Recent content by cbitter

Removing the strain of yeast from the equation, the key driver in fermentation speed is temperature... I'm surprised nobody asked what your temps were. If your 450sq ft was, say, 75-80 degrees during fermentation, then I don't think four days is really that surprising... especially since you...

Have you added any yeast nutrient? Cider is nutrient deficient for yeasts... your microbes might need a little help metabolizing the remaining sugars.

How did you pitch the yeast? If dry, did you properly rehydrate it? Add any yeast nutrient? Did you add Campden or anything else to the cider before you started?

I press 70-80lbs of apples to fill a 5 gallon bucket. callmebruce, if you're headed out to "apple country" anyhow, why not find an orchard that's pressing cider and just get some from them? Most places will fill up a pail or carboy right from the press, and usually at a discount from what they...

I racked ~5.5g from my plastic bucket primary to a 5g carboy. It was a good thing that I had 5.5g in the primary b/c the volume of cider I was able to rack off gave just enough headroom in the carboy. In the secondary, the cider continued to ferment and there's about 1" of accumulated lees...

So I whisked the heck out of it last night, today: lots of bubbles coming from the airlock (huzzah!) but boy do they stink. Is this a residual effect of the Campden, or could the cider be spoiled? How would I know if it's spoiled?

Thanks John for the input. I pressed this cider myself, from my own trees, so it can't be preservative (aside from the Campden I added). So far I've pitched 4 Nottinghams (two to start, and two 24-hours out) , and one SO4 at 72 hours. I'm on day 5 now. I took your advice, opened the lid and...

Yeah, I wondered about that myself... but everything I've read online (plus a book I bought off amazon.uk "Real Cider Making on a Small Scale") says 1 tablet per gallon. What rate of sulphiting do you recommend?

Thanks everyone for all the great ideas. I checked the lot #s on the packets I used - they don't appear to be part of the bad batch. However, my gut says it's the Nottingham. I just pitched the S04 (after proofing it), and replaced the lid/airlock with new ones (maybe it was leaking...

Can't find my hydrometer (new one is on order) so I haven't checked SG. I'm leaning toward the Nottingham as the source of the issue.. I have some other dry yeast in the fridge: Windsor and Safale S-04... but I'm afraid I'd create a disgusting Frankenstein mix if I re-pitched with one of...

Our house is pretty consistently 70-75 degrees, should it be warmer? I've been thinking some more about the Campden... I crushed the tablets, then stirred them in. I'm wondering if it's possible that some undissolved residue remains at the bottom of the pail and is inhibiting the yeast... is...

I just started my first batch of cider. But I can't seem to get the fermentation going, and I'm wondering how long I wait before I pour this batch down the drain. I started with 5g of freshly-pressed, unpreserved, unpasteurized local cider in a brewing pail, and I added 5 crushed Campden...