Re-brewing Cider

I bottled my cider in May and now about 2 months after bottling I am starting to drink it ..... The flavour isn't bad, just a tad yeasty... (vastly better than my previous efforts). I am wondering tho if I can decant all my brew back into my brew barrels add some more sugar and let them have another go at itself, thereby hoepfully getting rid of the yeasty flavour.

I've got 25ltrs brewing which I was going to put thru the still but my SPG was pretty low (1.03). I'd had an equipment failure with the still - started leaking as I was filling it. Because it was all agitated from being tipped back into the barrell I decided I would add another kg of sugar to it and it has happily kicked itself back into life. I am waiting for it to calm down again before putting it thru my new and hopefully leak free still.

Has anyone tried re-starting a cider brew after bottling?? Would appreciate some advice.

I'm pretty sure that re-starting the brew will not help to get rid of the yeasty flavour.
The reason it tastes yeasty is because there is probably still some yeast in suspension in your brew and adding more sugar will porbably just reactivate the yeast and they'll hang around longer.

Try putting some bottles somewhere cold and leave them to sit for a few weeks. Hopefully the yeast will settle to the bottom of the bottle and this should reduce that yeasty taste.

Thanks for that, yes I think I'll just forget about it for another month and by then it may have thought about itself enough. Fingers crossed.
Next time I will use more sugar. 4th time lucky. Mind you the 1st was paint stripper, the 2nd finally drinkable after a year and a half in the bottle.... the 3rd as I said is now 2 months old.... the 4th will be the ticket!
If I can't get it sorted out my husband won't let me have another go! He was my chief apple chopper and seeings as I had him chop 2 bathfull loads of apples....
Thanks for the advice

One other thing to remember is the more sugar you use the higher the alcohol content is likely to be. Also it will mean you are gonna need to age it for longer as well.
I made the mistake of doing a batch with 2kg of sugar and it still tasted like rocket fuel 6months after bottling. It got me drunk incredibly fast but it was pretty damn nasty stuff.
My current batch I'm trying just 500g of sugar and I might even try one without any additional sugar as some people suggest.

Roadymi has a point. Let the cider finish and use a fining agent. It can make a pretty big difference in the time it takes for yeast to drop.
Just be very careful, a fining agent may help the yeast to drop but it can get stirred up extremely easily. When you're getting close to bottling try moving the fermentation bucket somewhere high (like on a table) and let the fining agent do its thing. Then use a siphon to transfer the cleared cider into a secondary bucket without moving the first container.


As for my latest batch (with only 500g sugar) it tastes way better. If your reason for adding more sugar is to get more sweetness, maybe try adding lactose or some non-fermentable sugar

I don't have an actual "barrel" to age in, I just use glass carboys but my ciders are normally bulk aged 6-9 months before bottling. The only exception being the caramel apple cider discussed on this forum. It is sweet enough to drink straight out of the primary. What size barrel do you use?

OK that may explain why I have been having some problems. I have glass carboys and will use these next year for the new brew. Can't do it this year as I've already bottled. Good to know. Thank you very much for your attention to my problem.
When I'm talking barrel I'm meaning the 26ltr plastic bucket with an airtight lid and airlock. I would LOVE to get my hands on a proper oak barrel, I've only an old 200ltr rum barrel which I have had stored for the past 15 years in my parents shed might be a bit of over kill considering I'm only up to about 80ltrs of cider.

using my banned brewing equipment has resulted in 5ltrs of rocket fuel. I've got to figure out how to smooth it out. It's proof is a bit iffy but it didn't freeze so it must be reasonable. I've tried mixing in a bit of glucose syrup but the consistency to stir it in is like taffy. I might do a test with a bit of stevia and see what happens. Just thought I'd let you know my progress.

Finally 9 months after bottling it is now getting drinkable, the bitter taste - never using Granny Smiths EVER again - has finally gone and it is starting to mellow out. Thank goodness. Just tipped out a revolting beer brew and was not looking forward to giving all that hard work pressing the apples to make the old heave ho. Plus it is almost time to pick for the next batch!