Started my cider today

I finally started my cider today and so far it sounds good,this is what i put in it.

5 Gallons Publix cider
5lbs Sugar
White Labs Liquid English Cider Yeast
5 bags Publix Frozen Blackberries(i thawed and added the juice also)
Pectic Enzyme

I mixed the cider,sugar,pectic enzyme and blackberries last night and pitched the yeast at 2 this afternoon,there aren't any bubbles in the airlock yet but you can hear some good gurgling going on in the bucket. I took a OG reading before pitching the yeast and got 1.064,i did that 3x just to be sure and got the same reading each time so i guess it's right. I guess now it's just sit back and let it bubble away for awhile,i will update this as it progresses incase anyone is interested in the outcome(good or bad). I plan on letting this go to secondary after awhile and sitting until it's fermented out and then bottling it with carb tabs,pasteurizing then storing it to age. If anyone sees anything wrong with this by all means let me know,i'm new so i could have something wrong.

Well yesterday i took a reading and got .999 so i racked it into secondary and plan on bottling it later this week after i get some carb drops,i'm still also going to pastuerize using the stove top method. The taste at the moment is very strong alcohol so i most likely will backsweeten with some apple juice,i want it strong but i will sacrifice alcohol for a decent flavor.

I tend to land mine around 1.000 which usually maintains the apple flavor. If you have a dishwasher I would consider that for pasteurizing over the stove.

Do you need the secondary vessel for something else or do you just have to get it into bottle because of time constraints? You might consider letting it sit in the secondary for a while. That would probably help mellow out the alcohol taste. Just my 2¢, but I'd bulk age over bottle age.

Pickled_Pepper said:

Do you need the secondary vessel for something else or do you just have to get it into bottle because of time constraints? You might consider letting it sit in the secondary for a while. That would probably help mellow out the alcohol taste. Just my 2¢, but I'd bulk age over bottle age.

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To be honest i was going to age it in secondary but with all the sediment and the blackberries that were in the primary i only got about 4 gallons into my secondary which is 5 gallons,i was afraid that would be to much free space and i might get a infection or mold. If you think i'm safe with letting it sit with that much free space then i will because it could use the mellowing time. I'm new to this so any advice is appreciated.

oh yah...that might be a lot of headspace. If it wasn't done fermenting, you might be ok since the headspace would fill with CO2. Since it's down to .999 I think it's pretty much done. You could always top it off with more juice and let it sit. The extra juice will also ferment as well.

Pickled_Pepper said:

oh yah...that might be a lot of headspace. If it wasn't done fermenting, you might be ok since the headspace would fill with CO2. Since it's down to .999 I think it's pretty much done. You could always top it off with more juice and let it sit. The extra juice will also ferment as well.

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I have a couple gallons of extra juice on hand so if i added that now you think i'd be good?,how much would you recommend adding meaning how far should i fill the bottle?. Thanks alot for the help.

yea you can top off in secondary, i have. Leave about 2.5 inches headspace

You should be fine by filling to within a few inches of the top. The new juice will ferment and fill the rest with CO2.

I rarely top off, but I don't let my ciders finish fermenting in the primary. I usually take them down to 1.015 or so and let them finish in the secondary. This helps blanket the top of the must. Knock on wood, I haven't had any problems with headspace so far.

Pickled_Pepper said:

You should be fine by filling to within a few inches of the top. The new juice will ferment and fill the rest with CO2.

I rarely top off, but I don't let my ciders finish fermenting in the primary. I usually take them down to 1.015 or so and let them finish in the secondary. This helps blanket the top of the must. Knock on wood, I haven't had any problems with headspace so far.

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I wasn't planning on letting it finish in primary either but i got tied up with xmas and forgot to get a reading and before i knew it it was finished,lol. I'm going to go add the juice now,should i expect to see bubbling activity again once i add the juice?,i'm assuming so but had to ask.

It will probably take a little while before it even bubbles once. The yeasties are mostly slumbering right now and racking reduced their numbers. It should eventually pick up again, but won't be vigorous. I rarely see my secondaries bubble. It taunts me with "Airlock Pressure" and then probably releases when I leave the room. haha

Pickled_Pepper said:

It will probably take a little while before it even bubbles once. The yeasties are mostly slumbering right now and racking reduced their numbers. It should eventually pick up again, but won't be vigorous. I rarely see my secondaries bubble. It taunts me with "Airlock Pressure" and then probably releases when I leave the room. haha

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,i actually just walked out to the garage and it bubbled for me,then i stood there for a few minutes and it did nothing,lol. How long do you usually let it sit in secondary?,or do you just go by gravity readings?.

I only add sugar to bring my gravity up above 1.050 and then use nottingham ale yeast. Mine's "beer-ish" ABV (6%?) and it's not bone dry. For my tastes, I just let it go till it's clear and then bottle it. A month maybe? There's a lot of variables with the process so each person's brew will be different.

Pickled_Pepper said:

I only add sugar to bring my gravity up above 1.050 and then use nottingham ale yeast. Mine's "beer-ish" ABV (6%?) and it's not bone dry. For my tastes, I just let it go till it's clear and then bottle it. A month maybe? There's a lot of variables with the process so each person's brew will be different.

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Got it,i just added juice and no sugar to the secondary so i'll go by what it tests out at. Thanks again for the help,i really appreciate it.