Took a reading on my batch of cider

[damdaman]

I started this one on the 15th, so this is day 9. The bubbles in the airlock have slowed to almost none so I took a reading.

OG was 1.073
SG today was 1.003

Sweet! Right in the target range I wanted. I tasted the sample and it's almost perfect. I have a couple questions about bottling though.

Here's the recipe I used:

3 gallons organic apple juice
1.5 pounds brown cane sugar
1 packet red star champagne yeast

So my question is the cider still tasted a LITTLE bit sweeter than I had hoped. Should I let it ferment a little longer? Also how do I know when it has fermented enough that there is not enough sugar left to create exploding bottles? Can the SG go below 1.000 since I added a lot of sugar for a 3 gallon batch? Do you normally just let it ferment out and then backsweeten if you want some sweetness, or is it ok to guess on the sugar level and bottle anyway?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ByCandleLightWinery]

Yes, the SG can drop below 1 to something like .99. You can always let it ferment a little longer, but you might get it off the lees if you do so that they don't cause off flavors. At this point, you could chemical it and bottle it without much worries of exploding, but if you do back sweeten, you need to chemical it to make sure it doesn't start fermenting again. Cider is a hard one to stop. Really, you are in a good position to do what ever you want with it to suit your taste, so let it ferment a little longer, or bottle it, it is all up to you.

 

[damdaman]

Thanks, do you think that if I bottled it at this SG it would still carbonate a little if I didn't add any sugar?

 

[ByCandleLightWinery]

I don't really think it would. You might read this website if you have questions: http://www.cider.org.uk/part4.htm

 

[damdaman]

Thanks, that's helpful. Yes it looks a little low on the SG to carbonate, so maybe I'll add a little bit of sugar and let it bottle condition for a week or so.

 

[damdaman]

I ended up adding a small amount of sugar and bottling. Hoping that I get no exploding bottles but decent carbonation.

Also stole about half a gallon to drink immediately. It's good!