Got some extra nottingham,a few questions.

I have an extra packet of nottingham and getting some juice tomorrow.My questions are i only have five gallon carboys handy at the moment,if i do five gallons will i need a blow off tube?Or will an air lock suffice?Also,how long for primary-secondary.And finally bottling,should i just bottle as i would beer and add priming sugar and bottle?

Cider lacks the proteins needed to form head, so you don't need to worry. If you are just using juice, 2-3 months total should be enough.

For comforts sake when ferment my cider (which I always do in 5 gallon carboys), I just put in 4.5 or 4.75 gallons plus yeast. In my house the extra apple juice will get drunk by the kids and it's just a more comfortable fit. Since I keg my cider, it doesn't really matter to me if the keg is slightly less than completely full.

Ok thanks.I guess i will do two weeks in primary the rack to secondary.How about bottling,should i use the same amount of priming sugar?

mkling said:

For comforts sake when ferment my cider (which I always do in 5 gallon carboys), I just put in 4.5 or 4.75 gallons plus yeast. In my house the extra apple juice will get drunk by the kids and it's just a more comfortable fit. Since I keg my cider, it doesn't really matter to me if the keg is slightly less than completely full.

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Sometimes I'll start with 4 gallons in a 5 gallon carboy and them top off after the the fermentation is winding down.

I vote leave some room. I usually do 4G in a 5G, or 5G in a 6G, with an airlock. This eliminates the need for a blowoff, although I rarely see much/any krausen/head on cider. The only exception may be when I have pitched on an active yeast cake.

In regards to ferm time & bottling.
I typically primary for 3 weeks with Nottingham, no secondary. I bottle prime with 6 teaspoons of tabel sugar per gallon, mixed well in 8oz of sterile water.

I usually use 5G apple juice, +1 LB of light brown sugar, with 1 pack of Nottingham, and a dash of yeast nutrient. This works well, makes a nice clear cider that bottles in 3 weeks, and drinks very nicely at about 3 months in the bottle.