UK Cider first try

Hi there, new to homebrewing and this forum.

I have started with my first attempt at cider, I used 25kg or 60lbs of RUSSET english apples, I used a juicer to get the juice, I washed the apples before in campden solution before juicing.

I got 3 x 1 gallon wine demijohns filled 3/4 full with juice I added Champagne yeast to all 3 which had a gravity of 1060 on there own and the juice tasted sweet and drinkable.

I put the demijohns somewhere warm 75f ish.

The fermentation was wild, and 5 days later the sediment has gone from the top of the jars to the bottom and the bubbles are down to 1 per minute(2 a second a couple of days ago)

I have tried to test gravity but think the hydrometer may be hitting the bottle of demijohns. tastes a bit dry.

What is my next step ? Leave ? bottle with sugar ? or any other suggestions ?

Many thanks Simon.

Well there's a lot of contraversy as to rack to secondary for 2 weeks or let it sit in primary for 3 weeks. The choice is yours but regardless it needs to sit close to 3 weeks before backsweetning or whatever your intentions are to allow the yeast to clean up their mess and digest their biproducts.

My plan is 2-3 weeks primary, 2-3 weeks secondary, 2 weeks in the bottle then drink or pasteurize. Just wondering if I rack a few extra times to get clearer what are the pros and cons? It seems like the more I do to get it clearer the more product I loose to waste.

not to piss on the fireworks, but there isn't really much controversy over when to rack; a week here or there won't change much. anyways it depends on how complete the fermentation is, not on the time in a carboy.
i'd say your safest bet is to leave it be, wild ferments can take a long time; months not days

dinnerstick said:

wild ferments can take a long time; months not days

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The op was describing the action of the fermentation as "wild"... champagne yeast had been added.



75°F seems very warm to me.

dinnerstick said:

not to piss on the fireworks, but there isn't really much controversy over when to rack;

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I disagree, since we see those debates pretty much daily here on a good week, and weekly on a slow month.

75F is a tad high, aim for 65-70F. I like to leave it on the primary till I hit my target SG (or just above), then rack to secondary just long enough for some clearing. Than I bottle and pasteurize.

ok so i'm wrong twice! don't rub it in. but i don't think one week makes a lot of difference, unless you are aiming for a target gravity, as is mr. 29 above. if you are leaving it to ferment all the way to dryness then you are probably best off with minimal fussing, that's my $0.02; let it go a month, rack once, let it clear, prime and bottle.
as for wild vs champagne yeast, i saw the word wild, and my beard grew instantly, obscuring the screen and leaving me in a sort of berserker-like delirium, so apologies there are in order
whenever (if) you rack just remember that you need to top off the carboys/demijohns, airspaces become your enemy after fermentation is done.

Thanks for your help Guys, Just a quick question ?

When you say "rack" it of for secondary ? I thought my next step would be bottling. So I need more demijohns(carboys) ? And syphon of the juice leaving the sediment and filling the demijohns to top to not have much airspace ?

So on this secondary is it still fermenting ? or just clearing ?

Does it need airlocks ?

At the moment the brew is very cloudy and does not look ready for bottles.

Sorry that is more than one question

And what/how is pasturizing ?

ossycider said:

And what/how is pasturizing ?

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Click this link: Easy Stove-Top Pasteurizing - With Pics

easiest way: leave it alone until it is as clear as you like it, then bottle it.
more difficult: 'rack'; siphon (ideally) into clean carboys, or into a clean pot and then into your freshly cleaned out carboy. this can be done safely, carefully, but the more you faff around with it the higher your chance for problems (infection, oxidation).
without checking the gravity with your hydrometer you can't really say if it's still fermenting. with a slow fermentation there will still be activity in the secondary
yes you need airlocks!
only pasteurize if you intend to bottle something sweet that can keep fermenting in the bottle, to prevent the bottles over-pressurizing and exploding. if the cider has fermented dry it is unnecessary, unless you then sweeten it at bottling