So I am going more for a German Apfelwein than an English cider.
I started with 5 gallons and added 6 cubs of Sugar in the primary fermentation. Now 3 week later I have a gravity of 1 and a pretty nice dry product with a good alcohol content. The wine is still a bit cloudy but that is natural, the clear ones at home (Germany) are usually filtered.
So I got 2 Qs
Should I let it go a bit longer, still some foam and bubbles in the carboy, and about 1 bubbel ever 4-5 min in the air lock. I had it fermenting at 66 F, should I move it up to the house about 75F for a day or so?
how much sugar do I need to add to the 5 Gallons to get a medium fizz after bottling, and how long do I let the fermentation go before stopping it by pasteurizing?
If you have had it fermenting for 3 weeks, and a final gravity of 1.000 then it is probably done fermenting. You could “rouse” the yeast by swirling the carboy once a day for a couple of days, then let everything settle out before racking to your bottling bucket. More likely it is just the dissolved CO2 coming out of solution that is causing the bubbling.
Priming cider works just like beer - you can use the calculator at http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/, you are probably looking at something in the range of 2 to 3 volumes of CO2, which will need 1/2 to 3/4 cup of corn sugar (priming sugar). 2 volumes of CO2 will be medium-fizz, and 3 is on the higher end like a weissbier. You won’t get a head of foam with cider though because it does not have the proteins that beer has.
And your second question - there is no reason to pasteurize. You have already made dry cider, so the priming sugar will restart the yeast, they will ferment to completion, the yeast will stop when there is no sugar left, and leave the bottles carbonated. It will take one to two weeks at room temperature for carbonation to develop. That’s all you need!
If I was you, I’d leave it longer and be SURE it was done fermenting before bottling it. You don’t want to end up with bottle bombs. Also, leaving it for some more time will allow it to clear on its own. I’ve made cider several times, it has always come out crystal clear, and I’ve never had to filter it. Just treat it like you would a fruit wine and give it a few months to clear itself up.
Pasturization is only needed if you want to kill off the yeast before they have converted all the sugar. That is one way to give the cider some residual sweetness, but getting it right could be a trick, and pasturizing in the bottles is likely to affect the flavor in ways you might not like.
