chems? EDIT:...I realized what I wrote after I hit save...I assume you are...

If you were at a specific gravity around 1.000 and didn't prime the cider for carbonation, it will be flat. There aren't any sugars left for the yeast to produce the CO2 needed. Did you add juice or priming sugar to the batch before bottling? What was your final gravity reading? That will...

Congrats. I've never had one ferment that vigorously. What temp are you fermenting at?

Demerara adds a nice flavor. I don't think it adds as much caramel character as dark brown sugar, but I would use it before I would use White Table Sugar.

If it's store bought, I'd say there's a 99% chance it's been pasteurized. Here in Georgia even the apple orchards flash pasteurize the juice before selling it. I've always assumed it was a state or federal law. (but I would be wrong) Even it it's not pasteurized, if it's in a shelf-stable...

Yep. you will be fine. Just prime as normal and bottle.

If you don't reach terminal gravity in your brew, be it cider or beer, you will most likely get bottle bombs. There's more discussion about bombs in cider because people are wanting to retain sweetness in the final product. Since fruit must contains mostly simple sugars the yeast eats...

I agree with SEAbrewer. If they included preservatives and didn't list them the FDA would jump on that pretty quickly. They would have to be listed. S04 is a very active ale yeast and 72º should be more than warm enough to kick things off. I wish I had some advice for you, but a little more...

I've never heard of anyone else on this forum describe a musky/musty smell except myself. I thought maybe I was just imagining it. I only get these musky/musty aroma and flavors when I use white cane sugar to boost ABV. It still might be all in my mind, but I don't get it when I omit the white...

If you can find some granny smith juice it might contribute some complexity, but unfortunately most all "drinking" juice is going to be similar in the apples they put into them. The over the counter stuff is going to be sweet eating apples. You could always add some apples you juice yourself or...

If you could use a beer gun to bottle I bet it would work. If you are just pouring it in, you might end up with a semi-carb'd concoction. You could prime the cider to over-carb, but calculating that properly might prove difficult.

Did this form right after the bulk of active fermentation had occurred? If so, it might just be a yeast layer. It's hard to tell from the photo. Maybe just give it a shake and see if it mixes back in. If you are worried you could always rack from underneath into a clean vessel.

If you sorbate and backsweeten prior to bottling to make sure all activity is done, then you might be ok in those growlers. I'd dose it and backsweeten in a secondary vessel then bottle. Those screw caps also might let in some O2 over time and you could get some oxidation. Probably best to...

Just curious, how many packs of Nottingham did you pitch? Did you use table sugar to bring it up to 1.070? What was the OG of the plain juice? It sounds like a stressed yeast to me, but maybe someone has a different theory. I've never experienced a sulfur taste in my ciders before. I've gotten...

Just let it ride until the free carboy opens up. I wouldn't rack it out and then back to the same carboy for the reasons you stated. (contamination/oxidation) A couple of extra weeks shouldn't be an issue. 3 brews at a time is a nice pipeline. I'd go the 4th carboy route and just ask for...

I assume you are referring to Cinnamon Schnapps? I think this sounds like a great way to add a cinnamon kick to a cider, if you like the taste of schnapps. Personally, I would still add it to my glass instead of the whole batch in case you get tired of the flavor at some point and just want an...

I thought you were using a glass carboy for secondary and removing the pits might prove difficult through the small neck. Since you are using a bucket it's no problem. You might also consider putting the fruit in a mesh bag. You could give it a squeeze every few days (per Jack Keller's mango...

If it were mine, I'd try to figure out a way to juice them. I bet after the freezer, they will probably just turn to mush and probably make clearing in secondary that much more difficult. If a clear cider isn't a big deal, just dump them in. Hopefully they will settle out and you can rack from...

You can reduce the sweetness by letting it ferment dry. A lot of cider kits include a sugar substitute sweetener for finishing. That sweetener won't ferment so it leaves the residual sweetness. If you add real sugar to the kit in the primary, the yeast will eat it all and provide more alcohol...

Not exactly. At least not like any you would find in a local pub. Don't get me wrong, I've made some nice Graf Ciders with varying amounts of wort to apple juice, but it's a beast all to it's own. I think the malt enhances the cider component and doesn't just make it taste like half beer, half...