Well that's interesting. So I guess most commercial ciders have no added sugar to them prior to fermentation? I say that because the SG on Martinelli's apple juice is about 1.062, which translates into an alcohol potential of about 8%. Right? Or, are the commercial cider makers boosting the sugar and then interrupting the fermentation?I believe that in the US, higher taxes kick in when the ABV goes above 7%, so most ciders you see are at 6.9% ABV or lower. However, I've seen some higher than that. According to the Federal government anything above 8.5% can't be labeled as cider.
I've seen french ciders that are 4%.