Bulk vs Bottle Aging?

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fireball

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ok, is my understanding of bulk aging that the benefit is mostly clearing and that there isn't much difference after that? my second batch appears to have completed fermentation, SG is just under 1.000, no visible gas production and the baffle / air lock doo hickey, actually dropped slightly from the airlock cap which tells me that there isn't enough pressure to keep it up anymore. it's already crystal clear after an initial racking and if it proves stable over the next week or two I'd like to consider bottling.

Q #2, anyone use carb tabs in cyder? or is this more of my heresy? :ban:
 
Bulk aging actually does more to mature the flavor....not just clarity. Sounds like you're right on track though. If you've fermented in the primary for a month or more and have achieved a FG of 1.000, you're probably ready to bottle. If you have a fridge or freezer dedicated to homebrewing, you may want to crash cool to 38-40F for a few days...this will drop a lot of yeast out of suspension and greatly improve your clarity. Then you can bottle. I can't speak to carbing tabs....you'll probably still have just enough residual sugars to get a good natural carb without priming....not to mention it might be dangerous.
 
fireball said:
Q #2, anyone use carb tabs in cyder? or is this more of my heresy? :ban:


I ave never used them. They contain DME, sugar, and heading compound.

For cider I'd rather use 5 oz corn sugar by wt. Simple and cleaner.

I keep them on hand only as a repair for bottling defects or really small batches that make bulk priming impractile.

Use sugar or cornsugar....

http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html?9776246#tag

Cider is not listed but find a carb rate you like and use the proper sugar. DME is for better head rentention. Should not be an issue in your case if you're talking cider.
 
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