Some complete noob questions

Cider
1

So my brewing experience thus far has been a couple gallons of mead in gallon jugs with balloon “air locks”. I probably fermented each for about three weeks before trying to sloppily filter with cheese cloth and returning to the original jugs. That is how I have let them sit, and I don’t think they have aged well.

I’ve invested in a bit of equipment now and would like to approach a cider/cyser/apple wine more intelligently for a better result.
I’ve read some other posts on the forums and I guess the first thing that has me uncertain is that I’m not quite sure if which what I am planning would be.
From some various recipes I’ve mentally combined, this is what I was going to try:

30 pounds apples (mostly golden delicious, from estimates I’ve read I should be able to get a little over two gallons juice)
4 pounds wildflower honey
1 pound brown sugar
A couple cloves and some ground cinnamon
Water up to three gallons as necessary.

I plan on pasteurizing the juice and adding the honey while it cools to hopefully dissolve better. I’ll be using some left over Lalvin 71B-1122 packets I purchased for the mead. My target would be an end product that borders more sweet than dry.

Do I need additional nutrient? For the meads I made before the recipe called for raisins since honey was lacking. Do apples provide sufficient nutrient that this isn’t important?

I was initially just planning on racking when most of the activity slows down in the airlock, but I’m mostly seeing recommendations based on SG. Will those still be accurate if what I am preparing is more of a wine?

I haven’t purchased any acids, clarifiers, or any other additives. Will this make it more difficult to get a decent/reliable result?

Lastly, back-sweetening and carbonation wasn’t something that came up when preparing my kludge meads. Is the additional sweetener (I’d probably use honey again) added after racking, immediately before bottling, or when in the process? I’d like to preserve some carbonation if possible as well. Is there a point after which fermentation stops at which it is “too late” with the same type of yeast?

Anyway, sorry for what might be a lot of obvious rambling questions and thanks for any advice!

2

I recommend you reading this guide:
http://zoharwine.com/wine1

The apples provide sufficient nutrients, anyway it’s not a factor to be concerned too much.

Well, do you intend to sell it? I recommend you not to use additives just to obtain a better looking result but with effects on the taste.

3

I do not recommend heating your juice. Heat detroys delicate flavors. Campden will work for the fresh pressed juice just make sure to wait 24hrs before pitching your yeast.

I use staggered nutrient feedings in my meads/ciders/cysers.

Since you have not used a blend of apples you will more than likely be adjusting acid and tannin levels if you want it to be as good as it can be.

Honey is fine for backsweetening, but backsweetening while achieving a desired carbonation level can be tricky unless you plan on force carbing.

4

Yeah, it is probably a bit late for “as good as it can be” with this batch.

I measured the SG this past Saturday, a week after starting fermentation. Assuming accuracy of the calculation and measurement I’m at about 5-6% ABV. It tasted overly sweet, but I plan on letting it get to around 10% or so. I’ll probably rack it this weekend.

I still don’t have litmus paper or an acid to add (I suppose I could just add lemon juice or something, though I’m sure that would effect flavor quite a bit). What exactly is the ideal pH range, and what impact does this have? Will pH change naturally from the fermentation or would I be able to trust that any adjustments I make would hold constant?

At this point I’m not planning on messing with carbonation. I’ll preserve whatever I have left from the secondary fermentation. Hopefully after a few more batches under my belt I’ll be willing to try something a bit more involved.