Cider schedule

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Bru

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The rule of thumb for beer brewing is 1 week primary, 2 week secondary and 3 weeks in the bottle.
From reading this forum I get the impression that it takes longer to make cider - is there some sort of similar rule of thumb ?
 
1. Primary ferment until you hit your gravity. (crash cool if desired).
2. Rack to secondary till clear, (if desired).
3. Bottle and age until it taste good to you, (if desired).....

Sorry if I simplified an answer to a very complex issue that is almost always wrong.
But if you need a rule of thumb, this is it for me.
This is for cider, not apple wine.
If so:
2.a Stabilize as required.
 
I find that primary is more of a 3 week affair because I am fermenting at a much lower temp than I do with beer. Then I rack to secondary, but that secondary goes into the fridge to crash unless I want it to ferment down to final (which could be .996-.998).

Up till now I have done bottling still (stored in fridge right after bottling)...doing an experiment right now with bottling, which Im hoping not only gives carb, but also aids in conditioning...only time will tell :D
 
Just don't plan on using that vessel in future plans until its done. Some ciders with yeast types can go quickly. Some can just take forever.
At 65-68F most of my ciders are ready for secondary in two weeks. Secondary can be half a month to 3-4 months unless I crash cool it.
I really have a hard time on nailing down any time frame, it's just ready for the next step depending on what I want and the juice/yeast I'm using.
Best of luck.
 
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