mikeysab
Well-Known Member
This is my first cider, or apfelwein, can't decide which category it falls in to. But some weird stuff is going on. Well, weird to me because I'm new to brewing (3 completed beers, one brewing, first cider) So I'll start with the recipe:
One gallon pasteurized apple juice
4 cans apple juice concentrate
1/2 pound dark brown sugar
1/2 pound belgian candi sugar blonde
1 cup pale dme
red star montrachet yeast
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient.
SG 1.090
Roughly 2 gallons finished product.
This cider is being brewed side by side with a belgian quad, which has nothing to do with anything except for the fact that my brew closet smelled like a horse stable about 18 hours after pitching. Temp was 70 at pitching, and was steady for the first 48 hours till yesterday when I dropped it to 60 on advice from someone on the forum. 15 to 18 hours after the pitch, the airlock was bubbling every 4 seconds. 48 hours after pitching, every 2.it's now 75 hours after the pitch and the airlock has stopped bubbling. i took a gravity reading 20 minutes ago, which read 1.036. The weird part is the gravity reading looked like a glass of champagne. Very fine bubbles quickly rising through the tube. It just about looked carbonated. And this sample smelled very very bad. So bad I wasn't even brave enough to taste it, which I regret.So my questions are these, if anyone would be so kind as to help me out a bit.
Now I'm thinking i'm just being a nervous noob because this question sounds ridiculous in my head, but is it possible the yeast cried uncle and gave up on me? I'm tempted to think that since the hydro sample was bubbling, there's still fermentation happening. So do I just take another sample tomorrow, and see how it goes, or just pitch some more yeast? Or forget about it for a week or 15?
I don't remember where I read this, but I thought I read somewhere that with a cider, I should shake up the fermenter once a day. Is that anywhere near true, or is that with beer?
and is that smell normal. When I opened my closet door, the whole loft stunk up quick, and that hydro sample smelled horrendous. It smelled faintly of apples, but rankness dominated.
last question...am I just being a nervous jacka$$, or does anything here sound not quite right. If I'm acting like a noob, please yell at me, and if possible, smack me. Thanks, guys
One gallon pasteurized apple juice
4 cans apple juice concentrate
1/2 pound dark brown sugar
1/2 pound belgian candi sugar blonde
1 cup pale dme
red star montrachet yeast
1/2 tsp yeast nutrient.
SG 1.090
Roughly 2 gallons finished product.
This cider is being brewed side by side with a belgian quad, which has nothing to do with anything except for the fact that my brew closet smelled like a horse stable about 18 hours after pitching. Temp was 70 at pitching, and was steady for the first 48 hours till yesterday when I dropped it to 60 on advice from someone on the forum. 15 to 18 hours after the pitch, the airlock was bubbling every 4 seconds. 48 hours after pitching, every 2.it's now 75 hours after the pitch and the airlock has stopped bubbling. i took a gravity reading 20 minutes ago, which read 1.036. The weird part is the gravity reading looked like a glass of champagne. Very fine bubbles quickly rising through the tube. It just about looked carbonated. And this sample smelled very very bad. So bad I wasn't even brave enough to taste it, which I regret.So my questions are these, if anyone would be so kind as to help me out a bit.
Now I'm thinking i'm just being a nervous noob because this question sounds ridiculous in my head, but is it possible the yeast cried uncle and gave up on me? I'm tempted to think that since the hydro sample was bubbling, there's still fermentation happening. So do I just take another sample tomorrow, and see how it goes, or just pitch some more yeast? Or forget about it for a week or 15?
I don't remember where I read this, but I thought I read somewhere that with a cider, I should shake up the fermenter once a day. Is that anywhere near true, or is that with beer?
and is that smell normal. When I opened my closet door, the whole loft stunk up quick, and that hydro sample smelled horrendous. It smelled faintly of apples, but rankness dominated.
last question...am I just being a nervous jacka$$, or does anything here sound not quite right. If I'm acting like a noob, please yell at me, and if possible, smack me. Thanks, guys