Post Fermentation Question

[Mike_215]

So I am hoping to get some advice. I've done some searching online and called a home brew place but wasn't sure I am finding the information I was looking for, or at least maybe wasn't asking it correctly. In the attached picture I have two ciders. One 5 gallon that is about 2-3 weeks in (pasteurized fresh from orchard, Craft Series M02 Cider Yeast) and is done fermenting and the other is about 3 or 4 days in (fresh squeezed also, Nottingham Ale Yeast).

When it comes time to bottling, I was going to try to carbonate it using pre-measured tablets. I've read that you can back sweeten once the yeast is dead. If I want to carbonate it, am I correct that I cannot back sweeten since the yeast used to carbonate will continue to eat the sugar used to back sweeten also.

In short, do I have to choose between back sweetening or carbonating?

Also, I've seen on here that many of your ciders change color during the process. Both of mine started as really dark brown. Is there a certain type of yeast that is used to keep it dark?

Thank for any tips.

Mike

 

[Maylar]

Color is a function of the juice (or stuff you added).

Bottle conditioning and sweetening are mutually exclusive unless you engage in pasteurizing - see the sticky.

 

[Wovensummers]

You can backsweeten and carb if you use non-fermentable sugars for backsweetening along with fermentable sugars for the carb. My last batch, I added 1/2 tsp of Splenda to each bottle along with the raspberry syrup I used for flavor and carbing.

 

[bernardsmith]

All my hard ciders and apple wines are as light as white wines no matter how dark the pressed juice might be. I think what happens is that the color lightens as the oxidized fruit particles (the source of the dark brown color) drop out of suspension.

 

[Drewed]

I both backsweeten and bottle carbonate, but I monitor the pressure in the bottles closely and pasteurize them before they blow.