Cider carbing nicely...in secondary?!

Hey all, So I made a cider using
3 gallons Hy's Apple Cider (from Whole Foods)
1 pound turbinado sugar
1 pound honey
1 packet Red Star Premier Cuvee (wine yeast)

I had it in primary for about 2.5 weeks and moved it over to secondary about 2-3 days ago. I didn't take a primary reading, but the grav I measured today is about 1.015. When I ladled the cider into my hydrometer tube, it bubbled nicely with very fine bubbles and resilient head. Weird?

I tried to get an idea of what my starting gravity was by using the online gravity calculator at http://beercalculus.hopville.com/recipe but was a bit confused as to what to put for Apple cider sugar. I just clicked table sugar and calculated the amount of sugar in it (30g per 8 0z *16 cups *3 gallons /28g /16ounces per pound = 3.2 pounds of sugar). But is that the sugar that I am supposed to calculate with? Is that also the way to go about figuring the weight of sugar in the cider?

If I did the calculations right, then it said my SG was 1.077 and my FG was 1.016 which is about 7.2% abv.

I guess i'm just looking for someone to verify my math and also tell me why on earth I'm carbing in the secondary (3 gallons in 5 gal bucket). Could it be the yeast I used? It tastes like apple cider wine, and still quite sweet. Since there is carbonation, should I just drink all 3 gallons tonight?

carbonation requires pressure I believe. The process of fermentation will produce CO2 which will escape through whatever means available in your 2ndary.

Once it is done fermenting, the Co2 will bubble out of your cider, form a layer of Co2 in the space of your 2ndary, but the rest will exit. So in effect, your "carbed" cider will go flat when it's done fermenting. It doesn't sound like it's done yet... That yeast should take you closer to 1.000 FG

You cider is carbonating because it contains yeast which are still converting sugar into CO2 and alcohol. A cider at 1.015 is nowhere near done. If you bottle now, the bottles will explode. Wait for it to hit 0.998 or so.

Your cider isn't "carb'ing" really. There is always some carbonation in beer and cider once the yeast has started fermenting. Those are the bubbles you see when you put it in the hydrometer jar.
You can find more info on CO2 levels of liquids with some searches and reading past threads: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/effects-cold-crashing-priming-sugar-needs-134347/
That has a table that shows how much CO2 can be held in beer at various temperatures.

gotcha. Do you think I should add another packet of yeast? I've been very lazy with this batch, so I didn't check the gravity before moving it to secondary. I just figured i should get it off the yeast since it was nearing 3 weeks. Obviously there is a considerable amount of sugar left to be eaten, and a fraction of the yeast (since it is now in secondary). Should I add another?

bigmanbt said:

gotcha. Do you think I should add another packet of yeast? I've been very lazy with this batch, so I didn't check the gravity before moving it to secondary.

Click to expand...

Nah, don't worry about it. It's cider, you're supposed to be lazy with it since it's so simple! : ) There should be plenty of yeast still in suspension.
By the way, most people don't use a secondary on cider. 1 month in a 5 gallon carboy with no reracking is pretty standard. So I'd say you didn't even need to rerack... I don't think yeast autolysis is a big issue for cider.