2.5 volumes is a good starting point. That’s about the carb level for an American IPA, for comparison. I like upwards of 2.7-3.5 volumes, the higher you go the more “prickly” it feels on the tongue, and it frees more of the aromatics in the cider. The increased carbonic acid can also brighten it somewhat. But it’s all personal preference, and based on the limitations of the bottle. Maybe try it at 2.5 volumes, and next time you can adjust upwards or downwards. If you go over 3 or so volumes of CO2, you’re going to want to go to a heavier bottle.
Or save those champagne bottles and carb it to 5 volumes if you really want it to get exciting!
A good deal of the flavor that people associate with good champagne (not the cheap stuff) is caused by the slow breakdown of the yeast in the bottle. So yes, cider can get that flavor, you just have to age it in the bottle for several years. Look up “method champagne” or “method traditional” for making sparkling wines. I’ve done the same thing with cider. It comes out great, but is a long process and a lot of work.
Update: 32 bottles of sweetened apple wine/cider back from .994 or .996 (had trouble getting a reading with my new wine thief :mrgreen:
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Update
When my plastic bottle filled out I began sampling capped bottles. My kitchen temp was cool, it took 10 days to carb where I wanted it. I still may have stopped a bit early, but didn’t want to take a chance. I pre-warmed all the bottles in a tote with hot tap water. Then I heat pasteurized 7 bottles at a time in my stock pot - 190* water, off the burner, bottles in, washcloth on the bottom of the pot to keep the bottles off the bottom, lid on, 10 minutes. I did wear safety glasses 
. Removed with tongs and oven mitt, placed on a towel on the counter to cool. The water temp after 10 minutes with the bottles in was about 160* each time. I put a bath towel over them for the next couple days, now they’re in a sealed tote bin - just in case - but I didn’t have any caps blow or bottles break. So hopefully that worked.
The other two projects are airlocked in the basement.
Sounds like it worked ! Well done. :cheers:
The Granny Smith sourish sweet flavor is kind of description of the flavor of the cider I made ( my first). I lost track of your process, but is that one that you back sweetened. Mine I just keged at .002. I don’t think I would trust putting it in bottles but I just pull a jug off the keg when needed. It is tasty.
Yes, I put 2 tubes of concentrate into the 3 gallons that had gone to about .994. I forgot to take a gravity measurement after sweetening though. I think I’d have added a bit more if I’d have had another tube. I’m still a bit nervous not knowing for sure that I killed all the yeast, but I followed the instructions with no incidents. Got a lot done in the kitchen during the process, too. My flat top stove was slow on reheating the water back to 190 after each batch, but not much I can do about that.
I don’t think they will sit around for long I’ll have to snap a pic of the finished product. Thanks a million to all of you for your help.
:cheers:
I’ve only made one cider and I used Lavlin D-47, to prevent drying out either rack early or sweeten it up. Wine yeast will reach 15-20% abv so you’ll want to stop short anyway.
