I began fermenting a cider at the beginning of October and my hydrometer reading is showing me fully fermented. I am going to use potassium metabisulfite to stop my yeast, then back sweeten and bottle. The cider is currently untouched in a 5 gallon carboy.
My Question: I have limited fermentation space and want to move on to other things. If I arrest the yeast, backsweeten and bottle, will the cider continue to develop in the bottle (ie: like wine) or have I stopped any continuing development (ie: spirits). Also, my choices for longer storage would either be room temperature (75F) or refrigerator temp (42F). I would appreciate any suggestions.
As a final thought, I am interested in trying a mead at some point. Would the same behavior apply to a mead that applies to a cider regarding development/aging.
Thanks.