Sugar and Sweetening Cider

[Shaw237]

I am almost two months into making my first batch of cider. I am not planning on back-sweetening it, but have tried other people's homemade cider before and understand they do not have the same sweetness as store bought. I would like to 'allow' as much sweetness as possible.
I am planning on adding about 3.6 oz of corn sugar before bottling to carbonate. Is there a way that I could leave the bottles in room temperature for a period (to allow some of the sugar to be eaten) then switch to a colder environment (to temporarily freeze the yeast and leave some of the sugar for cider sweetening)? I was thinking a couple days at 68F and then throwing the bottles in the basement. Any suggestion is appreciated.

 

[smh]

It gets a bit complicated. Priming the bottles as you suggest works just fine if you calculate precisely the correct amount of sugar. Otherwise you run the risk of over carbing and bombs. You might consider unfermentables or even pasteurizing. There's a great sticky on the latter. You may also wish to read this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f32/pls-read-i-want-sweet-carbonated-cider-282841/

 

[dinnerstick]

it's not that complicated; if you have residual sugar, the yeast will eat it unless it is too cold for them or they somehow become dead. you said 3.6 oz, translated into a logical and nearly-ubiquitously accepted measuring system is about 100 g, but added to how much cider, with what gravity? you said 'freeze' the yeast, how cold is your basement?? even ale and champagne yeasts are pretty hungry at 'normal' cellar temps of 14-15 degrees C. so if that's the case and your sugar addition gives much more than the 2-3 gravity points typically used up to carbonate, then you are at high risk of bombs or at the very least gushers

 

[Shaw237]

I was using a priming calculator 5g at 65-75 temperature.
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html
It says to use 3.6 oz. I was thinking of using a little less to really avoid bottle bombs. So this is a failed idea? How cold does it take to freeze ale yeast?

 

[smh]

I just meant it's more complicated than the original post suggested.

If you use less, or even that amount of dextrose, you'll likely end up with dry carbonated cider. If you use more to end up with sweet cider there is a RISK of bombs/gushers. There's no way around this risk. Yeast will slow down substantially at refrigerator temperatures, but they still don't stop. Eventually, you'll carb beyond what the bottles can hold.

If you really want sweet carbed cider you'll either have to use unfermentables along with your priming sugar OR pasteurize after adding enough sugar to get desired sweetness and allowing it to carb OR cold crash, which some people find is variable. These are really the most viable options.

See that thread I mentioned above and the stickies of the forum.

 

[divi2323]

If you really want sweet carbed cider you'll either have to use unfermentables along with your priming sugar OR pasteurize after adding enough sugar to get desired sweetness and allowing it to carb OR cold crash, which some people find is variable. These are really the most viable options.

There is a third way... Ferment to dryness, add sorbate and sulfites then rack to a keg, backsweeten, and then force carbonate.

This is of course the most expensive way but if you're serious about home brewing then you've no doubt considered a keg setup at some point. Couple hundred bucks can get you started.