Basic cider question-- Will it make a big difference if I bottle still cider quickly, pretty much as soon as the FG is stable down around 1, and let the aging occur in bottles rather than secondaries?
I understand this isn't standard practice and won't win me awards. I'm a minimalist homebrewer, in that I'm not fussy about results as long as it's drinkable, and it's inconvenient to accumulate a lot of equipment- one fermenter, one carboy, one bottling bucket at a time. Unintended circumstances left me with 2 5-gallon cider batches starting on the same day, one in my fermenting bucket, one in my carboy, and I'd like to do a beer batch soon. I don't plan to back-sweeten or prime, and would like to get it in bottles and on the shelf. I'm happy not normally using secondaries with ale, but not sure about cider-- seems to have a lot more curious odors and tastes when young. Is there something about aging cider in primaries/secondaries vs. bottles I should consider?
I understand this isn't standard practice and won't win me awards. I'm a minimalist homebrewer, in that I'm not fussy about results as long as it's drinkable, and it's inconvenient to accumulate a lot of equipment- one fermenter, one carboy, one bottling bucket at a time. Unintended circumstances left me with 2 5-gallon cider batches starting on the same day, one in my fermenting bucket, one in my carboy, and I'd like to do a beer batch soon. I don't plan to back-sweeten or prime, and would like to get it in bottles and on the shelf. I'm happy not normally using secondaries with ale, but not sure about cider-- seems to have a lot more curious odors and tastes when young. Is there something about aging cider in primaries/secondaries vs. bottles I should consider?