Cider's Slowing Down...SG still high.

This is my first cider, outlined here. OG was 1.059. Pitched an apple juice starter of White Labs English Cider yeast. They immediately went to work, and I had a 3/4" krausen the next day. The krausen slowly dropped and left a bubbly surface, and the airlock has been bubbling about once every second since thursday or friday. Today, the airlock activity had slowed considerably, so I took a sample reading. SG=1.030. 47% attenuation. According to White Labs, the WLP775 should have >80% attenuation, and leaves you with a dry cider, which is what I'm after.

Now, I've stirred it up a couple times since pitching, and re-oxygenation it once. I also applied a heating pad to bring the temp up from 67 to 72. Should I be stirring/oxygenating this daily?

No.. stop. Ciders ferment at a much slower relaxed pace but it's persistent. The gravity will drop. My batches usually hit 1.00 or .98 in 3-4 weeks using Montrachet.

Bobby_M said:

No.. stop. Ciders ferment at a much slower relaxed pace but it's persistent. The gravity will drop. My batches usually hit 1.00 or .98 in 3-4 weeks using Montrachet.

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Alright, cool. I was stirring it on the advice of Lorena. The reason I got worried is because it was going strong, then slowed down. Is there usually that initial fast-and-furious period, then a slower road to the finish line?

That is what I've noticed as well. Days 3-5 are somewhat krausen producing. I get maybe .5-1" and it dies down rather quickly. From day 6-30, I just get a persistent ring of bubbles just at the perimeter of the carboy. You can see them rising up and adding to it, but no real krausen is maintained. It's basically done when you see no more bubbles rising at all. This is when it starts clearing.

Bobby_M said:

That is what I've noticed as well. Days 3-5 are somewhat krausen producing. I get maybe .5-1" and it dies down rather quickly. From day 6-30, I just get a persistent ring of bubbles just at the perimeter of the carboy. You can see them rising up and adding to it, but no real krausen is maintained. It's basically done when you see no more bubbles rising at all. This is when it starts clearing.

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That's exactly, to a tee, what mine has done. Still have the ring of tiny bubbles around the outside, but the airlock activity has slowed down.

Cool, thanks for the help!

Right- you only need the oxygen to get it going then it settles down. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you that it's only really necessary for a couple of days. Slow and steady is the way for most wines and ciders. You'll be surprised that it seems like nothing is going on, and the sg will still continually drop.