Great.
In doing my research, I refuse to believe that a cider takes months from juice to glass. I don't understand why it couldn't be ready as quickly as a beer if handled properly. Similarly to how some say a mead takes a year+ while Ken Schramm is knocking out gold medals <month.
I've been reading Drew's book and it is great, but I am finding it a bit lacking in some areas. If he covered hydrogen sulfide, it wasn't listed in the index or in the table of off flavors. But overall there is plenty of good info beyond add yeast and stir.
Dan Gordon talked about this on The Session when Gordon Biersch started getting into cider. I think the episode was January this year? He seemed unconvinced by some of the "common wisdom" he was faced with when getting into the business.
Funny you should bring up the Dan Gordon interview about cider. He and I apparently have nearly identical philosophies and processes when it comes to making cider.
Stevie, you can make your cider fast if you want. It's just harder to control. If you miss racking and gelatin by just a few hours, it can go from semisweet to dry as hell in no time at all. If you like it dry, you're in luck. Likewise, if you're kegging and not worried about bottle bombs, how fortunate. For those of us who wish to bottle, though, low and slow is pretty much superior in my opinion. Gives us more control and tends to tire out the yeast more, so they can't cause gushers or explosions as easily. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, that's all.
I would, however, advocate everyone try fermenting at low temperatures, in the 50s Fahrenheit, for a change, and see if you like the final flavors better. I do.