Bottling Issue- Yeast will not drop

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ryan_PA

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
Messages
1,882
Reaction score
23
Location
Newtown Square
I made my first cider this year, and I bottled it about 3-4 weeks ago and primed just like I have in the past for beer. However, unlike when I bottled beer (I really only keg now) the yeast has not dropped or settled in the bottom of the bottle. At celler temps you can see masses of yeast coagulated together throughout the bottom 3/4's of the bottle, and when chilled at 34 degrees for 24 hours they drop to the bottom 1/4, but you cannot pour the bottle without rousing the yeast up again. The cider is great, but no one will drink it, mainly SWMBO, who I made this for. Should I chill it longer, or is there any other method of getting this to pack more tightly at the bottom of the bottle?
 
Hmmm...that's supposed to be a very well flocculating yeast. Did the same happen during fermentation? Did the cider clear before you bottled it? Letting it sit longer may cause the cider to clear again in the bottles.
Otherwise, the only other method I can think of how champagne is made...they turn the bottles upside down so all the sediment (lees) collects in the neck of the bottle. Then they freeze the lees (by only freezing the neck in a brine solution) and open the bottles and the pressure causes the lees to be shot out of the bottle. For champagne, the bottles are then capped again as soon as possible. However, this method seems rather cumbersome and might not even really be feasible. If the cider tastes great, serve it in mugs or steins!
:mug:
 
It cleared fine in the secondary and tertiary. I will continue to let it sit in the fridge. I do not think I will go through the hassle of disgorgement, I would love to try this method, but this is not the time to do it.
 
Back
Top