New guy, new cider, questions

[sesamechicken]

Hiya,
I'm a brewing/fermentation rookie, although I've read quite a bit on here and various other outlets. My first real embark into creating something started on Saturday when I came home with 2 1-gallon jugs of Whole Foods unfiltered AJ. I'm fortunate enough to have a LHB store, so I have airlocks, star san, etc and a wide selection of yeast and other materials.

Anywho, this juice naturally read 1.054, so for the first jug I simply added half a pack of Nottingham yeast and set the bubbler. I took the first reading this evening and it was at 1.024. A taste revealed a slightly yeasty, slightly sour cider with definite hints of alcohol. It still had a surprising amount of the original apple flavor. I didn't find it bad at all, and I know that if it were cold and carbonated, it would be pretty darn tasty. I will also add that since I screwed with it, the airlock isn't nearly as busy as it was beforehand.

I'd like to bottle this tomorrow before it runs too dry for my wife, so for this first batch I plan on using plastic bottles. Can I bottle with 1/8 c dextrose, keep an eye on the firmness of the bottles, then throw 'em in the fridge when I'm comfortable with the carb level? I don't anticipate them lasting long, but don't want to find the inside of my refrigerator covered in cider, either. Am I correct that the cold will halt fermentation indefinitely? (as long as they stay cold, of course). My next batches after this will be capped in beer bottles and I'd be curious to know if the cold will suffice instead of pasteurization, as well.

I decided to go in the opposite direction with the second jug and added 2.5 cups of dextrose to bring the OG up to 1.086. I created a small starter of half a packet of Safbrew WB-06 with some of the AJ and pitched after it was clear that the yeast were happy. This thing has been bubbling away and I'm feeling like it's too soon to mess with it. I'd be appreciative to hear what should be done with this one in the end (cider, wine?).

Finally, are you guys using the full sized hydrometer for these smaller 1 gal batches? My local shop has mini hydrometers that are about 4" long for $2. I was thinking it might make more sense to use one of these to require less sample from the already conservative size of the batch. My hydrometer is nearly as long/tall as the jug I'm fermenting in.

The last question (for now) is what would you do with a 1 gal glass jug and a fresh vial of White Labs WLP013?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[sesamechicken]

UPDATE
Bottled the first batch (no added sugar) about 4 days after it was started. OG was 1.054 and SG when bottled was 1.024. Cider is on the sweeter side, about 3.9% abv, and continued to ferment in the bottles. I added no priming sugar. After sitting overnight, the bottles went to the fridge. Highly carbonated. This batch was definitely rushed.

Second batch continues to site in primary. I haven't taken a reading since right before pitching the yeast. Bought a mini hydrometer yesterday, so getting data on small batches should be a little easier.

 

[TexasWine]

Just now seeing this post. Sorry I didn't chime in sooner, but yeah that first batch was rushed. There's no guarantee that the cold will stop fermentation indefinitely. It will slow fermentation down, but I have read of cases where people have put still bottles in the fridge only to open them weeks/months later and they're carbonated.

If you're going to drink it fast it shouldn't be a problem.

For the smaller hydrometer, I've never seen one but my guess is that it either has a smaller range that it can read or it is less accurate than your tall hydrometer.

For the second batch I would let it run dry. Then you can back sweeten and use sorbate/kmeta or pasteurize if you want to carb in the bottle.

 

[sesamechicken]

No worries! I think I just need to exercise patience. I'll refrain from readings until airlock activity has essentially stopped.

Today I'm making a 2 gallon batch of the Carmel apple recipe.